My brother has 2 dogs that has enlarged hearts. They also were out of breath and hacking because of the large hearts he was told by the VET. So for two years he stopped running them and retired them. Spending About $300.00 a month in MEDS just to keep the dogs alive, the pills were to thin out the blood and make the heart pump better, SO HE THOUGH .After talking to a another hunter who had rabbit dogs all his life says that all beagles have large hearts due to needing a lot of air due to the amount of running they do. The hacking he said was LUNG WORM. So went back to the vet and told him what he was told and behold it was ALL TRUE. Spent $7200.00 in 2 years at the vet for dogs that didn't need the meds. He was not very happy with the vet. It seems that 20 pills will clean up the worms and they are done.  The worms comes from outside from eating grass,snalis,dog poo and will make them sick. It was a wounder that he never lost the dogs even though of putting them down they were so bad, just thought they were dieing. When the worms fills up the lung the dog will smother, so you can see after 2 years of worms laying eggs in the lung how full the lungs were with worms, it's amazing they are still alive.  So my point is make sure you ask around if you are having trouble with your dogs, it don't hurt. The dogs will be back in the woods this fall coming and the brother changed to a new VET.

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Sorry not just for beagles, but for all dogs.

Wow, Was it ever suggested that he do a blood test on the dogs. ? Surprised he wasn't ? If not than he should switch vets. I am not sure about lung worm, but a Sentinel Pill monthly keep your dog worm free.

I would also recommend that before putting any dog on expensive treatment program that you get a second opinion.

no worry's Fred he has a new vet now.

This doesnt surprise me at all. I have had it with the couple local vets I have visited recently.

My experience here locally has been they are still pushing unneeded vaccinations as well a early spay and neuters. They push their dog foods ( junk). You will learn much more about your dog and its care from online dog forums then your vet will ever teach you. Im still in search of a good vet here which Im sure there has to be. Ideally finding one that also has hunting dogs would be the best option.

Very surprised with this dog they wouldnt do a simple blood test which should have showed the worms. Most times when a dog is fatigued while hunting can also be heart worm. 

I agree Jason,I shocked they didn't suggest a blood test,in fact I would have asked for one. And possibly a chest X-ray.
I would have been checking on heart worm as well
I wouldn't own a beagle that wasn't on a monthly worm and fle pill
As beagles are always at high risk for worms. Chase is on sentinel

Agree Fred, both my setters are on Sentinel as well. Its expensive but a lot cheaper than treatment for heart worms etc.

Due diligence seems to be on the owners to get second opinions and research on their own. Guess animal healthcare is kind of like our own healthcare these days.

Thats exactly they way it is except the dog dont have an MCP card. They tell me there is insurance you can get. I dont know if anyone has had any experience with that. I haven't.

Its like I tell people, the price you pay for the dog is the cheap part. Proper feed and care afterwards is where the costs can run up. My dog hunts out of province so I keep up on his shots and I have a check up for him every year. Its not cheap.

Chest X-ray was done but the results were still the same, didn't need the pills. for a first time owner now he will be reading up on s@#% befor anything is done to his dogs

In this case the chest Xray probably wouldn't have shown up the lungworm, but the symptoms would almost beg to have one done. The blood test would have shown up the worms.

When it comes to getting a dog, buying one is the easy part. Long before you buy one you should be doing your homework. I am a big believer in researching your breed and then research the history of the parents, grand parents,and great grand parents if parents are less than 5 years old. for medical, temperament problems. If I don't know the history of at least the parents and grand parents. I wont touch it with a 10 foot pole. I dont care if they come with a $500 cabelas gift card.

Bad hips, eyes, ear etc. Once you own it then you buy all the hereditary faults.And you will be stuck with it for 5-10 years.

Yearly maintenance costs need to be factored in,check ups, worming and shots are a minimum.

Proper food is also a big consideration, as humans we arent eating right , so feeding our dogs what we eating is probably not doing your dog any health favours.

We take medical care for granted, we have a Medical Care system that gives us lots of almost free care. Unfortunately our pets don't, and its not until we have to take our dogs to vets we realize just how expensive medical care is.

And it ain't going to get any cheaper.

Agree Fred,

The older you get the more you want to figure out for yourself as you learn that the info you get from every professional many not always be the only info out there on a topic.

Purchased my current dog from a breeder that has OFA tests of good or excellent going back many generations as well as all dogs are tested for PRA before breeding. Choosing a breeder that is really focused on the genetic well being of the breed is as important as one that breeds for field capability. There are no guarentee`s but better odds when tests are done on breeding stock.  The $1000-$1500 you pay for a genetically sound animal is a drop in the bucket compared to cost of ownership. I feed mine a high quality kibble but dogs also need real whole foods for peek performance.

Monthly wormers for a hunting dog are a must, annual check ups I agree with however from what I have seen may not be worth the money. I check my dogs over all the time for lumps, teeth problems etc...  Last vet check I kept my mouth shut until after she had examined the dog, she missed a few things that I feel she should have brought up. When I brought them up she then advised additional tests. Makes me wonder if the annual check is more of a renvenue generator versus preventative measures. My vet requires an annual in order to get the wormer.  Shots are not needed every year much research shows that most animals have life time immunity after age 3 , rabies is the exception but only needed every 3 years.  Shots can actually harm a dogs immune system more than help,  Even though a higher cost vets should be promoting titer tests every 2-3 years to test for immunities.

I stopped Chases immunity shots when he was 4. I keep his rabies current. But Chase with probably hunt in 3 or 4 provinces in a season.He is death on coons and skunks, but knock on wood he hasn't encountered a porcupine yet. He is on Sentinel,for worms, and I usually have a yearly check up before I go west in September, I do that for two reasons but mostly for the health certificate required to drive thru USA. But it gives me a baseline to watch him by. Its peace of mind for me, once out west he is hunting twice a day for about 7-9 hours a day, sometimes in 30 degree temps, he gets lean in a hurry.

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