It is very important to clean your Beagle’s ears from time to time. You might be amazed at how much dirt and debris can gather in your dog’s ear in a a short period of time. An unclean Beagle ear is likely to get infected or otherwise irritate your dog leading to some major problems. If your Beagle, because of irritation, starts to shake their head violently or roughly scratch their ears, they can develop bleeding beneath the skin. This ear flap hematoma will need to be treat by your veterinarian and might require surgery. So save yourself and your Beagle this trouble by cleaning their ears often. Here is how.
How To Clean Your Beagle’s Ears
You will need cotton balls, alcohol and baby oil. Moisten the cotton balls with the alcohol and gently clean the exposed area of the ear. Do not penetrate deeply into the ear canal. Since you will be removing most of their protective oils with the alcohol, apply a light layer of baby oil to the ear when you are finished. If you notice a heavy, foul odor you should make an appointment with your veterinarian. They might have an ear infection that will need to be treated. Clean your Beagle’s ears like this once a week to keep them healthy.
The Ear Canal
You should never need to clean your Beagle’s ear canal if they are healthy. You should however, regularly examine the ear canal. If you notice a foul smell or a sloshing sound when you rub the base of the ear you might have an ear infection on your hands. Immediately consult your veterinarian for a diagnosis and treatment. If you know for a fact that your dog does not have an ear infection and feel the need to clean out the ear canal, you can use an otic solution available at your vets office.
By nature, Beagles are a curious and adventurous breed. This means that from time to time, you will probably need to perform some kind of first aid on them to fix the mess that they have gotten into. Here are some of the more common Beagle first aid situations.
Insect Stings
A Beagle will not hesitate to chase that wasp, hornet or bee around the yard. If they get lucky enough to catch it they might get rewarded with a painful sting. To treat the sting, wash the area with a solution of bicarbonate of soda. If the sting is in a sensitive area like the mouth, eyes or nose you should consult your veterinarian.
Bites
From time to time your Beagle might find themselves in a fight with one of your other dogs or god forbid, a stray. If this were to happen you should wash the wound with a mild antiseptic and bandage it as good as possible. Consult a veterinarian immediately if the bite was from a wild animal or from a dog that you can not verify rabies vaccination status on. If the wound is large enough to require stitches visit a vet.
Debris in Eye
If your Beagle closes its eyes suddenly and violently or can not keep an eye open, it might have debris like sand or dirt in the eye. TO clear the debris you should rinse the eye with an eye wash. Avoid straight tap water as it could dry their eye further. If yo must use tap water, first boil it and then cool it before using it. When using tap water, use a plastic syringe to apply it but be careful not to touch the eye itself. If the problem persists call your veterinarian for further treatment as your Beagle might have an eye infection.
Heat Stroke
If your Beagle develops heat stroke you will notice signs such as rapid panting, warm and dry skin, bright red gums, a glazed or distant expression and vomiting. A Beagle suffering from heat stroke needs to have their temperature brought down quickly before they lose consciousness. Place them in a cool bath or hose them off with cool water. Do not use ice as you could actually over cool them. While cooling them down with cool water, massage their skin and flex their limbs to encourage blood flow. Take your dog to a veterinarian as soon as the immediate danger is over.
Poisonings are a common problem for dogs because of how quickly they can consume food. With Beagles this problem is magnified by the fact that they have a voracious appetite, the ability to sniff out food and a rather small size making them vulnerable to lesser qualities of toxins. One toxin that you should pay particular attention to, especially around the holidays is chocolate.
What is Chocolate Toxicity?
Chocolate Toxicity is poisoning caused by the ingestion of Theobromine that is found in chocolates. Theobromine is a Xanthine Alkaloid in the same family as caffeine. It is present in different quantities depending on the type of chocolate. Milk chocolate contains 44 mg per ounce, semi sweet chocolate contains 150 mg per ounce and baker’s chocolate contains 390 mg per ounce. The amount that your dog needs to eat to be toxic depends on their size and their sensitivity to Theobromine.
What are signs or symptoms of poisoning?
Theobromine targets the central nervous system, cardiovascular system and the peripheral nerves. The signs of poisoning include vomiting, hyperactivity, diarrhea, restlessness, excessive urination, heart arrhythmia, excessive body temperature, seizures, muscle tremors, coma and death.
How is Chocolate Toxicity diagnosed?
The symptoms of this type of poisoning can mimic those of many other poisonings. For a positive diagnosis your dogs stomach contents, blood or urine can be analyzed for presence of Theobromine.
How is it treated?
If you suspect that your dog has ingested chocolate you should contact your veterinarian or emergency veterinary hospital as soon as possible. Your vet will induce vomiting to attempt to remove as much of the toxin as possible. They will also give your Beagle activated charcoal to attempt to absorb as much of the Theobromine as possible. There is no actual antidote for Chocolate Toxicity however. Treatment for the condition is to treat the affects of the poisoning so that your dog will survive once the poison has worked its way through their body. Your vet will monitor your dogs condition and administer medications as necessary. This might include anti-convulsants, sedatives and intravenous fluids.
How much chocolate is toxic?
This differs based on the size of the dog and their particular sensitivity. For a Beagle it can be as little as a few ounces of unsweetened baker’s chocolate. Here is a chart that you can use as a general guideline to find out toxic levels although every effort should be made so that your dog never ingests any chocolate.
Toxic Chocolate Dosages
| Dog’s weight in pounds | Amount of milk chocolate in ounces | Amount of unsweetened chocolate in ounces. | Approximate amount of Theobromine |
| 5 | 4 oz | 0.5 oz | 200 mg |
| 10 | 8 oz | 1.5 oz | 400 mg |
| 20 | 16 oz | 2.5 oz | 900 mg |
| 30 | 28 oz | 3.2 oz | 1300 mg |
| 40 | 40 oz | 4.5 oz | 1800 mg |
| 50 | 48 oz | 5.5 oz | 2250 mg |
| 60 | 60 oz | 6.7 oz | 2700 mg |
Sarcoptic Mange is a common skin disease caused by infection of your Beagle with the Sarcoptic Scabei Mite. These mites are microscopic so you can not see them with the naked eye. They have a lifespan of 3-4 weeks and after mating the female will burrow into your dog’s skin and deposit 3-4 eggs. When the eggs hatch they travel on the skin and the process begins again.
Symptoms
Symptoms that your dog is affected by Sarcoptic Mange include red scaly and itchy skin. Hair loss also can occur as well as secondary infections caused by the excessive itching and scratching. The mite prefers less hairy parts of your dogs body so stomachs, elbows, arm pits and ears are at particular risk.
Diagnosis
The most common way of diagnosing Sarcoptic Mange is through a skin scraping. A sample is taken and diagnosed under a microscope. The diagnosis is made either by seeing the mites or a skilled pathologist might simply recognize the type of inflammation present as that being caused by this type of mite. A negative skin scraping however does not mean that your Beagle does not have Sarcoptic Mange. Because of this, your vet will often just treat your Beagle for Sarcoptic Mange without a 100 percent sure diagnosis. It is a simple treatment that works very well so if it is Sarcoptic Mange your dog will show signs of improvement within a few weeks.If there is no improvement they will then rule out Sarcoptic Mange.
Treatment
Luckily this condition is easily cured with a number of different medications. This can range from topical treatments to injections to shampoos. You should treat all of the animals in your home since it is so easily spread from dog to dog. Humans need not worry about treatment since the mite can not complete its life cycle on humans and infection will not last. You should also be sure to wash or replace all of your dogs bedding
Do you do your own auto repair service? Are you planning on flushing out your radiator anytime soon? Do you have a leaky radiator? If the answer is yes to any of those questions you need to be aware of the dangers of antifreeze and Beagles. While it might be okay for your car, it is lethal to your dog.
Why are dogs attracted to antifreeze?
Antifreeze has a sweet smell and taste that it appealing to dogs. With the sense of smell that our Beagles have they can be particularly vulnerable to this attraction.
Why is it deadly to dogs?
The Ethelyn Glycol in antifreeze is converted into an acid by the liver. This acid will ravage your pets body, particularly the kidneys. The small size of Beagles means that it does not take much to kill them. A dosage of mere tablespoons can be fatal.
What are some symptoms of antifreeze poisoning?
The first symptoms of antifreeze poisoning is excessive thirst and excessive urination. This is soon followed by loss of coordination, nausea, weakness, tremors, rapid breathing, vomiting, rapid heart rate, convulsions, paralysis and depression. The symptoms will appear within minutes of ingestion of antifreeze and last up to 12 hours. After the symptoms disappear, the danger is not over. After that point the liver has converted the poison into a crystalline acid that will now attack the kidneys. When this occurs additional symptoms will appear such as loss of appetite, dehydration, inability to urinate, salivating, seizures, ulcers, coma and eventually death.
What is the treatment for antifreeze poisoning?
If you suspect that your dog has ingested antifreeze you need to contact your vet immediately. They will induce vomiting and feed your Beagle activated charcoal to absorb the antifreeze. If treatment is begun within the first 12 hours of ingestion, complete recovery is possible. After that point the chances of your pet recovering are greatly reduced.
How can I prevent poisoning?
There are two things that you should do. First off you should make sure that antifreeze is not accessible to your dog. Clean up any spills immediately, properly store used and new antifreeze and fix automobile coolant leaks. Second you should switch to a newer and safer antifreeze made from Propylene Glycol. Propylene Glycol is not toxic when ingested by pets.
My vet has always said, “If there were a poster child for canine epilepsy, it would be a Beagle.” This is a sad fact that every Beagle owner and potential Beagle owner should be aware of. It is a condition that is easily treated and managed but you need to know the signs of this condition and how to properly treat it.
What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a disorder that causes frequent seizures. In a seizure your dog will suffer from loss of consciousness and loss of motor control. Seizures are caused by a sudden and drastic change in the electrical activity in the brain.
How do I know if my Beagle is having a seizure and what should I do?
The symptoms of a seizure are often terrifying to see. Your dog will collapse, drool and shake their legs. It looks worse than it is and your dog will generally feel no pain although they will show signs of confusion. Your dog will not swallow their tongue so do not reach into their mouth as you will risk getting bit. Simply keep your dog on the floor until it passes which should be in a few minutes. If it lasts longer than 5 minutes you need to get medical assistance for your dog as they could face the risk of heat stroke.
What should I do after a seizure?
After you notice your dog having a seizure you should make them an appointment at your veterinarians office. Your vet will perform blood tests that can rule out any other causes of seizures such as brain tumors, cancer, heart problems, etc. Epilepsy is diagnosed by ruling out other possible medical conditions. Just because your Beagle has had a seizure though does not mean your dog has epilepsy. It is very possible that they will never have one again or that they will occur so infrequently that they do not need treatment. Epileptic dogs are dogs that have them frequently.
How is epilepsy treated?
If your Beagle is not having seizures often your vet will usually prescribe Valium. You will give your animal a Valium after a seizure to prevent cluster seizures from occurring. If your dog is a true epileptic however and has them frequently they will typically be prescribed Phenobarbital. Phenobarbital can cause liver damage however with prolonged treatment so once on this type of therapy your Beagle will need to get their liver enzymes tested regularly.