Hi all,

I am unsure if one of my pups is ok or not. She is 5 weeks old, one of 8 in the litter. She has an odd problem and I am worried about her.

When she was 3-4 weeks, she had a couple of episodes of being 'sicky' after a feed, either from the dam or puppy food (well soaked puppy kibble). She brought up frothy slightly mucusy milky stuff, but no more than the size of a 50p piece. I was very concerned and took her to my vet who looked at her carefully. She had no temp, and her heart and lungs sounded fine. The vet told me to weigh her to see if she gained or not, and this I did. She was gaining weight, and has put on in the last week about 100g a day; she is a GR.

The thing is she doesn't do this after every feed, in fact after I took her to the vet she didn't do it for 5 days at all. I think she is a bit slow with weaning, she doesn't seem to cope with lumps... or am I imagining that? I think she burps and brings some up then makes herself gag and is sick. She eats very fast.

Although she is gaining weight, she doesn't look as chubby as the others. Her breathing is more noticeable but probably only as she hasn't got the girth when she lies down.

I am worried she may have a congenital problem with her digestion...??? Or is she just a sicky puppy, like a sicky baby, who will grow out of it as she grows. I certainly had one child who woulf throw up part of his feed at every opportunity.

She is a sweetie, her behaviour is quite normal, although she is and always has been one of the smallest, not hugely so. However when she has had a little episode (and altogether she has probably done this 10 times) she wants to go in a corner and sleep on her own. After a bit she is ok, and is the life and soul again.

I'd be so grateful for any ideas. Please don't scare me!! She is adorable but of course I won't let her go unless she is fully well. She doesn't leave me until sunday week (if then).

Am I worrying unnecessarily or has anyone seen this before?

Could be mega oesophagus or something similar, only one way to find out and that is via an x-ray unfortunately. 

I know others will say that maybe she's being greedy but I feel that the above and other such similar problems are ignored, unless it's really severe, when you can do nothing but have them x-rayed to find out why they can't feed properly.

Hi Katypoo sorry to hear about your Pup :-(
try contacting this Group http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/megaesophagus/ im sure they will help with your concerns but like perrodeagua i think an Xray is your next move

Oh crikey I fear you may be right. She had her supper tonight, most of it, then brought up another little amount which she promptly ate again. After she fed from mum she hasd another little possit. This time the milk. Almost immediately she is Ok again, but she doesn't settle as quickly as the others which makes me wonder if she is hungry.

When can the X ray be done?

Its really odd as she has done it 3 times today, and not at all yesterday or the day before, then she was like it Monday, and previous to that last thursday.

It has coincided with weaning though I think. And I reckon she does it more when you pick her up and she has just eaten.

Thinking the same as the rest.

Its a fairly simple xray, but here they are kept in a half day.  They use a product called barium, and when the dog is swallowing it, the vet takes the xray.  It should show whether or not it is the ME problem.

Its also a pricey procedure, I dont know prices in the UK, but here it was almost 500 CAD to do it.  Just warning you that it may not be the cheapest of xrays.
The cost comes from the several xrays they do (took 3 on my girl), the barium, the hospital stay, and a wellness blood profile.  I also picked up two cans of slurry food from them, each can only being 3 dollars though, so it didnt add much to the bill lol.

Hope all works out ok.

Thanks for your responses.

Very odd - this morning she ate a good breakfast (I fed her on her own) followed by a good feed from mum and she had no problems at all. She has been playing very happily although she is a bit of a flower compared to some of the big butch boys. No regurgiation/vomit at all. Would it happen every time if she had a megaoesophagus because it certainly doesn't seem to.

Just hoping for the best here.

Would depend on the severity of it.  If it was only slightly bigger than normal it may not affect her badly.  I was worried that one of my dogs might have this and he was queried as to might be having this, but it only lasted four weeks and then he never ever had a problem again with eating. 

I don't know whether any infections etc. can cause the oesophagus to expand etc?  There will be more medically knowledgable people than me on here to advise.

Thanks Perrodeagua.

I see. I need to watch and wait a bit I think. She has eaten her lunch with no problems at all. TBH I did make sure there were no big lumps in it.

She has filled out even as from yesterday when I seperated her for meals. Perhaps she is just a bit slower and less mature than some of the others...

At what age do they do the barium meal?

She may just be a greedy pup.  Restrict her a little if it continues and monitor it after this control.

Tea down the hatch...nothing. I am keeping her food wet and without lumps though.

She is looking much better. Well rounded instead of a little lean. I don't think she eating her fair share. Perhaps she was rushing and choking on it.