[beaglebaby]

I have a beautiful 4 year old beagle named Kim. She is our 2nd beagle. She has the best doggie personality I've ever seen. Anyway, I want to explain what is going on to see if any of you have any ideas for us.
About 3 weeks ago, Kim was having the most active day, playing etc. The very next day (Sat.) she was totally droopy, head hanging down, tail tucked under, and seemed in pain. I gave her a little aspirin, but nothing else. By Monday she was not eating, drinking, or anything. From the front her chest seemed to be throbbing hard for lack of a better description. I rushed her to the vet.
The vet decided she had strained her neck, gave her pain meds, kept her overnight. The next day, she decided to x-ray her neck, but didn't really see a big problem there. 4 days in the hospital later, she was sent home with pain meds, muscle relaxers etc. She was no better.
Then she started refusing to take pills...we did all the common tricks. She wouldn't eat more than 3-4 bites a day and drank almost none.
Daily calls to the vet and another visit for a pain shot and we thought we were losing her. The vet didn't really know what to do except send her to a specialist 225 miles away I decided to work just on eating and quit trying to trick her into taking pills which she hated and didn't want to see me even coming near her. Bit by bit I've gotten her to eat and drink. She's eating pretty good and drinking water as of 3 days ago.
However, she still has about one spell a day where she trembles and seems in pain.
******This is the really strange part....
It seems when she is hurting, her neck seems much thicker, but when she is better, her neck is thinner looking.
She doesn't jump on the bed at all since this started or bark or howl (very unusual).

I pet/massage her and I never seem to hit a spot that hurts..neck, shoulders,jaws, etc.
Has anyone had anything similar?
I am hoping to have my baby Kim fully back to herself.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Get her to another vet. Neck and spine are nothing to be trifled with. Trust me, I know. A Mylogram and CT scan may be in order. Paralysis or permanent spinal cord damage can be the result.

As for her not crying when you hit the sore spot, beagles can be very stoic, meaning they won't cry when being examined.

 

[BCC]

ok
also look at a post here (a few weeks ago) called Champ sick.
sounds very familiar.
there is a syndrome called beagle pain syndrome,
it is essentially menangitis but Non viral.

your dog could also have viral menangitis too.
we had champ looked at by a neuro vet and he diagnosed him with an infection in the spine, anti biotics (doxy cycline?) for 4-6 weeks.
he is doing fine now.
but as you can see from the post he was VERY similar to what you are describing. the neuro vets exam was largly finding EXACLY where the pain was and therefore able to rule out menangitis.
we assume he got the infection through a poke in the foot or something, but the vet said they could potentially get staff from just breathing it in with dust if they are sniffing hard.
C.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I can only echo Joe's plea -- you need to get Kim properly diagnosed so treatment can follow. If that means driving 225 miles then that's the way to go. Have all your vet's notes and recent labs sent ahead to save time once you are there. Make certain that specialist has experience with diagnosis of neck and spine issues.

 

[Brisen]

Ditto the above...a second opinion is definitely in order.

 

[beaglebaby]

You guys are great. I'm going to be checking into these. Are beagles prone to neck or spinal problems?
I'm also going to look into the pain syndrome.
I'll have to say I was unimpressed with the vet. We've gone to her for little things but nothing major. She's just soooo good with animals we kept going.
Will keep you posted!

 

[BeagleWeegle]

I just wanted to send My warm thoughts.

 

[beaglebaby]

Thanks so much BeagleWeegle. I was just reading some of your posts...in particular the one about expressing the anal glands. I wonder if all dogs have this problem so much, or if beagles have it more than other breeds????

Chaboncly--I read your thread...it is amazing how similar..paw and all!! I also looked up beagle pain syndrome....also similar!
Now at least I have some things to say to the vet!

Thanks again guys!

 

[My2Beagles]

BY ALL MEANS - get her to a 2nd vet if you have not done so. By the way, is her tail back up yet - VERY IMPORTANT! When I took Shiloh B. to the vet, thinking he was having anal gland problems - looked sad, not wanting to walk much and when he went out to go potty, trying to hold his tail up - he screamed bloody murder. when he did move - his tail was tucked so tightly between his legs - he really looked pitiful. Ok, so I take him to the vet, thinking it was some serious anal gland problem. The vet starts checking him out - goes to move his tail to the side - I thought Shiloh B. was going to go through the roof and take the vet with him. I had never heard him make so much noise before. Long story short - a complete exam, blood test and x-rays later and found out that the problem was NOT the glands but the tail itself - or the bones or lack of in the tailbone. First, he had developed Degenerative Disk Disease beginning at that area where the tail joins the body plus he has two disks in the same area that are totally gone plus a bone spur on a vertebrae one inch further down in the tail. He was put on pain meds and an anti-inflammatory and later I added a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement. He was on the meds then the supplement for about two months. This was over a year ago and there has been no more problems. I need to get him back on the supplement - I know about DDD - human and canine - it is very likely a progressive disease. I also limit his activity - which is not easy to do with his boisterous sister, Shasta B. This totally blew me away - I had heard of this problem before but it was always in the back or neck - never heard of it in the tailbone. If it happens again - I will likely get a 2nd opinion because the first thing that my current vet said - Shiloh B. may need to have his tail amputated. I want to do everything possible before this happens which is why I need to get him back on the supplement.

Oh yes, ShilohB. did have bouts of trembling - jumping on/off anything was out of the question.

 

[angelaH]

Joe has had a lot of experience with back problems with beagles. Please get to a good vet as soon as possible. Our Snoopy sometimes gets a nerve trapped in his neck and gets painkillers and medication for a week. This has been examined by two vets and if it happens again we are going to find the best specialist on spinal problems we can find.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Originally Posted By: beaglebaby Are beagles prone to neck or spinal problems?

Small breeds with short legs (daschunds, beagles & basset hounds) are more prone to intervertebral disk disease. This doesn't mean that all beagles will have this problem.

 

[jassy]

How is she doing today? I hope you have been able to find a vet that can help.

 

[beaglebaby]

Kim is feeling better overall. Since the doctor still didn't see anything, I decided to work on getting her to eat first of all and forget the pain pills for now. She didn't even want to walk near me because she thought I was going to give her a pill. I've never seen her like that.
Anyway, I have been working on getting her to eat and she started eating rice with a little beef. Bit by bit I've added things and now she will eat dog food. I give 1/2 a baby aspirin to her when she seems to hurt. That seems to be enough to take care of it.
She almost always feels bad for a little while after she eats. She still doesn't bark or bay. Makes me wonder if something happened in her throat.
I don't know if we'll ever know what is wrong unfortunately, but she seems so much better. If it regresses, I'll have to go to a specialist, and I don't know if I'll be able to afford it. This has already been very expensive.

 

[ktvalentino]

We have been down this road before. Our Sam-I-Am had a similar problem when he was 5 years old; we eventually had the surgery done, and, fortunately, he never had another episode of a disk problem in his life. He lived to be 12 1/2 (@the bridge 01/10/2009)and was able to do everything he wanted to do until old age crept up on him.

I would be careful about the aspirin, even baby aspirin, as it can sometimes irritate the stomach/intestinal tract. You might want to stick with the meds prescribed by the vet, even though she's not crazy about it.

As a last resort, you can always just open her mouth, and place the pill/tablet at the back of her tongue, close her mouth and rub her neck to assist in swallowing.

If it is a disk problem, you really need to make sure she is as quiet as possible; no jumping, etc., as has already been suggested. Sometimes I think that's why the muscle relaxant meds are prescribed -- these can make them pretty drowsy.

She probably will start barking/talking when she begins to feel better and gets some food in her. Right now, she probably doesn't have the energy to vocalize.

Take care; will keep good thoughts for you and your baby.

 

[Erin]

Originally Posted By: beaglebabyI don't know if we'll ever know what is wrong unfortunately, but she seems so much better. If it regresses, I'll have to go to a specialist, and I don't know if I'll be able to afford it. This has already been very expensive.

I'm so sorry you're having to go through all this! We've also been battling an unknown (expensive) health problem with one of our pups, although I don't think it's as serious as Kim's could be. I don't know if you live near a University that has a vet school, but if you do I would highly recommend taking Kim there even if it means driving a ways. Just last week we drove 3hrs to Auburn University to take Daisy. The cost is not as much as going to a private vet. We went to a private internal medicine vet last year and spent several hundred dollars more there than at the university. And the university did much more!

I agree with everyone though, please take her to another vet if you can.

Prayers your way!!