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by missykl on 15 July 2006 - 13:07
can anyone tell me more about this. i've been reading about it. do pups grow out of it?
by DKiah on 15 July 2006 - 14:07
Gosh, how I hate this condition.. wish someone would come up with a DNA marker test for it, now THAT would be useful!! I've seen it so much - in so many different lines, spanning a good 20 years! Pups can sometimes grow out of it .. sometimes it takes good management to help things along....
A lot depends on how much the pup is regurgitating right now....
It is believed that feeding the pup in an elevated dish helps and so does keeping the pup quiet after eating or drinking (a little difficult to do when siblings are running amok!!) sometimes Reglan can also help.
If the pup is thriving and can do things normally, then a good home might be in order...if the pup is struggling to keep weight on, then it could be a battle and euthanasia may be the kindest thing to do. These pups are more prone to aspirating and thus pneumonia.... so one must watch pretty closely.
There is a MegaE GSD who just completed his MACH (AKC Master Agility Champion), so they can do things...
We had 2 in our very first litter (most normal people would have quit, but not us!!) one had to be PTS because he had other problems as well and the other lived to be about 11 years old.
There is a very interesting site, you can email me privately and I'll send you the link...
The biggest issue with mega-e lies in the genetics and the distribution in the rest of the litter.... this is a recessive condition and requires both parents to carry the gene..however, according to a geneticists.. given this situation, 25% of the litter will be affected, 25% will be clear and 50% will be carriers.. so really we are faced with a whole new issue IF any littermates are chosen as breeding stock..
Feel free to email me if you have more questions
by vomveiderheiss on 15 July 2006 - 16:07
Some pups can outgrow the megaE and some don't. i lost my poor Toby last fall to MegaE, he just got worse instead of better, he wa 16 weeks and the size of a 6-8 week oldpup. Make your pup eat in the sitting position and hand feed her, do not do any playing for at least one hour after she eats, and DO NOT let her lie down for a nap for about an hour either. She be in the upright position during this time, so the food can get to the tummy and stay there. Frequent light meals are better than 2 big meals. I wish you luck.

by Birdy on 15 July 2006 - 23:07
Are you sure this pup has mega? Some puppies that are full of worms will act the same a belly full of worms will cause a pup to regurgitate, vomit or even act as it's choking.
I would make sure that she's been wormed good and may have to be wormed several times over the course of 4 weeks.
Talk to your vet about a rigorous worming program before you have her put to sleep. This happened to me and I was lucky to have a vet who took this step first.
You have nothing to loose give it a try.
Birdy...
by DKiah on 16 July 2006 - 00:07
I'm assuming this diagnosis was made via xray and barium swallow??? And if so, no amount of worming is gonna fix it.....

by Birdy on 16 July 2006 - 01:07
Dkiah-
This is true, but that wasn't mentioned here and why would you not want to check out all options?
As I said, I went though this by experience so I feel my opinion is equally as valid.
Birdy...
by DKiah on 16 July 2006 - 03:07
There is a huge difference in a dog with mega-e and a puppy trying to vomit because of worms or whatever and it is an unmistakeable difference.. The only way I know of, since there are several conditions that produce the same symptoms (PRAA, vascular ring anomaly and Mega-e), to make a definitive diagnosis and to even mention the condition is with a workup...
Never said your opinion wasn't valid, why is everybody so touchy??
I'm also assuming this is missykl's litter and she has wormed them (also recommended).... and had the necessary tests done...
This condition gives new meaning to the word hurl, because it is a passive involuntary reaction .. it is not the retching, heaving action produced with vomiting....
Enough said..... missykl, I mentioned that website... it's really quite informative.. feel free to email me for the link...
by Preston on 16 July 2006 - 03:07
missykl, the worst case scenario is when a puppy just born aspirates milk back through his nose. This is a sure sign of mega-esophagus, and always shows a larger than normal, poorly muscled esophagus. This condition in this severity will never get better, and in even less severe forms (such as esophagul ecclasia), the dog will have trouble keeping his food or water down, due to the more motility of the esophagus. A young puppy with no symptoms can devolp symptoms later gradually. The prognosis is grim long term and this disorder is certainly recessive genetically. I am not cerain if this trait is a simple binary recessive (ie one recessive gene like coat factor). There may be imcomplete penetrance issues controlled by additional genes. I think genetic testing will be available in 10m years or less.
by brunobird on 16 July 2006 - 19:07
missykl,
The thing to remember with this condition is no two dogs are the same. We had a bit diagnosed at 5 weeks as soon as she started eating solid food we noticed the problems. After a day at the vets we were advised to put her to sleep and had decided to do so until I phoned to tell the vet. At this point the vet (different from the one spoken to earlier) said she was in good condition and as long as she kept that condition up it MIGHT be worth trying to keep going but to always expect the worst. We decided to give her a chance and told ourselves as soon as she lost condition or appeared to suffer we would have her put to sleep.
We fed her with her front feet elevated about 10 ins (she actually stood with her hind legs on our table with her bowl on the window ledge above her!!!) until she got fed up with this at about 4 months old and now feed her as normal. She is now 9 months old and is in good physical condition and continues to do well. She is normal size and weight and a real sweety.
My advice is if she is in good condition give her a chance but as soon as she looses that condition you have to think about putting her to sleep as that will probably be the start of real problems for her.
Saying that I would say whatever decision YOU make is the RIGHT one as I know how hard it is to decide. We could easily have ended up with a puppy wasting away before our eyes and making the decision even more heartbreaking, but we were lucky. I hope you are too!!!
PS One thing we noticed is to try feeding her dry food as she kept it down better. As a pup we would give her Pedigree puppy food with a small sachet of Pedigree meat chunks mixed through it. Our vet told us that by soaking her food it made it easier to vomit. Just make sure she has water available but DONT let her take huge meals or drinks. We found if she drank a lot in one go she would vomit. Small and often until she is bigger is best. She now is fed twice a day like any other 9 month old and is fine, but whilst young keep the meals small.

by Janette on 17 July 2006 - 14:07
Had a dog with megaesophagus. Breeder knew something was wrong but never told us ...dont think he knew what was wrong with her.We had never experienced it so we thought she had a weak stomach or something. It did nt start out being bad just occasional in the morning when we went out to feed her breakfast. There would be a little something in the kennel. But as time went on it got worse. We did try all the remedies to help her but she was not gaining weight and the regurgitations were becoming more frequent. We did have a barium swallow test and confirmed that she had it and kindly put her to sleep at 1 year old. They did a post mortum and her esophagus was larger than her stomach.
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