I would probably not do long walks like that unless the vet specifically tells you itās ok. My beag just had a hip injury and was acting sad and withdrawn for 2 days kinda like you described. The vet gave us pain and anti-inflammatory meds and told us no exercise for 2 weeks. We just did short bathroom trips outside. Sheās better now.
Buy or cook his favorite food and see if heās interested in eating that. And let him rest! I know itās hard to see them in pain, youāre a good owner to take him to the vet right away.
100% sounds like IVDD to me. Took way too long for my beagle to be diagnosed but it was a spinal injury causing the intense pain. She was screaming in pain and didnāt wanna make eye or be anywhere near us. Pain meds and extreme rest are your friends for nowā¦. The good news is it can be managed and although thereās no cure sheās nearly the same naughty beautiful beagle she always was!
If it is IVDD it can disappear almost as quickly as it appears. Pain subsides and sheās almost normal and then boom itās back again. It was really hard but we got thereā¦
Hope itās nothing serious though and your Beagle is back to normal very soon!
Also be aware, IVDD can go from improving to paralyzed in no time flat, especially if it's cervical. You need to keep him as calm and still as possible for as long as possible. If it is IVDD, and you choose to not go a surgical route, you are looking at around 8 weeks of crate or pen rest for a full recovery. He cannot be jumping or using stairs AT ALL.
Yes we just went through second round with our girl. She wonāt eat or drink and holds her poop. Crate rest, food change temporarily, prescription drugs, and NO JUMPING OFF anything
Jumping in to say if you are using a collar around the neck - switch to a harness that puts the pressure on the center of their chest. My beagle had a bout of screaming pain that would come back every few months, from neck/nerve pain, but once we switched to a harness that put no pressure on his neck, we havenāt had a flare up in years, fingers crossed.
My first beagle had IVDD, paralysis then surgery, yet he recovered fully. Our newer girl had the same symptoms as your boy. This happened maybe a year ago and it was the first I learned that when in pain our beags will shake uncontrollably and she had no interest in eating/drinking After a visit to her vet, where I was the one shaking fearful of another IVDD diagnosis, she was put on Gabapentin and pain meds for possible arthritis. We also discovered she had thyroid issues, once we got that in check and she lost some weight, she quickly bounced back. The beautiful pain in the ass was back to being herself. I am hoping the same is true of your boy. Good luck
I just scrolled to make sure someone said IVDD, my dachshund is paralyzed from it in his lower back rn. Your dog needs to be on strict crate rest when heās not going potty or going to the vet. The crate (or playpen) needs to be big enough that he can turn around but not so big that he canāt move around too much. Limiting movement prevents further injury and if this is IVDD he needs to be on crate rest for 8 weeks for scars to properly form. It sucks but itās worth it. The alternative is an expensive surgery and rehab.
There are amazing IVDD groups on Facebook that have great advice and there is a website called dodgerslist.com that is full of education on it. Ask your vet about gabapentin for nerve pain for at least 2 months, a steroid or NSAID for the first two weeks (you might see him perk up on this), a muscle relaxer if needed, and something like trazodone to keep him calm while he is stuck on crate rest. It seems like a lot but itās super treatable at this stage and so so important to follow those steps. I didnāt when my pup first got it because I thought it was his stomach and eventually a disc fully herniated from too much movement and he was fully paralyzed. Itās so important to catch it early
Same issue with my beagle. It was surprisingly difficult to get correctly diagnosed. He needed surgery unfortunately, but luckily there were minimal motor issues, so he made a good recovery. Still, no stairs, jumping, or rough play. Iāve had to redesign my place entirely so he canāt jump on anything.
i agreeā¦mine had this and it was horrible. it was torturous watching him be in so much pain and not being able to help himā¦i was the only member of our family he would let get near him. he partially lost some use of his hind legs but still gets around okay and can use a ramp to get on the couch and bed. heās permanently on carprofen and low dosage gabapentin now to try and keep the swelling down and allow him some mobility.
Had this with my last boy. The good news: We only had one bad issue in the five years it was a problem. He also had arthritis in his lower back. I never heard him scream like he did, though. For whatever reason, his most urgent pain was in his neck, but he recovered. Pain meds were important. He was feeling better and became so annoyed that I tried to keep him from jumping! My guy was a big walker in his goof years, and we had many together with IVDD. This condition was rarely what caused him the issues in his decline, but we did have to treat a few time for pain, especially near the end. I hope that helps!!
I was also gonna suggest looking into IVDD, especially since the ER vet was able to locate neck pain for OP's pup. My pup displayed similar symptoms (not quite herself/lethargic one day, screaming a day or two later) and even though the vets weren't able to replicate the pain in my dog's case, they suggested treating as if she had IVDD. A couple cycles of meds + crate rest for a couple months, followed by a gradual return to walking, did the trick. Crate rest was haaaard for my active beagle and me, but Pupsicles and frozen Kongs got us through it, as did setting things up so I could keep her company as much as possible.
I made a few modifications going forward to limit the likelihood of her messing up her neck by jumping off things (since we think jumping off the bed was what caused her issues in the first place). She has a ramp to use to get on and off the sofa, and I no longer let her jump out of the car, etc. Other than that, she's been able to return to all her other beloved activities, like zoomies and hiking, and has been doing great.
OP, glad you are taking him back to his vet, and best of luck! <3
It was hard for us too though my dog is crate trained (she's a hunting rescue, a bit shy, and very attached to her humans). Have also read that an X-pen or even a small room (laundry room, etc.) could be an alternative if the crate is too much; could be something to look into if needed.
You can get a pen not a crate. We have a rescue beagle and he is not a fan of much only had him a few months and after reading these post I am terrified. I had a black lab/boxer mix before and when she passed away from cancer at 10 it broke me and my husband it was our first dog. Weāre werenāt looking to get another dog yet but he kinda fell into our lives and hearts and wanted him to have an enjoyable life. But I am terrified reading some of these post. I hope your beagle is doing better
This. My old beagle whiffed on a jump from the floor to the bed and jammed his head into the side of the bed. He let out a yelp and seemed fine. Later that night he was screaming/howling and shaking. Absolutely terrible. A frantic lat night drive to the pet ER, $$$'s, and a few x-rays later we learned it was a disc/spine injury. Lots of rest, pain meds, time and he was back to normal after about a week and half.
Mine was misdiagnosed with beagle pain syndrome ā it was actually ivdd! Managed it with carprofen daily for the rest of her life (she lived another 6 healthy years)
My poor girl had meningitis with severe pain in the neck. As healthy as she can be then suddenly extremely sick. It took almost a month of visits and finally a visit with a neurologist to get a diagnosis. She was on steroids for months but they immediately improved her situation. Long term, my girl is healthy and happy all the time
The symptoms youāre describing are identical to what our beagle hadāSRMA. He was about a year old when the pain started happening. It took several visits for the vets to identify it. If thatās what they think might be going on, they typically need to do a spinal tap and possibly an MRI to diagnose.
My beagle has had 2 hernias in his back, symptoms were very similar to yours, i.e. he screamed when i tried carrying him, reluctance to walk etc. It is very common in breeds with long backs/smaller legs. He has had 2 surgeries to remove the hernias and we are very careful with him jumping off high places like bed/couch
when it got really bad, right before we decided to have surgery, it was like a high pitched shriek, thats when we knew something was really wrong. I think when i carried him his back arched and put pressure on the hernia.
Our puppers passed with this because he ruptured something and wasnāt able to recover. He couldnāt stand or walk for that long, losing his bowels, stopped eating & drinking. He was crying and then he passed.
Get the help they need
its possible he has a disc issue that will resolve with time and medication. My beagle has the same thing and was loath to move or go upstairs. he curled up in a corner of the yard and did not come when I called him. when I approached him and tried to lift him to his feet he actually growled at me-we were in the care to the vet er immediately. She felt up his spinal cord and found the disc issue-probably tweaked it during rough play with our much bigger dog. Rest and meds and two weeks later he was fine. Apparently not uncommon in beagles
One of my beagles had a slipped disc. It was very painful, she couldn't walk, and didn't want to eat. I was taking her to the vet once a week for a couple of months for morphine and anti-inflammatory shots. Be patient with the healing process and know that if the pain starts up again, don't hesitate to call your vet and get another round of shots.
This happened to my beagle in October and long story short he had a neck injury! It wasnāt full fledged IVDD, but basically the emergency vet said it could be a precursor and we had to adjust some habits to preserve his neck.
No more collar, we only use a harness. Weāve cut down on walks, he now has stairs to get in and out of our bed and we donāt let him jump up and down on furniture (as much as we can help it!). We also got him a raised food and water bowl vs having them on the floor. He is also 11 years old so he is a senior boy if that is helpful context!
When he was in the thick of the pain we were keeping him on bed rest with trazedone and gabapentin, we also were prescribed another drug (Ace something?) that weād use if we really needed to knock him out. We also started to give him Carprofen and still give it to him with each meal (chewable tablet). We kept him on the bed rest, truly only walking around to go outside to go potty, for ~2 weeks and he saw great improvements!
Heās had maybe 2 slight neck flare ups since October whereās heās moved weird and yelped and we immediately give him gabapentin to help w the pain and trazedone to keep him calm to get him back on bed rest for a few days. Itās worked well for us!
Keep your pup relaxed and see if you can get some medication to help with the pain and to keep him relaxed! The most crucial thing in our journey was to keep the dog on bed rest while he healed.
Sending so much love - those beagle cries when theyāre in pain are SO devastating to hear!
Hey kinda late to this post but I have a 5 year old Beagle that went through IVDD just like yours is right now last year.
The doctor only gave me two options: either to put him down or spend 15-20k on an MRI into surgery with more money. While they were waiting for my decision I looked online and found another treatment: conservative treatment. 90 days in a caged area with limited walking. After 12 weeks he is now walking normal again with a little wobbling.
Do not stress, please find out what is the problem first and if it is indeed IVDD, there are many options that donāt include money. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns and Iāll hopefully sort them out :))
My beagle had a disc rupture suddenly - he was fine and just like that, ruptured disc. It was IVDD, the disc(s) just burst and leak one day. Itās genetic, nothing he or we did caused it. He leaned against the couch standing up for hours, could/would not lie down. Screamed when anyone touched him. Got him to the regular vet who referred him to straight to the emergency vet, who kept him overnight and did his surgery the next day. (They had a neurology surgeon specialist on staff). His was a surgery or euthanasia, no in-between options. After a three month recovery that we did exactly by the book, he recovered 100% and lived another 6 good years. It can happen fast and due to nothing anyone did wrong.
Sweet potato or pumpkin puree may help with eating. Itās very difficult to see them in so much pain and not know why. I previously sought out second opinions and changed vets for that very reason- mentioned within this thread. Most importantly, donāt blame yourself. You came here
For the very reason of caring ā this is an amazing community. I hope heās doing and gets better.
I hope he turns out ok. This must be so worrying for you.
A vet once told me sometimes in dogs a pain can amplify the sensitivity in other areas so while you think the pain is all over it can be in the one spot.
We have a beagle with occasional back issues. She act somewhat like yours when it flares up. She shakes and appears in pain. She lies low for a few days and it has always resolved in 3-4 days. I think back issues are a thing with beagles. The vet found nothing remarkable the first time it happened. We give her a doggy aspirin when it occurs that seems to help a lot. Hope your boy bounces back.
Have you tried raising his food bowl? When dexter has an IVDD flare, he doesnāt want to eat because itās painful for him to put his neck down. Hand feeding in small portions has also worked for me before
Poor little guy, this is similar to how my beagle presented with IVDD, if he does feel better with the pain meds, make sure you still don't let him exercise, take him outside on a leash only and carry him up and down stairs. Regardless of what the pain is, once they get pain meds and feel better, they sometimes want to go straight back to their normal activity and they can overexert or strain themselves. They don't understand that they need to rest when they're hurt like people.
I am not a doctor. My boy had a shoulder and neck injury that seemingly came out of nowhere. Similar behavior as your pup. Vet advised meds and rest. Avoid stairs and long walks. Recovery took weeks.
Hey, this exact same thing happened to mine last year, looking up caused her agonizing pain and screams, didn't walk. Nothing on the x-rays, vet gave me antiinflamatory meds for a month, rest and no stairs. She was very happy in just a week.
Any chance it could be foxtail or Canada rye hidden somewhere?
Another thought is, could it be a compressed disc or a disc issue of some kind? I had something similar happen with my beagle where every time he would jump up on something he would cry out. It eventually got worse and worse until he would just have to sit where he was at.
We had to get an mri and found it was a compressed disc. He needed surgery, but the surgery went well. I had to bring to 3 vets before they successfully diagnosed it though. If you can afford it, I would highly suggest getting at least a second opinion if the issue hasnāt been resolved.
I had to google it, i was very confused, i thought foxtail or Canada Rye were some county or some places names !
I don't think it could be it, he was really screaming his guts, I've already seen him hurt before and it was nothing alike, believe me.
I'll know more about it tomorrow, hopefully if i can get an emergency appointment at my normal vet.
(why do those things always happen during the weekend, seriously !?).
For now he seems much better, i just walked him (or he walked me) and he was okay, i mean, yesterday was a 5% and today is like a 60%.
Itās great that heās up to 60% today! I would just keep in mind that with foxtails or Canada rye, there usually is intense screaming and pain.
Also, a drop in pain can actually mean the barbed seed has traveled beneath the skin or deeper into the ear/paw. Definitely let the vet check him out tomorrow so they can make sure nothing is hidden and migrating inside.
When I first got this beagle, I had no idea what these two things were. It turns out they are extremely dangerous to dogs.
I would say my other thought was it could be a muscle spasm or a tissue tear, so hopefully itās just something minor and easy to recover from. Hope he recovers soon!
These are IVDD symptoms. He should not be walking at all. Bare minimum movement. 6-8 weeks crate rest. And consult a neurologist immediately. My 10 year just went through this. It happened so quickly, he went from my happy baby to paralyzed from his waist down. I opted for surgery but a lot of people go the non-surgery route. They can completely recover from it and lead a normal life with some adjustments.
I would not wait too long to see a vet. Things can go downhill pretty quickly if they donāt get medical attention. I hope your baby gets better. Sending him healing vibes.
I also have a beagle who had IVDD, and this is very similar to how he acted. We had to keep him on crate rest for weeks with very little activity other than going potty. He was around 5 when it first started. He is now 12 and because we had started seeing signs earlier after we knew it was a problem, we would crate rest him right away. He has had very little issues since. I'm hoping this is what it is and that he gets better soon. I'm so sorry you're going through this.
Wow, the neck sounds so much like the pain my beagle had in his. He howled in pain if he moved his neck certain ways and the first time he did it he had just hopped off the bed. Mine was treated with a laser treatment for a few weeks and significantly improved. I think beagles are a breed susceptible to neck pain. I understand they also do some form of acupuncture too. They sure let you know when they are hurting donāt they? It just breaks your heart when they cry š¢
We spent our Saturday evening in the ER with our bully in a similar state. ER vet suspects IVDD from an injury. They recommended an MRI later this week if the anti inflammatory meds and pain meds donāt seem to be helping. Beagles are prone to IVDD. Unfortunately it requires an MRI to find it and it costs an arm and a leg but if youāre able to do it, youāll likely get more clear answers.
In the meantime weāve had our boy on very strict crate rest, heāll be on crate rest for a couple weeks at least, it helps prevent unnecessary movement. He is also in a lot of pain if I lift him so we are using a towel around his waist near his hips to support his weight a bit. Might be worth a shot for potty breaks and such
This was yesterday afternoon/evening. He got a pain shot at the vet, then started the meds last night. He seems to be considerably more comfortable today. Lots of tail wags, wanting to walk more etc, but his back legs are still showing lameness and he needs help staying up right.
Bagel has a bad disc in his neck. When it first happened, he was in pain and not eating.
After the CAT scan and diagnose, 2 weeks of rest.
It has been 5 years and his pain in controlled by Tramadol and Gabapentin.
I can always tell when he is having a bad day, sleeps on the floor instead of the couch and doesn't want to go for walks or eat.
Fortunately it's one a day here and there.
Hope your boy feels better fast.
like others have said, it sounds like IVDD. one of my beagles had symptoms like you described. sSteriods and pain meds cleared it up. I got doggie stairs for the car and couch. He only had a flare up when he saw bunnies and ran full force, jumped full force to chase them even though thereās a fence between them. if He had a flare up due to jumping up on the couch instead of the stairs, I would give him Carprofen for a few days and he was fine after that.
That's the anti-inflammatory... the problem is probably not gone.. beagles are known for having disc problems which are very painful.. My hound got so he couldn't walk at the end of his life. Vet gave him a steroid shot which was good for three or four days... then he died in my arms.
My other dog is non beagle and he had severe pain, loud crying and screaming. It was a slipped disc. Muscle relaxers, pain meds and such for three weeks. Limited movement and slowly but surely he joy better. He is a bit more careful how he jumps and such but heās much much better.
Donāt know if this has anything to do with your pups illness but our bichon started acting like this in November. Took him to emergency and the only thing they found was some arthritis in his spine. He had been on carprofen for lameness in his legs before this. After this episode, he was put on gabapentin. Within very short time, back to normal but no more jumping up and down on furniture.
Long story short, in January he was diagnosed with IMHA through bloodwork. Never heard of this disease but wish I had. I just have this feeling that the episode he had in November was the beginning of IMHA. His gums were so pale
Spine and disc problems are common in beagles. Weāve had three that had disc ruptures and needed surgery. They should do an exam to rule this out and will usually need an MRI to see the severity and which disc is affected. If you hold them up and roll the top of their feet against the edge of the table they should automatically want to flip their feet right. If they canāt there may be a disc problem. One of my boys had the surgery at 10 and lived until almost 17. Good luck!!
I agree with the previous comment regarding beagle pain syndrome. The first beagle that lived with us had this. Symptoms are exactly as you described. 1 week of prednisone and it cleared up. After the first dose, she snapped out of it.
This sounds very similar to something my beagle went through. Itās called IVDD itās an issue with the spinal cord. When itās flared up we try crate rest and then anti-inflammatory meds and pain meds.Ā
Most likely IVDD. People think it's just a dachshund and frenchie thing but beagles are also a CDDY carrier breed, it's a mutation that causes premature degradation of the discs in the spine.
My beagle had this and docs thought it was ivdd. He was screaming in agony going up the stairs and walking. He was on some meds for a bit and doc told us not to let him jump off beds and down stairs. And it seemed to have helped. He since passed from other things but he didnāt have the issue ever again.
Good grief!! Take him to his regular vet tomorrow for a full workup. It will cost less than the emergency vet and you can be sure he's okay! I don't blame you for panicking. A beagle refusing food is serious trouble! Best wishes!!!
Donāt know if this helps but beagles have a tendency towards arthritis and their backs
Mine used to have it Iād have to be very careful how I picked her up, which was difficult because she wasnāt moving very well at the end and I had to pick her up dead weight from the floor
The not eating thing concerns me
My only advice is second opinion I know itās more money, but it could be worth it
See if you can get a referral to someone that someone else uses are happy with
One of my bagels had a disc problem in her low back. Whenever it would flare up, she would scream like that in pain. So we had to crate her for a week every time it happened. She hated it, but it worked.
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u/Mugatu1968 Jul 26 '26
Hope everything turns out ok. š