I opened up this thread from chilled puppy just to hear if anyone has any experience with Megaesophagus
the vet says the little Sproggy has it but mildly and an op will sort it
For the information of anyone that may come across this ,
The puppy does not appear to be growing and is some times mistaken as a runt. So thankfully most breeders supplement those ones to let them catch up.
After awhile it becomes obvious that it is more then just a small puppy as even though supplemented ,puppy is still not gaining looks ribby and is not able to hold its own with the others ,It can be congenital or aquired .the results of it is breathing problems like a wheeze and regurgitation that the puppy eats again ,as it is then digestible.
megaesophagus interferes with peristalsis preventing the food going to the stomach,If it is congenital that puppy must not be bred ,if aquired then all going well it is ok to do so
the aquired one comes from foriegn bodies inhaled I believe , or lead poisoning or strictures.
It is believed my little sproggy has aquired magaesophagus,and is caused by stricture. So she will be when strong enough have the operation and should lead a normal life after that .
My little puppy is not upchucking her food but that is probably because she on heinz first baby food so it is strained enough to go through to the stomach,
Is there anyone has had a puppy like that and if so how did they get on in later life
Mari

Hi Mari, no expereience of this sorry only heard about & read about it.
Glad the little one is soldiering on & will be OK when she has the op tho :)
xx

Christine, Spain.

She is so gorgeous too and Marie is doing so well with her - she is weeny :D

Gina

Hi Christine and Gina
I have just had a weigh in lol. 8 puppies girls ranging from 7and half lbs 8 lbs boys 8 to nine lbs.
Little one is now 2 lbs and 1/2 oz.,awww when i look at her I think my god that is a bullmastiff!!! lol.:)
I never in my life saw one so small or so brave
Mari

I heard of someone having a pup with it and it seemed to get better then they had to have it put to sleep after a few weeks as it re-appeared.
If you want to e-mail me I will type out what it says in my book about megaoesophagus. Or read Veterinary Advice for Gundogs by Gillian Averis page 125. It explains about Megaoesophagus in here. You heading is congenital or aquired. According to this book it is in inherited conditions.
Nutkin.

Hi,

This condition also developed in a young dog following booster vaccination the condition
was not present at birth and research is on going in the States the dog concerned was fit and healthy until the annual booster where upon it developed the condition it could be
coincidence but the breeder does not think so.

Regards Briony

Hi brinny.My little puppy was born ok no sign of illness at all Which is why my vet thinks it is aquired rather then congenital.
She is now 2and 1/2 lbs so is gaining all the time now very lively and eating well.
I wont build my hopes up as Nutkin says she heard of one dying anyway.
I would be soo devastated to lose her now .
i will be taking her back to vet the weekend so will keep you updated.
Did you get the picture of her ?
Mari

Hi Mari
I really hope she will be ok, I did not want so sound all morbid.
Thats interesting to know that it can be acquired.
I wish you all the best poor little puppy. Do you have to tube feed it or anything? As if you dont it may just develop ok but slower than the rest. You often hear breeders having a pup that is slow to grow and having to let it go at 12 weeks instead of 8 so maybe you just have to hang on to him for a little longer.
Nutkin.

Hi Nutkin thats ok .you only say it as you saw it. I have been told I should not have let everyone know about the megaesophagus ,But I believe in sharing any problems in the hope of saving puppies .So the only way to do that is to share our experiences with others.
I am grateful for any input , so thanks for the interest .I am sending you a link ,re megaesophagus so you can see there is congenital and aquired.
Marie :)
ps your email address is bouncing back lol so if you would like the link please email me

Hi Marie, she`s a real little fighter isn`t she? Hope things go well for her :)

Christine, Spain.

Hello Mari
I sent you an e-mail over just now.
I think it is important to learn about these problems in dogs, so we learn from it.
I would be interested in the link as I know of someone else in my breed that produced it phew must be two years ago, a friend of mine and she did not know what to do about it. This dog lived and is two years old. At the time my friend was really upset by what her vet told her. The more imput we get the better it is for our breeds.
Nutkin.

Hi Nutkin thanks for the mail and I sent that link.
. hope it may help your friend.
little one weighed in at three lbs today ,so I am at last allowing myself to hope she makes it all the way.
Mari

i know of a labrador that had this condition she was half the size of her litter mates, which was when it was first noticed there was a problem, she could keep fluids down but not solids, but unfortunely she was PTS at only 9 weeks, she did though go down hill very fast she could hardly walk just before she died :(
i dont mean to worry you, but as you are keeping food down there may be hope for your little one

Hi gundogsrbest
that is terrible ,I hope it does not happen little sproggy [real name Genie]
I would be heartbroken.I just love her ,she is very fast on her legs now and is able to climb out of her bed .
she does get tired which is normal i suppose .as other puppies play hard and then sleep.
Like you said she does not bring up her food and she is doing well now .
All I can do is continue to care for her untill I am sure she is ok.
Mari

hi mary....most megesphagus in young dogs is inherited..it runs in lines ...certain breeds have higher incidence..i have seen many german shepherds with it.labs can develop it as a by product of ARMD....i have a three year old male shepherd' 'harvey' that has a mild case...but he had two littermates that i put down because they had severe cases......they do have an adult onset type ....but in puppies it doesn't become obivious until they start eating.then sometimes if they throw up the other puppies eat it,so you don't notice right away........they can do ok.you just have to becareful they don't asperate vomit and get pneumonia......i just feed ''harvey'' dry food instead of gruel.he does better on dry......

thanks everyone for all the input I guess I just have to wait a few weeks and see how she goes. She is doing ok at moment ,so it is a waiting game now
Mari

Well for all who were asking about little sproggy now named Gina.
she is well and is weighing in at 5 1/2 lbs, and there is no reason at all according to my vet
that she should not live a normal life, her aesophagus is no longer swollen and she is finally growing .
thanks so much to all of you that have been emailing me , It was so nice to have all your good wishes and the fingers and toes crossed lol .
She is named after Gina lol as she is so small ,but theres good goods in small parcels .Isent it nice to have succeeded in saving her life makes it all worthwhile
thanks again to everyone Mari

That's really good news! She's a tough little thing, isn't she?
:)

Oh yes thats good news Mari! :D

Christine, Spain.

She is such a love - Marie has lovely photos of her. Although she is prettier than me :D :D I have had blonde hair for too many years to say and went brown today so we are matching now (well for a week at least) LOL

Gina

Gina Little gina has highlights lol so guess you have to go again :)
Mari