Are Beagles Susceptible to Cancer
Beagles are a very popular breed with pet owners. They have many important attributes that other dogs don’t have, like incredible smelling skills. But they are also susceptible to many diseases, starting from the simplest and the most peaceful ones, and finishing on the almost always lethal cancer.
Beagles are especially prone to getting cancer. Many owners don’t notice the symptoms early enough and they can’t manage to cure this terrible illness in time. Hence, the early detection of cancer is incredibly important, as your pet’s life completely depends on this. And that is why you need to know the most notable symptoms of various cancer types.
Detection Symptoms
There are as many obvious symptoms for cancer, as there are unnoticeable and invisible ones. While most critical signs appear on further stages of cancer development, noticing them in time will save your pet’s life.
Below is a short list of such signs:
- Loss of weight. If for a weird and unpredictable reason your Beagle is losing weight, while still eating enough and having a great appetite, it is surely the green sign, indicating that you should visit a vet. Further verdicts will be made by them, be it cancer or any other condition.
- Lethargy, or no will to do anything. This symptom shows that dog’s immune system is struggling and fighting with something unusual and strong. People sometimes get this feeling as well. It’s best to take the pet to a vet clinic.
- Unusual change of behavior. If a Beagle becomes angry for no reason in particular, starts biting on thing that it didn’t bite on before etc. you should check if the dog’s inner systems are correctly working. And one thing that may block them from doing so is, unsurprisingly, cancer.
- Skin, teeth problems.
- Strange smells.
Different Cancer Types
There’s never just a single type of cancer that can appear – there are multiple known occurrences of this illness in Beagles. Mostly they are named by the organ(s), inside of which they exist:
- Bladder cancer. Specific symptoms are struggles while urinating, or even full inability to do so. Probably in case of bladder cancer, the pet will hold up until the last moment, or even won’t go to a potty at all. Can’t be treated surgically in an overwhelming amount of cases, thus treated with chemotherapy.
- Bone tumors. In this case, the dog will feel an acute amount of pain, and it will probably be unable to focus on anything specific for a long time, it will need a lot of rest etc. In limited cases the bone removal is possible. Sometimes, chemotherapy helps. Otherwise an animal is, unfortunately, doomed.
- Liver cancer (hepatic cancer). Weight loss mostly occurs in case of liver cancer, on the single line with fatigue and loss of appetite. Can be treated surgically, by removing an affected part of the liver.
- Thyroid cancer. Treated via irradiation or surgical intrusion.
- Lung cancer (lung carcinoma). Probably the most infamous cancer type of all, as treating it is basically a dice roll, betting on a creature’s life. Nonetheless, it is treated with chemotherapy and sometimes surgical intervention can help lighten the effects of the illness.
- Mammary tumor. Quite easy to identify, as the tumor probably will be clearly observed from the outside. The size of the mammary gland on the animal will be increased. The simplest of all possible treatments, and probably the most reasonable, is the surgical removal of the gland.
- Bladder cancer. Specific symptoms are struggles while urinating, or even full inability to do so. Probably in case of bladder cancer, the pet will hold up until the last moment, or even won’t go to a potty at all. Can’t be treated surgically in an overwhelming amount of cases, thus treated with chemotherapy.
- Bone tumors. In this case, the dog will feel an acute amount of pain, and it will probably be unable to focus on anything specific for a long time, it will need a lot of rest etc. In limited cases the bone removal is possible. Sometimes, chemotherapy helps. Otherwise an animal is, unfortunately, doomed.
- Liver cancer (hepatic cancer). Weight loss mostly occurs in case of liver cancer, on the single line with fatigue and loss of appetite. Can be treated surgically, by removing an affected part of the liver.
- Thyroid cancer. Treated via irradiation or surgical intrusion.
- Lung cancer (lung carcinoma). Probably the most infamous cancer type of all, as treating it is basically a dice roll, betting on a creature’s life. Nonetheless, it is treated with chemotherapy and sometimes surgical intervention can help lighten the effects of the illness.
- Mammary tumor. Quite easy to identify, as the tumor probably will be clearly observed from the outside. The size of the mammary gland on the animal will be increased. The simplest of all possible treatments, and probably the most reasonable, is the surgical removal of the gland.
Finally, we wish you the best of luck with your Beagle, and thank you for reading.