The American Beagler Forum

My beagle out of the blue started acting like he had a stroke. We took him to the vet and they said that dogs don't have the same symptoms of a stroke as a human. So they thought it was a major ear infection. (He has always had ear problems) So they gave us antibiotics. That night he was up all night. He couldn't lay down because it hurt him. When I hugged him he began yelping and howling in pain over and over. The next day we took him to the vet and they said it might be back problems from being overweight. The thing is he has always been overweight and this came on very fast. After the second trip the vet they gave us pain killers. The dog is still in pain, but the next step is costly tests which I honestly can't afford. Please if you've had this ever happen to your dog, please reply. I desperate for anything to help him stop hurting. Also he hasn't been eating or drinking, even though the pills are suppose to make him want to eat and drink more.

Does his pain seem to be in his abdomen (is it tender/sore)? If so, it could be a bowel obstruction or urinnary problem. Is he doing his buisness and urinating?
His not eating or drinking is NOT a good sign. YOU need the tests if he is to pull through this.

Any more info you can provide would be good, but I really think that he needs diagnostic tests.

try another vet.

It sounds to me like he has had a dislocation/rupture in the spine. That happens in a flash. I just dealt with a dog that had similar symptoms, pain, not eating, yelping when touched and her spine was pinching nerves in neck and pelvis. If your dog is over weight, it increases the chances of spinal damage. Get your dog to an animal chiropractor for an assessment. The vets will just keep pumping drugs into him, which usually don't help and make everything worse. Surgery is expensive and not always successful. Also, if your dog is young, get some weight off. Find a naturopath/homeopathic vet to give you some guidance. Regular vets have little training in nutrition. The ear problems are related to diet- too many carbs cause yeast to grow in ears. Feed a better quality food. There is lots of information on this site about what to look for in a good dog food. Good luck. Carolyn

It doesn't seem to be in his abdomen, but he isn't yelping so much when being touched anymore, but still will cry in pain every once and awhile. The xray didn't show any issues with his spine, but she said that a disk would not show up on the xray. He has no trouble urinating, but isn't pooping as much as he should be. The ruptured spine makes sense. We have been able to get him to drink some water by mixing in a little chicken broth

A slippage like I am talking about in the spine will not show on xray. All your symptoms point to that- he has to curve his spine to poop but not pee so pooping is much more of an issue. A regular vet will not be able to do the manipulation necessary to free the spinal cord and realign the spine. You need to find a chiropractor with animal experience. Where do you live? Horse people can generally point the way to a chiroprctor in your area.

Carolyn

I live in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Thanks for all your help Carolyn, its all making more sense now.

http://www.avcadoctors.com/2002/avcadusct.htm

This is a link to some chiropractors that are animal certified. You should be able to find one through some emails or calls from this site. Once you have the spine back in order, a diet and exercise program should be developed to prevent it happening again. How old is your dog? The initial injury is quite painful- an antiinflammatory and analgesic might be of benefit. I use a baby aspirin twice a day as recommended by chiro. Dog needs to be rested, no jumping on and off anything, stay as level as possible until you get his spine back in order. Keep me updated!

Carolyn

He's only 6 years old

I HAVE A MALE PET THAT DOES NOT HUNT THAT HAD A SLIPPED DISC.
HE WOULD YELL OUT IN PAIN IF LIFTED AND COULD NOT STAND PROPERLY. IT LOOKED LIKE HE HAD A STROKE EXCEPT HIS BACK LOOKED HUNCHED UP. THEY TOLD ME HE WOULD HAVE TO SEE A SPECIALIST FOR VERY COSTLY TESTS THAT I COULD NOT AFFORD. IN THE MEAN TIME THEY GAVE HIM PAIN MEDICINE AND STEROIDS. WE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO BE PUT DOWN. THE TREATMENTS DID NOT SEEM TO WORK. I WENT TO SIGN THE PAPERWORK TO HAVE THE DEED DONE BUT INSISTED ON SEEING LOU. WHEN HE SAW ME HE RAN AND JUMPED IN MY LAP. NEEDLESS TO SAY I TORE UP THE PAPERWORK TOOK HIM HOME AND CONTINUED THE STEROIDS THE RECOMENDED TIME AND HE HAS BEEN OK EVER SINCE. I DID TAKE HIM DOWN TO A WEIGHT MORE LIKE MY RUNNING DOGS BY CUTTING BACK HIS PORTIONS AND 2 MORE DAYS OUT OF THE PEN PER WEEK. I WILL LOOK UP THE ANTI INFLAMATION MEDICINE WHEN I GET HOME AND POST IT LATER.
I HOPE THIS HELPS.
ANTHONY KERR

hermes,,,,,,,go to a local walmart and get some pedealite dont let him get dehydrated,,,,,,,,seems dogs realy like this more than water when sick,,,,,,its worth atry,,,,,,

My beagle, Milo, is doing better. He is still sore, but he is eating. We've come to the conclusion, after talking to the vet, that he probably has some sort of disk inflamation in his neck. Thanks Carolyn, we never would have thought of this before. The other day he was feeling better and went to grab his stuffed toy, but when he bent down he stopped suddenly. The rest of the night he was very subdued and moaning a bit. Because of this behavior the vet figured the disk was in his neck. Milo still is up and down. He's good, but then he start moaning again. The good thing is that he is not getting worse. We figure that it will take awhile for him to get better, and until then we are going to keep him on pain meds. I just wanted to thank everyone for their help, it is so greatly appreciated.

Do a check of the internet for beagle pain syndrome and see how it compares. Vets seem to Know very little about it as it is not very common.Best of luck with whatever the ailiment

Glad your dog is doing better. You would still be safer to find a chiropractor to realign the spine to prevent further damage. Don't let the vet do any surgery- waste of money. He will need the same recovery time a human takes- six weeks. Avoid any strenous exercise, jumping, fetching etc. Will cause further swelling of disc/herniated area. Keep us updated!

Carolyn

Milo is doing better now. We started a new course of prednisone and the difference is night and day. Within the span of twelve hours he went from not being able to move, to rolling around on the carpet. This is hopeful, we hope this time the prednisone will do its job.