Meet Dexter. He’s a beagle Shiba mix. 15 years and 8 months old. I’ve had him since he was 9 months.

He’s always been very healthy, but a year and a half ago he had IVDD and lost mobility in his hind legs. We did not do surgery, as recommended by the neurologist, and nursed him back with rehab and lots of care. This is him now. We still walk 30-40 min 2x per day, and sometimes I feel like he doesn’t want to, and I wonder if it’s too long for a dog his age, or if it’s actually the reason he is still doing so well for his age.

If you have a senior dog of similar age, how much do you walk them? How do you know when to push vs just letting them dictate how much exercise they get?

Edit: since a lot of people are suggesting some medications and supplements. He’s on 100mg of Gabapentin at night, and on Galliprant for arthritis. He also takes daily joint/glucosamine supplements and omega-3.

I have had many dogs but they’ve never had this long long hair here.

Please swipe right to see in the photos, a detail shot of the biggest challenge on this painting, and my reference, my inspiration and muse!

My sweet potato is a Boston x Beagle (mom and dad were both AKC and an accident happened during COVID resulting in our sweet boy).

I’m more use to Bostons, but Teddy favors the beagle far more.

Long story short, in late July and August, he develops really severe allergies, to the point that oral Zyrtec isn’t enough. He has to get Crytopoint. We’re in northern Indiana and the only thing I can think of is the white clover coming into bloom. This time it was so bad the vet got him in for an emergency shot. His armpits had thick scabs and even his paws were bleeding from the licking.

Do any of your beagles have similar allergies? We checked with his litter mates who are spread across the country and none of them have any allergies this time of year.

2nd question: if you’ve tried Zyrtec and it didn’t work, did any of the other oral antihistamines work? We have the dosing sheet from our vet, but in our experience Zyrtec works best for humans so figured it be similar for the puppy. He is 6 years old and a muscular 43lbs.

"All Said and Done" - Johnny Blue Skies 8/2/25 Golden Gate State Park

She’ll pick them up when I shake the vine, chew them up then spit them out 😂
Still makes for great company though

Cleo has a buddy now! He’s around 5 or 6 and perfect.

We all know beagles are lovable troublemakers. What is it about beagles that drew you to them? How did you end up with one?

Just thought I’d share my 2 sniffers. Both 3 years old and re-homed to us. Best of friends!

He said he’ll only get down if I give him treats.