Beagle
Breed description - see AKC for detailed standard
The beagle is an old breed. In the US, the National Beagle Club goes back to 1888. Though a premiere hunter, the beagle is a popular family pet.
The beagle is affectionate and good natured and does well with children. But he can also be stubborn. Careful, patient training is required.
Small, compact, short haired with long hound ears.
Beagles come in two sizes. The 15" and the smaller 13 ". The same standard applies except for height.
Life span 12-15 years
Breed problems can be both inherited or diseases and disorders seen frequently in a breed and mode of inheritance unknown. Both are listed.
Breed problemsThe beagle tends to overweight if not exercised
Birth defects - cleft palates, missing toes, broken tails, umbilical hernia.
Hemophilia A
Primary glaucoma,Unilateral Cateract, Ectasia syndrome
Progressive retinal atrophy
Renal hypoplasia, unilateral kidney aplasia
Invertebral disc disease,
Atopic dermatitis
Octocephalic syndrome
Epilepsy
Lymphosytic thyroiditis
Pulmonic stenosisDistemper - hereditary predisposition
Beagles seem to be particularly sensitive to parvovirus in our practice area. I am not sure if there is an inherited immune defect or not leading to this situation. It is just my clinical impression -- I could be wrong, too. Dr Mike
IMHA - Beagles can be congenitally predisposed to this condition due to defects in enzymes (such as pyruvate kinase) or in the red blood cells.
Beagle Pain Syndrome / Systemic necrotizing vasculitis
Q: Dear Dr. Mike: I have a 5-year-old beagle who was diagnosed 2 years ago with beagle pain syndrome. This diagnosis was made after several x-rays and a spinal tap failed to find any cause for severe neck and back pain, fever and shivering. She has been on Prednisone for the past two years which controls the symptoms. She takes 5 mg. every 3 days with 2.5 mg. on the days between. I'm concerned about the long term implications of her taking a steroid medication. When she saw a new vet after we moved, the new vet recommended taking 5 mg. of Prednisone every other day and alternating with Rimadyl on the other days in an attempt to let her system "rest" from the steroids. I'm not sure how well she will tolerate this (she's had some vomiting and appetite loss). While I will follow up with the vet on these reactions and possible drug interaction problems, I'd like to know if you have any ideas about any alternative treatments or medications and if you have any additional information on beagle pain syndrome. Thanks for your help!
A: It is a lot better if prednisone can be given on an every-other-day basis rather than every day. It often won't work in immune mediated conditions when given in this manner, though. When this is the case, the choice between a life of reasonable comfort that may be slightly shorter and a long life of intermittent pain seems to be an easy choice to make, to me.
I actually couldn't find a reference to "beagle pain syndrome"when I looked through my texts but I did find references to two conditions in beagles leading to chronic pain of the type you describe. The first is immune mediated meningitis and the second a condition known as systemic necrotizing vasculitis which can affect the small vessels in the spinal cord, leading to chronic pain. Both are thought to be immune mediated conditions and both are treated with prednisone. It is my impression that the immune-mediated meningitis is usually not a long term problem, though.
I don't know of anything else you can do in the case of the systemic necrotizing vasculitis problem except consider other immunosuppressive medications. Prednisone is generally considered to be the safest of these types of drugs, though.
This sounds like a bad problem. Your vet took the right steps to make a diagnosis and I can't think of anything else that might cause the symptoms you describe that wouldn't show up in the testing done.
Mike Richards, DVM
Parvo in vaccinated dog
Q: My 13 month old AKC beagles had 5 vaccinations for parvo and last week contracted the virus anyway. Have you heard of a genetic problem that may have affected the efficacy of the vaccines? If they live are they facing any nuerological, cardiovascular, or other major complications? Thank you for your time. BAE
A: Doug- There are a number of possible problems that could lead to the situation you describe. Some of them are covered below.
The diagnosis could be wrong. This would be my first guess in a 13 month old dog in which one of the parvovirus vaccinations was given after 4 months of age as long as some combination of the problems below did not seem to be present as well.
A few dogs are very difficult to vaccinate for parvovirus because they get very high levels of maternal immunity, which interferes with vaccination. Using vaccines available prior to this year, about 95% of dogs are successfully protected at 16 weeks of age if the vaccine is administered properly. Most of the remaining 5% can be successfully vaccinated by 20 weeks of age. Using the new vaccines on the market currently, most puppies can be protected by 12 weeks of age and virtually all of them by 16 weeks of age.
Vaccinations given closer than 2 weeks apart can interfere with each other, reducing the immune response. Since there isn't much leeway when giving the vaccines at 2 week intervals it is better to stick to 3 week intervals, in my personal opinion. Many breeders and some veterinarians recommend vaccination every 2 weeks or even closer together. If this sort of vaccination schedule was followed the vaccine may be ineffective.
Some people refer to "nosode" vaccinations. If this was done with your puppy the odds are very very high that it didn't work. Nosodes are not an effective vaccination technique.
Your dog may have an incompetent immune system. This can happen because it never developed properly or because of an external stress such as another illness, a toxin, etc. This is actually pretty unlikely but it can occur.
Beagles do seem to be particularly sensitive to parvovirus in our practice area. I am not sure if there is an inherited immune defect or not leading to this situation. It is just my clinical impression -- I could be wrong, too.
Hunting Dog Hypoglycemia
Q: Dr. Mike-
We have a male Red Beagle that was bred for hunting Snowshoe Hares. They are fast on the trail by comparison to standard Beagles. We purchased the puppy
at 6 weeks of age. He is now 10 months old and is a very intense and hard
hunting dog. He weighs 27 lbs., stands 15" at the withers, and is in
excellent physical condition. He had all of the necessary puppy vaccinations. He started running rabbits at 5 months old and was hunted about 4 days a week adn had developed into an excellent hunter and trail dog, sometimes chasing a rabbit for 45 minutes.When he reached 8.5 months of age, he had a seizure when running a rabbit
trail that he had been on for about 30 minutes. When he went into a seizure
he exhibted the following symptoms:- Yelping like he was injured
- Mouth wide open with his tongue hanging out
- Eyes wide open, not blinking, not rolled back in his head
- Running in tight circles, running into the small bushes and treesOn occasion he would sit on his haunches. When we would call to him, he
would start toward us, then turn and run the other way. When we caught him
he continued to yelp. This seizure lasted approximately 3 to 5 minutes. His
gums were beet red in color. He was confused and afraid, and after the
siezure was over, he was completely exhausted for the rest of the day. Four
days later while hunting him he had another seizure on the third rabbit he
ran. He had the same symptoms, but this time he was also frothing at the
mouth. We took him to the local vet two days later for a complete physical
which included baseline blood work. Everything was "OK" and his glucose
level was 104.Several days later we took him back to the clinic which is on a farm, in
order to hunt closer to where we could have blood drawn. After a very short
run of 3 to 5 minutes on a rabbit, we pulled the dog off the trail and
immediately got him into the clinic for another glucose test. His level had
dropped to 41, and at that point he was diagnosed with Hunting Dog
Hypoglycemia. We have noted the only time this happens is when he is on the
trail of a rabbit. He can chase in our yard with the other dogs for 1/2 hour
without having a seizure. Our vet said to feed a high protein, high complex
carbohydrate, and high fat diet. Feed small meals (6 times per day), and
stop the dog in between rabbits and feed bread with peanut butter and honey.
The problem we have with this is that the dog will not eat in the morning,
or through the day. He eats only in the evening. When the dog is in the
field, he will not eat anything due to the excitement of the hunt. The thing
we do while in the field is squirt honey into his mouth with a squeeze bottle.There have been several changes in the dog's life just prior to the onset of
these seizures. We vaccinated with 7 way DHLPP-CV (he had 5 way DHLPP before this) we wormed with 1% Ivomec (0.3cc) instead of Panacur, the average
outside temperature increased plus 10 degrees, he was hunting on grass (no
snow) and the rabbit scent is much stronger on grass. There was no change in
the feed, or in the schedule of feeding (once per day in the evening)We have the following questions:
1) What can be done to eliminate the seizures when hunting?
2) Will he outgrow these problems?
3) Is there a medication that would eliminate this problem?
4) How long does it take to complex carbohydrate to turn into the sugar he
needs?
5) Does fiber slow the breakdown of carbohydrates into sugar?
6) Is this problem hereditary?
7) If honey is fed just before hunting the dog , does the honey drive up the
insulin resulting in less sugar?
8) Can honey be fed during the hunt at one hour intervals to keep the dog
from going into a seizure?Unless we can come up with a better diet, we are going to try the following:
1 cup of fried hamburger
1 cup of Purina Dog Chow (27% protein, 9% fat)
1 cup white or brown rice
1/2 cup whole milk, mixed with aboveOnce the dog settles into the above diet, we will conduct another field test
to check the glucose level again. Just before hunting, we will squirt 1/2
ounce of honey into the dog's mouth, then put the dog on a rabbit trail for
15 minutes, stop, and immediately do a glucose level check. If his glucose
level is in the rage of 20 to 40 he will no longer be used for hunting.I have enclosed copies of his blood work and notes from our local vet.
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer. Our goal is that our
dog lead a happy, healthy life, which, if possible, will include being able
to hunt.Terri
A: Dear Terri
I have reviewed the records you sent and it is highly likely that your vet
has correctly diagnosed this condition and recommended proper treatment. In
most cases hunting dog hypoglycemia can be controlled by feeding small meals
or treats several times during the day of the hunt. No one I spoke with knew
of a way to handle this situation without being able to feed the dog several
times during the day. The only thing that bothers me is that hunting dog
hypoglycemia is more commonly reported to be an adult onset condition than a
juvenile onset condition.I spoke with the technical vets at Purina and at Hill's just to see if they
had a food recommendation. The Purina vet felt that their prescription diet
called "DCO" may be helpful due its composition but wasn't too confident it
would work well enough to resolve the problem without the benefit of small
feedings on hunting days. The Hill's vet felt that it was probably not
possible to find a diet that would work to resolve this problem without
multiple feedings on hunting days.I reviewed the information on the Veterinary Information Network and NOAH
and did not find anything that really seemed as if it would be helpful
except for a a suggestion for getting dogs to eat during hunting when they
are reluctant to do so. One vet had good success using Gaine's burgers or
similar soft/moist type foods since many dogs find them to be very
attractive and the propylene glycol in them may be beneficial for the
hypoglycemic condition. It is considered to be better to feed a regular
food, especially a carbohydrate based food, than to use a sugar based food
source such as candy, because of rebound insulin effects -- although there
are recommendations to carry candy to treat the seizure problems when they
occur anyway.I checked into hypoglycemia in human athletes using the PubMed site and
there was one article recommending carbohydrate loading the day before an
event and then using carbohydrate containing liquids (I forgot to save this
article so I can't reference it exactly but their recommendation was to
drink 100ml of the liquids every 30 to 60 minutes, I think. It should be
possible to cut that dose considering the size of a beagle, maybe to
something like an ounce at a time). It may be possible to condition your
beagle to drink these liquids instead of water on the days you want to hunt.
Also, I wouldn't rule out the high energy foods made for human athletes
(energy bar type things). It may be that one of these is sufficiently
attractive to make it worth a break during the hunt.Some dogs are reported to outgrow the hypoglycemia problem when it has an
early onset, so there is some hope for this as well. We have seen a hunting
dog that had a lot of problems with this and then less and less problems as
it got older but I don't recall the problem completely disappearing.This is a list of rule-outs for hypoglycemia. I didn't see any evidence for
any of these conditions in the labwork or history you sent, but it sometimes
helps to think about other possibilities. This list is from Dr. Chastain and
Dr. Ganjam's book "Clinical Endocrinology of Companion Animals":Hypoglycemia that first occurs in young dogs:
hepatic vascular anomalies (portosystemic shunts, microvasular shunts)
ketotic hypoglycemia from alanine deficiency
congenital hypothyroidism
glycogen storage diseases (there are several)Adult onset hypoglycemia
insulinoma
extrapancreatic tumors
liver disease
hypoglycemia of hunting dogs
late pregnancy or heavy lactation
intestinal malabsorption with weight lossUnassociated with age
bacteremia
hypopituitarism
hypoadrenocorticism
drug reactions or toxin exposure
sulfonylureas, insulin overdose, salicylates, ethanol, antifreezeIt is important to note that blood sugar levels drop pretty rapidly in blood
once it is drawn unless serum is promptly separated from the cells.
Sometimes blood that is separated in serum separator tubes will still
undergo a loss of glucose, since contact with cells can sometimes still
occur in these tubes. While this isn't likely to be a factor in the labwork,
it has to be considered.Of the differentials that are listed, there is one that you should probably
consider further testing for. Hypoadrenocorticism might be worth ruling out.
In many dogs, this condition will cause high potassium and low sodium levels
in the blood, which is not the case for your dog. However, there are also a
number of cases of hypoadrenocorticism in which bloodwork is essentially
normal. An ACTH response test would help to rule out hypoadrenocorticism.
There is probably a very small chance of a liver circulatory anomoly as
well. This is much less likely with the history and clinical signs you are
seeing but if you wish to pursue all the options it might be worth
considering a bile acid response test just to be sure that there isn't a
liver disorder.Hypoglycemia in hunting dogs is most commonly associated with dogs that are
infrequently hunted and are therefore thought to be likely to be out of
shape and not able to respond to a sudden need for efficient glucose
metabolism. This doesn't sound like your dog but there are cases reported
that seem to occur in dogs that are fit and exercised regularly.Some dogs with seizure disorders can be induced to seizure by excitement.
There is some chance that the hypoglycemia may be an incidental finding and
that a seizure disorder is present. If this is the case you should
eventually see seizure activity that is not related to excitement or hunting.Your questions were:
1) what can be done to eliminate the seizures while huntingYour vet's plan is the standard recommendation- stop and feed the dog
several times during the course of hunting. Since this isn't easy without
his cooperation I am hoping that one of the suggestions will work (
carbohydrate containing sport drinks, energy bar type treats or soft/moist
dog food like Gaines Burgers. If it continues to be impossible to get him to
eat it will be hard to control this problem if it is truly the hunting dog
hypoglycemia syndrome. I think it would be worthwhile to rule out
hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's disease) as well, since that is treatable.2) Will he outgrow these problems?
Maybe. Some dogs seem to just outgrow juvenile onset sugar regulation
problems. Also, working on conditioning him regularly, if that isn't being
done, may be helpful. It sounds like he is probably in good physical
condition, though.3) Is there a medication for this?
Not that I am aware of or can find reference to in the literature available
to me.4) How long does it take a complex carbohydrate to turn into the sugar he needs?
It takes a while, since carbohydrates are pretty much broken down into
disaccharides and monosaccharides to be absorbed into the digestive tract.
The advantage of complex carbohydrates is slower absorbtion which
theoretically leads to more efficient utilization. The idea is to make
glycogen (the form that the body stores sugar in) so that glucose is
available in times of need. When he is actually having a seizure due to
hypoglycemia it is much better to use simple sugars to provide the glucose
he needs --- corn syrup, sugar syrups (almost any pancake syrup), honey,
fruit juices and sugar solutions.There is another option in getting advice on this condition. You may want to
ask your vet to call a veterinary school or referral facility that has a
clinical nutritionist who can make suggestions for helping. I can make this
contact but they are going to need specific information which your vet would
be better at supplying.If none of this helps, the good news is that most dogs with this condition
do fine if they do not hunt or engage in high-energy activities. Even in
dogs in which hunting continues there does not seem to be a really high risk
of death from the condition, although it obviously is a risk and an
interference in their ability to work.Hope this helps some.
Mike Richards, DVM
Question: Terri-
I misplaced the last page of your note and consequently overlooked the rest
of your questions. To sum up the answers to the rest of them:5) Does fiber slow the breakdown of carbohydrates into sugar?
It appears to. For this reason, moderate to high fiber diets are recommended
for diabetic patients in order to keep sugar absorption at slower rates
which should help in the regulation of insulin levels. There is still some
controversy over exactly how effective fiber is at this task but I think
most vets agree that it seems to help some. In theory, that same effect
should be beneficial for hypoglycemia from other causes.6) Is this problem hereditary?
I can not answer that question with certainty in regards to hunting dog
hyoglycemia. I have not seen are reference to heredity for this condition
but it is more likely that heredity hasn't been studied than that it has
been ruled out.7) If honey is fed just before hunting the dog, does the honey drive up the
insulin resulting in less sugar?This question is really hard to answer. This theory has definitely been
mentioned in the literature but recent studies in human athletes seem to
show that glucose levels may drop to levels that would ordinarily be
indicative of hypoglycemia without any clinical signs of low blood sugar
levels. So the question now is whether the drop in blood glucose noticed in
studies of sugar administration and exercise were actually normal or whether
they were induced by the added sugar. My personal opinion is that it
probably does not cause significant problems to give honey prior to hunting
and several times during the hunt.8) Can honey be fed during the hunt at one hour intervals to keep the dog
from going into a seizure.?I think so. This would match the recommendations to use carbohydrate
containing liquids for human athletes on an hourly basis during long
competitions.If you wish to use a diet other than a commercial diet or to make changes to
a commercial diet that are significant it is best to work with a clinical
nutritionist to ensure that the additions to the diet do not cause
imbalances in minerals or vitamins. If you are just going to use the
alternative diet the day before hunting as a way to try to acheive
carbohydrate loading it is less necessary to worry about this step.
Veterinary schools usually have clinical nutritionists and they are
generally very helpful. Your vet can call to review the proposed diet with a
nutritionist at the veterinary school in Wisconsin.I don't think that it is going to be possible to correct this problem with
dietary changes other than supplementing energy levels in some way on the
day of hunting, such as using honey, small meals or other supplements.
However, I am not a nutritionist and have been wrong about issues like this
before. If you hit on a successful formula for avoiding hypoglycemia it
would be great to know what it was.In your plan to evaluate blood glucose during hunting it would be best to
use blood glucose levels in a couple of your other beagles as "controls", if
possible. Checking blood glucose in three or four dogs under similar
conditions may make it easier to evaluate how low the glucose level is in
comparison to a "normal" level established among the unaffected dogs.
Otherwise, it will be hard to tell whether the drop is significant since it
is known that drops in blood glucose can occur during exercise without
inducing clinical signs of hypoglycemia even if they might normally occur in
a resting dog with similar glucose levels.Good luck with this. It is a challenging case.
Mike Richards, DVM
This page was last edited 04/29/08
