Beagle owners need to have first-hand knowledge about health problems with beagles, as opposed to just them depending on the vet whenever their pet gets sick.
Arming yourself with information about the different diseases your Beagle can pick up, you can prevent them from happening, thereby lessening the need to go to your Beagle’s doctor, making you and your pet happier.
Most health problems with Beagles are related to their need for much activity. Since they were bred as hunting dogs, Beagles love to run around and dig everywhere, as they are also curious by nature. Digging around stuff and going places can cause your dog to catch different bacteria and may get scratches and marks on its skin. Beagles have loose skin, making it vulnerable to injury, and these injuries can possibly lead to infection, specially if your pet also picked up bacteria on his journeys. Health problems with Beagles like Alopecia universalis can cause your dog to shed its hair and become bald, or have dandruff-like particles on the skin. Irritated skin can also lead to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, wherein the skin becomes very weak and can get injured quite easily.
What are the most common areas that cause Health Problems with Beagles
According to the National Beagle Club of America, health problems with Beagles concern mostly its eyes, as for some unknown reason, the breed is prone to a plethora of eye diseases. A beagle can have optic nerve hypoplasia, a condition wherein one of the Beagle’s eyes is smaller than its socket. A beagle can also have inverted eyelids, glaucoma, cataracts, blocked tear ducts and progressive renal atrophy. Unfortunately some of these diseases are genetic, so there is nothing the owners can do to stop it from happening.
Being a pet with a healthy appetite, Beagles should be put under a strict diet. Letting your pet eat as much as it wants with each meal can result in health problems with Beagles, specifically vascular ones. Beagles can easily become overweight if not supervised properly, and this can lead to several problems with its circulatory system. These include an inability for the blood to clot, dilated cardiomyopathy, anemia, and several types of heart defects. Beagle owners should not give their Beagles more than the recommended amount of food per day, even if their pet keeps asking for more. Also, it’s important that your pet gets enough exercise, because it also prevents muscular health problems with Beagles, specially as they get older.
Unknown to most pet owners, health problems with Beagles can mirror several health problems humans have. For example, your Beagle can be allergic to certain things and can become sick because of improper hygiene. One example is infection in a Beagle’s floppy ears. Since it’s so large, moisture can easily get trapped and build up inside the ear, which not only causes an infection, but can make your dog deaf as well. Regular cleaning and proper care when bathing can help prevent this problem.
While many of these conditions can be remedied by a trip to a vet, others require long care and maintenance. As difficult as it may be, it is the owner’s duty and responsibility to give their pet adequate home care in return for all the joy they have given their owners.