Help Required - We're at our wits' end with Beagle yelping in pain

Seeking help
1

Hey everyone,

We’re really hoping you can help us out with this slightly bizarre issue we’re dealing with.

We have a 7-year-old male Beagle named Bailey who has been in perfect health until recently. He’s always been a well-behaved and good dog.

Late last week, he started yelping for no obvious reason. It’s an extremely loud, high-pitched scream, and then he goes back to behaving normally. It escalated to the point where he’d yelp several times and be clearly in a lot of pain before seemingly being fine again.

We took him to the vet on Saturday morning, and they suspected a trapped nerve issue since he yelped during the examination. We got a few different medications for pain relief, including a nerve-specific pain relief and muscle relaxant (Metacam). However, these didn’t seem to have any impact, so we called the vet yesterday for advice. They asked us to come back in as they had a specialist on duty.

The specialist examined Bailey, bending him in every conceivable way, but he didn’t make a peep. All legs, neck, back—everything was checked. We walked up and down the car park, and he was absolutely fine. The vet must think we’re crazy.

But once we got home, he went back to the random screams. He’s now holding his front left leg up, and it seems to be triggered when he tries to place it down after sleeping. The vet thoroughly checked all the joints in his leg, and everything seemed in order.

For some reason, it seems to be linked to sleeping, tiredness, or evenings and isn’t always present.

The sudden, loud yelps are giving us a heart attack and anxiety every time he wakes from a nap, as we wait to see if he’s going to scream out.

We really don’t know what to do. The painkillers and other drugs haven’t had any impact. When we take him to the vet, he acts perfectly fine.

Could it be some sort of arthritis causing his joints to seize up after sleeping? Can we get much stronger painkillers?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

2

If this were my dog, I would immediately look into getting more specific tests done. First, I would get X-rays of the areas that seem to be affecting him. I would also have a CBC blood panel done to see if anything shows up.

You might want to consider taking him to a different vet for a second opinion. My vet team wouldn’t have just left it at physical manipulation, they would have wanted X-rays and blood tests. Just giving pain medication is clearly not enough; you need to know what is causing the pain. In my opinion, the vet you saw isn’t doing enough for your dog or for you.

There could be a pinched nerve in his spine or neck causing this. Only an X-ray will tell you if this is the case.

3

Thank you for your reply Anne :slightly_smiling_face:

To be fair, the vet did mention that X-rays (estimated at £600) and an MRI (estimated at £2000-3000) could be done, but since our dog decided to act perfectly fine during the examination, the vet wasn’t pushing for them at this stage. He suggested continuing with the medication for a week and a half before returning.

Obviously, the underlying issue needs to be addressed, but the extremely loud yelps/barks/screams he lets out without warning are terrifying. After a few seconds of walking it off, he’s back to pottering around with a waggy tail. If the pain relief could take the edge off enough to stop the screaming, we could be more patient with other treatments.

It’s so puzzling that he didn’t show any signs of an issue during the examination (which was quite thorough!), yet he screams the place down when putting his foot down after a sleep.

4

My first thought when I see a post that starts with “random pain” and “beagle” is spinal issue. Almost every beagle have a gene that increases their chances of developing IVDD. The fact that the front leg is involved puzzles me.

5

I agree with AnushkaSharma, my first guess would be a spinal condition. The front leg involvement could be caused by a spinal issue in the cervical area; it does not have to be a lower spine problem. I see a great need for some imaging tests, possibly an MRI. If he were mine, I would take him to see a neurologist. I understand that will be costly, but I believe the information obtained will be important for an appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan.

6

As previously said, he was evaluated by a professional, specifically a neurologist, who performed comprehensive physical testing on every joint, back, neck, paw, and mouth, and Bailey showed no reaction.

7

Sounds like you’re making progress; now it’s a waiting game. Please keep us updated as you move through this process.