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has anyone dealt with a dog with megaesophagus (urgent)


jackp

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i have a 4 year old huntaway/retriever cross who was born with a condition called megaesophagus (an enlarged oesophugus). As a result food does not travel properly down his throat and into his stomach, reulting in hi regurgitating. I have been able to manage the condition till now by soaking his food and feeding him at a height so gravity aids the foods travel down his throat. 6 weeks ago things started going wrong. nothing i do seems to work and he isn't holding down his food. he has gone from a 36kg healthy dog to a 29kg shadow of himself. I have racked up thousands of dollars in vet bills (3 different vets and a vetinary specialist) and the general concensus is that i've been lucky to get him this far and that he will need to be put down. He's my best mate and i can't bear the thought of this (though i will have to if i can't get him holding down food as the alternative is that he will slowly starve to death). has anyone successfully dealt with this condition in a dog? (apparantly common in german sheppards and more common in large breeds than smaller dogs). I have spent hours on the internet and tried all the advice i can (medication, feeding methods etc.).

I realise my situation may be hopeless, but i refuse to give up till I've tried every available avenue.

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What about taking puppy food (smaller pellets) and mixing it with hot water so that it becomes like a thick drink, just make sure to make it very sloppy. Or getting vitamins and Minerals and putting it in water to keep his strength up until he gets stronger and have the need to try and eat again. Even if you have to physically try and feed him with very watered food in a syringe. All the best to you, its a sad day if our pets get ill. Have you tried purified meat, it will be more easier to slide down the throat as pellets. Sorry just trying my best to think of ideas for you

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I have tried every type of food imaginable. He was first diagnosed about 3 years ago (though he has always had issues with regurgitation). At the time I did a lot of experimenting and eventually found that purina 1 large breed dried food, soaked in boiling water and left to cool, worked best. he was fine on that up until about 6 weeks ago. then he just suddenly wouldn't hold anything down. i always put his food up high so he has to be standing to get it. have since moved to putting it on the table so he is standing on his hind legs while feeding. Have tried holding him vertical sfter feeding aswell. In terms of different foods, in the last month or so i have tried beef and chicken mince (raw and cooked), tinned food, soaked dried food and every combination possible. I have tried pureeing his food so it resembles a runny milkshake, aswell as feeding him small amounts many times a day. Nothing seems to work for any length of time and he continues to lose weight.

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he has had a good day today. the pureed food (cooked mince with pasta and vegetables pureed down to a milkshake) fed from a table seems to be working better than anything else. he has only been sick a little bit and i think he is retaining enough food. (yesterday he wasn't too bad on the same food). i am going to continue this feeding regime and hope for the best.

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check out that link mcrudd posted bro looks like there are some good results with dogs that have that disorder.hope your dog gets better

yeah, i've been on those sites, they were quite helpful.

thanks everyone for responding. i am a bit more hopeful after today, but i have a nasty feeling that i've done all i can do. here's hoping i'm wrong

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It does sound like you've tried a heck ton of stuff, poor dog :(. I know nothing of the condition till now but let me just make sure I have the info on the condition right: Your dog is not able to swallow food properly and ends up regurgitating it back quite often, leading to basically starving from the inefficient absorption of nutrition. Blending the food to get rid of chunks and seating the dog upright, are ways to help keep the food down, since gravity aids the swallowing.

Now my first question is whether your dos is throwing up while he's in the upright position or after you let him down? I'm no vet. I'm not even that experienced with dogs (only just got a puppy last month) but from thinking through the problems, there should be other ways to help your dog. If he's regurgitating after you put him down, it might help just to keep upright for longer? Additionally, it might help is to massage your dog's esophagus after he eats, like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-0Q8_9_07k. I know that's similar to how I force my cat to swallow pills/tablets, so if using that in combination to having your dog seated vertically after meals, might help your dog keep food down?

And since starving is a problem, it might be a good idea to try adding some extra nutrients to his diet if he is able to keep food down. For example, you can add a bit of nutrigel to his meals, it's often used for old dogs or those with poor appetite, to mixing a bit in your dog's food may help (http://www.ethicalagents.co.nz/Nutrigel.html). You might also want to try feeding higher protein foods than dog biscuits (ie. raw meat or kibble without grains) it might just give him a little extra substance. I know you said you've tried chicken mince, but have you tried putting that through the blender with some water too? Actually if you freeze the chicken meat, blend it frozen, then add some water, and blend some more, I imagine you could get a smoother consistency since frozen meat blends better than thawed. In fact, rather than just blending with water, you can boil some chicken frames to make chicken broth, and blend the broth with the chicken mince, that way even the liquid will provide some extra sustenance if your dog can keep it down.

I can't tell what you have and haven't tried, but those are just some suggestions and since you seem to be running out of options, I thought any suggestions would be better than nothing.

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Bruce is certainly holding down the pureed food better than anything else, he's even gaining a small amount of weight. He has gone the last few days without regurgitating too many times. my mother is looking after him at the moment, as she is able to feed him 5 times a day. he is also getting the odd lump of raw mince as well. he is still coughing quite a bit, but hopefully as he gets back his strength things will improve. that said, he is certainly not out of the woods. there is still the issue of him getting pnemonia (a common accurence with animals who have the condition). just going to have to wait and see how he goes

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Bruce is certainly holding down the pureed food better than anything else, he's even gaining a small amount of weight. He has gone the last few days without regurgitating too many times. my mother is looking after him at the moment, as she is able to feed him 5 times a day. he is also getting the odd lump of raw mince as well. he is still coughing quite a bit, but hopefully as he gets back his strength things will improve. that said, he is certainly not out of the woods. there is still the issue of him getting pnemonia (a common accurence with animals who have the condition). just going to have to wait and see how he goes

Glad he's doing better. I can't imagine what it'd be like watching your dog suffer from eating :(. I love watching my dog eat his raw meaty meals, it must be so sad that your dog can't enjoy his meals properly. The one time my pupppy did throw up his meal (I added egg for the first time) I felt my heart break a little just watching it happen and seeing how much it exhausts him to do it and that's not even close to what you guys go through every day. I really wish you and your doggie the best.

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just come back from mums place. bruce's gains were shortlived. he hasn't held anything down all day and i'm fairly certain he has pneumonia again. we're going to call the vet in the morning, but i already know what he'll tell us.

Gutted mate, if you need anything you know where I am just let me know..

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on wednesday i had organised for a vet to come round to the house and put bruce down. the previous few days he was regurgitating everything he ate and he was miserable. I finished work at midday, with the intention of spending the afternoon with him before the vet arrived. something seemed different. he was still coughing and having trouble breathing, but he seemed better. his eyes were a bit brighter and he wagged his tail every time i spoke to him. I called the vet and told him not to come. Since then bruce has been getting better and better. he hasn't regurgitated anything in the last couple of days and his demeanor is much better. he is still very skinny and doesn't have the energy he normally has, but he is happy and i am confident he will get back to his former glory. i'm not sure what prompted the sudden change, but i have been constantly tinkering with his food. i have now settled on a mix of premium mince, vegetables and pasta (it's about 60% mince and i use the premium mince as it has a lower fat content). It seems that foods high in fat and protein set him off. Once i've cooked the food i put it through the food processor and store it. when i feed him i add boiling water and mix it into a slush. i have made him a bailey chair to keep him upright before and after feeding, but he hates it, so i feed him on the stairs and hold him upright afterwards. I am currently feeding him 3 times a day with 2 feeds of raw mince (about 100g a time) in between.

while i feel terrible when i think about how close i came to putting him down, i am stoked that he seems to be recovering. it's been hideous watching his decline, but now he's on the up life is much happier.

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That's good news for Bruce. Just wondering did you try rice instead of pasta? It's lighter on the digestion and less protein than pasta, whereas you mentioned high protein he didn't do well on. I know for humans wheat has a part that is indigestible but am not sure if a dog's stomach can cope with it or not.

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