LoveToKnow Dogs:AllComments

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Comments

Hi Cheryl,

Welcome to the site, and thanks for sharing what's working for your dog. Megaesophagus can be such a difficult and frightening condition to deal with. Maybe your tips will help someone else. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly

My 4 year old(we adopted him 2yrs ago) GSD has megaesophagus. We manage him by: Raising his food bowl on a flower stand so that he doesn't have to stoop. We make a gravy to pour over his cubes (Vets Choice premium)so that he doesn't swallow dry food. It must be moist. - He is looking brilliant and keeping his food down.

-- Contributed by: Cheryl

Hi Lindsey,

I'm so glad you were able to find out the cause. I don't want to frighten you, but it's also important to make sure your vet is looing into whether the megaesophagus is related to Canine Myasthenia Gravis. There is a strong connection between these conditions.

Thanks for sharing your situation, and please keep us posted on how your puppy does.

-- Contributed by: Kelly

I have been intensely investigating this issue. I had spent lots of money at different vets and no one seemed to have any answers for me. We have a 4 1/2 month lab pup who eats and regurgitates his food (different from vomiting). There is also a gurgling sound that comes from his throat. He loves to eat but is small in size. He also tires easily after playing for a while. I came to the conclusion that my dog has megaesophagus (which is not common in labs but is in german shepards) I took our pup to the vet yesterday after telling them what I thought it was and after x-rays, it was confirmed. Megaesophagus is the culprit. There is no cure for this defect but there are things that can be done as far as feeding and some medication to help ease this problem. I hope I am not correct but I wish there would have been more information for me. I was driving myself crazy trying to find answers. I guess a lot of times vets don't even catch this, unless they really know what they are looking for because it is uncommon. I hope this helps

-- Contributed by: Lindsey

Hi Christy,

There's a good chance this is a case of kennel cough. It's not uncommon for dogs to throw up mucus, but sometimes they have trouble getting it out. Kennel cough usually last two to three weeks until the immune system overcomes the virus. If your dog shows increased symptoms and difficult breathing, it would be a good idea to have your vet check him for a secondary respiratory infection that may require an antibiotic.

Thanks for your question, and best wishes for your dog's health. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly

Hi Jan,

I'm glad to hear your dog is doing alright even with the diagnosis. Hope things continue to go well for you. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly

My dog has this cough that sounds like a dog treeing a coon, and he will pass gas as he does it. Then he will spit up, when he drinks water sometimes he will puke it all up, what do you think it could be?

-- Contributed by: christy

MY 10 YEAR OLD GIANT SCHNAUZER WAS VOMITING AFTER MEALS , AFTER 1900.00 DOLLARS AND A YEAR LATER HE IS FINE, HAS MEGA-ESOPHAUS, HE EATS 4 SMALL MEALS (ICUP OF DRY OM) 5 HRS APART AND HE IS FINE NOW AND ONLY ON THYROID MEDS GODS SPEED

-- Contributed by: jan

Hi Jessica,

Are you seeing worm segments in the vomit? You most likely would if this is the cause. My next question concerns that vomit itself. Does it look digested, or does it still look like kibble? If it looks like kibble, this is a case of regurgitation, not vomiting, and your vet will need to examine your dog to find the cause. In any case, a trip to the vet is in order at this point, so go ahead and make an appointment, and bring in a sample of the vomit for inspection if you can.

Best wishes for a quick resolution.

-- Contributed by: Kelly

hi, my name is jess and i have a 2 year old blue heeler kelpie x named rocky and for some reasom he vomits ALOT. he eats normally, drinks normally and doesnt act sick at all he is fine. recently its only happened at night we wake up to him making this regurgitating noise and he throws up. i dont thinks its normal and im curious to think he may have worms. could this happen from worms ????? thanks

-- Contributed by: jessica trigwell

hi penny . i have a french masstiff and i spent 1500.00$ and hes only 9 month yesterday he was skinny was regurgetating all the time , so i took the dog in my own hands i cook for him every day ,chicken ,liver vegetables alot of ground beef, and guess what he really stopped vomiting its been 3 weeks now and yesterday he took a test at the vet , repas bariter .don't know how to say it in english so the results are that he has a malformation of the asu...us it is not treateable got to make him eat as high as he could reach and make him eat small quantities he gain 20 pounds in 3 weeks . anyway if u want answers u have my email so good luck cathy

-- Contributed by: cathy

Hi Clive and Toolika,

This behavior is a bit unusual, but I think it is a throwback to your dog's ancestral instincts. It sounds as though she is regurgitating food to feed the puppy. I think if you keep the puppy well fed, the mom will eventually cease this behavior.

Thanks for your question. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly

Hi,

My girlfriend and I have a Lhasa Apso (muffin) who is 2yrs old, she had pups in january (28th) now its april and all the pups have gone except the smallest who is at my mum's place. Muffin is otherwise healthy however she throws up/regurgitates at no particular time but mostly in front of this last pup. If we are all around they play for hours and nothing happens but suddenly she goes in front of her pup and throws up..We are worried our vets in INdia cannot help and we think its more psycological that physiological...please help us

-- Contributed by: Clive & Toolika

This message is for Penny

Have your dogs been tested for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency disorder?

My dog had similiar symptoms & that is what he has.

He needs a 1/4 t of Viokase, Pankare & Prozyme added to a very low fat, fiber & protein food.

-- Contributed by: Dolli

Hi Penny,

Several months ago we adopted a 25 lb adult cocker spaniel named "Abbie." She was quite overweight for her frame and I started calling her "Hoover" for her habit of inhaling her bowl of food in ten seconds.

She started regularly regurgitating her food, then eating it again. I tried switching her from Science Diet weight management to Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance, but it didn't help much. The only foolproof method that has worked for us is...

I feed her one piece of kibble at a time. I either do this myself or I load the kibble into a dog toy with a hole at one end that she has to work to get the food out of. It slows her down enough that she takes the time to chew.

The dog toy will probably only work for some dogs. Our adolescent weimaraner is very adept with his paws and quickly manages to dump most of the food out. He chews his food anyway--I just do this for him to give him some distraction.

I don't know if it will work for your dog, but slowing down the pace of eating has so far worked with our spaniel.

-- Contributed by: Kris

Hi Ian,

Did your vet actually examine your dog's esophagus? This could be symptomatic of a larger problem. Have you noticed anything else out of the ordinary for your dog?

Yes, your dog might also have an allergy to something in the Evo, even though by all accounts it is a decent brand. If your dog wasn't having any problems with the previous brand you were feeding, try switching back to see if that stops the regurgitation episodes. If it does, then you may have narrowed the problem down to the new feed.

I hope you'll find these suggestions helpful.

-- Contributed by: Kelly

Hi, I have a year and 5 month year old rottie that is also spitting up hoursafter a meal or drinking water! She just started doing it, and i am stunned to see teo other people with rotties around the same age having this problem. She didnt start doing this until i switched her food from chicken soup, to evo. Im wondering if it is allergies, I also took her to the vet and he couldn't give me a answer. I thought EVO was a "better" food so im not sure what she could be allergic too.

-- Contributed by: Ian

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for sharing your own experience so far. Perhaps feeding smaller meals three to four times a day would put less pressure on your dog's esophagus? It's worth a try.

Also, if the raw food diet doesn't appeal to you, consider trying a Natural Dog Food Premix. In most cases all you need to add is some cooked meat.

-- Contributed by: Kelly

Hi, not sure how long ago these articles were posted but... my 2 year old rotty does the same thing, spits up for no apparent reason. My vet seems to think its reflux. I've also tried the Pepcid with no resolve. I am in the process of looking into food allergies. He was now on Prairies Natures Variety (lamb/oatmeal) Just switched within the same brand to the raw instinct (kibble) that is grain free. so far not so good... any other ideas I would rather not get into the raw diets(barf diet) if i can help it but...

michelle from ny

-- Contributed by: michelle
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