# Cronic long term vomiting. Please help.



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

We became proud parents of a 1-yr old 4-pound chihuahua about 3-months ago, and named her Prissey Baby. Shes now been to the local vet office 5-times, and still vomits 2 to 3 times a night (sometimes during day time). There is 3-Veterinarians at the local Vet Office, all 3 of which have examined Prissey, and come up with different diagnosis-es each time. Prissey seems to have normal bowel movements (actually seems big to me considering her size), mostly once a day, but sometimes once every 2-days. After a night of vomiting, she loves to eat grass, which one vet says is fine. 

I've tried to search Internet for possible causes. These vets have done blood work each time, and took about 4-xrays. Each time it is basically a "guess" as to the cause, and then possible treatment for that guess. Antibotics about every visit. Liquid tagament. Several changes to diet, and supplements. Nothing has made any difference in these daily vomiting episodes. 

We tried to find out her history. But the original owners have not returned any phone calls. The story is a woman bought Prissey (a fully registered Chi with papers) and then met a man she later married, who is allergic to Prissey, so this woman gave Prissey to another lady for adoption. This lady gave Prissey to my wife's daughter, who gave her to my wife and I, allegedly with registration papers to be faxed. But original owner refuses to make contact. This makes me believe Prissey had this vomiting problem all along.

She is a little loving bundle of joy that has stolen our hearts, especially my wife's, who recently lost her almost 14 year old lap cat. Prissey loves to sleep with us, and we love having her close at night. But then she goes into her episodes of gurggerling, trying to fight back throwing up. In the morning, we find vomit on the floor and in the bed, about every single time. 

When Prissey does vomit, it can sometimes be clear fluids, and sometimes it can be undigested food she just ate. And, at times it appears to be food that has partially digested. At times she does seem to walk funny, as if her hind legs are tucked up under her stomach. I thought this was a sign of being stopped up. But I recently read about pancreas problems and stomach pain. Those symptoms seem to fit, yet, a blood test is supposed to show this. 

Does anyone have any suggestions? Please help us help Prissey.


----------



## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

What food is she on? Have you changed her food at all?


----------



## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Yep that would be my question. First & foremost I'd put her on a dehydrated food as its easier for them to digest. But knowing what she's eating will give us a better idea on what may be causing her digestion problems.


----------



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

At present it is Pedigree small pouches of Chicken flavor moist meals. She seems to love chicken flavor anything. These are moist meaty meals in a pouch. Thanks for such quick responses. We have two, big, outdoor dogs that we feed in our kitchen, eating Kibbles and Bits original. Prissey tries to get in the kitchen and also loves the hard Kibbles and Bits. But we keep a gate up so that Prissey stays out in living room/dining room area. When Prissey did eat the hard food, she seemed to throw this up more quickly. 

Please keep any suggestions and questions coming. Thanks.


----------



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

You know, it's killing me to not be able to help Prissey. Just now, as I sit on couch and lean forward to coffee table to type on laptop, she is laying by my leg with her head propped up on leg, under my arm elbow propped on knee. So heart warming. (Wife comes home in little while, and then Prissey will be all hers.)

Earlier, I fed her Predigree soft pouch of Chicken, about half pouch. She ate, then wanted out side, in front yard. Hooked her to long leash and watched her run around till she peed, and wanted back in.

Then, in bedroom, I open window, and have perch mounted at inside of window. Then I have a ramp about 6-foot long, covered in carpet, that Prissey goes down and into a small dog pin in back yard, where she runs around about 5 or 10 minutes, and then comes back in when she is ready. She can go and come as she pleases into this dog pen by way of the ramp leading down from window. Pretty neat to see. 

She did eat a little grass, but not to much. And seems energetic and happy for a while. And now it's nap time on daddy's leg. (It makes me want to sit here all day, so as to not disturb her. ha ha Happy Thanksgiving Everybody)


----------



## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

It sounds as if you have been the regular vet route. Now maybe, it is time for a specialist in gastroenterology (stomach and gut). As this is usually at bed time, what time do you last feed her? If she is on a one meal a day am feeding, that could be the problem. Feed her 2x a day. As to food, have you tried canned vs the kibble? Some dogs do better on a moist canned food. Whatever, do the switch slowly! Add a spoonful , then 2 spoonfuls if she tolerates that. Good luck. Sue


----------



## pjknust (Oct 26, 2011)

There is another post on here about Mega esophagus. I purchased a little chi a couple months ago. 18 mo old. After her being here for 2 weeks she started spitting up. She could eat dry food, but not wet. If she ate wet food she would 'spit up' , not heave like throwing up, just SPLAT and it was out on the floor. I took her to my vet and he said it could be lots of things, minor or serious, but to diagnose it would be several hundred dollars and since I had just purchased her his suggestion would be to take her back to her family (breeder), and thats what I did. I have not heard back how the little girl is doing. But I feel she developed ME and she needed to be with her people she was raised with. They loved her and sold her because she was trying to reduce her numbers and this little girl was too small to breed.


----------



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

My answers seemed delayed due to me being a newbie here. We tried the hard dried food (Small bits by Aims) and Kibbles and Bits small bits. And then went to moist Pedigree pouches, and also canned dog food (Chicken flavor). 

As to feeding times, yes we do small amounts throughout the day, trying to stop about 6pm and going to bed between 8 and 9pm. 

For example, yesterday, what she ate in the morning came back up about 5pm. She ate again, and this came back up about 1am in the morning. 

She ate fine this morning about 10am, and has been active since. It is 2pm almost, and so far it has stayed down. 

Looked up this Mega-esophagus and will be asking Vet next visit, along with any other suggestions any one has for us.


----------



## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Pedigree ,is a NO NO in this house all 3 of my dogs would get the runs.Have you tried Ziwi peak ????? freeze dried so the next best thing to raw,no probs at all on this food.Are you in uk ????


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

Definitely switch her food.Try a high quality grain free food, such as Acana(kibble) or ZiwiPeak (pre-made raw).


----------



## nabi (Nov 25, 2004)

when you take your chi into the vet just mention megaesophagus ....it might be worth looking into..the specialist told us it is usually misdiagnosed for a long time...as was the case with Bella...feel free to pm me and I would be glad to try and answer any questions you might have..


----------



## mooberry (Jan 31, 2011)

I agree with everyone else. The food you are feeding is not good quality and with her always getting sick I would highly recommend at least Ziwi or a high quality grain free food.

Some dogs cannot process grain and I find in so many dogs it comes out in different ways. 

I would also try a different vet if after the next visit you don't get any results and ask for copies of her blood work and a write up of everything you have tried. That way no more tests are needed. if they still can't help you I agree with everyone else you need a referral to a gastro' she will have specialities in this that will help her.

You are doing the right thing she is lucky to have you. Keep trying your answer is out there!


----------



## Gingersmom (Mar 12, 2009)

Do you have a Petsmart nearby...and if you do...there are several foods you could try...I had a chihuahua do what you're saying and we found out it was the food. We changed to California Natural lamb and rice, but since they've been bought out..we switched to Wellness small breed and the girls seem to be doing well on it. Stay away from corn and wheat they're big time allergy inducers in furbabies.


----------



## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

A lot of Chihuahua have food allergies. The food you are using is not a good food. You should look up what you are feeding all your dogs at this site, you will be shocked at the rating they get. You need to feed a 5 to 6 star food. We've all been there, believed all the hype about the commercial food that is mostly fillers and can cause the vomting you speak of. I have a bunch of dogs and have been through so many foods trying to find one that all my dogs can eat. I finally went to grain free and all my dogs are doing great. Also a lot of people feed raw and have had great success, too.

Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble


----------



## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Definitely check out the dog food review site!! I am going to bet with a new food you'll have a new dog.  You could try a grain free kibble but if it were me I'd go with a moist dehydrated raw like Honest Kitchen or Stella & Chewy's. ZiwiPeak is good (that's what we're feeding currently) & you can add water to it like we do but the other 2 foods I mentioned are pretty much broken down & will be easiest to digest. ZiwiPeak is all meat as opposed to having *some* fruits & veggies as the other 2 (Stella & Chewy's much less than Honest Kitchen) but the Ziwipeak still has to be broken down a bit as they're dehydrated to a dry form & take a bit longer to digest. 

Raws are SOOO much gentler on dogs digestive systems. I would definitely give it a try & I think you'll see a big difference. It's definitely a starting point from getting her off the Pedigree. I used to feed Pedigree kibble before I knew how bad the ingredients were & the difference is AMAZING.

Good luck!!


----------



## lynx8456 (Feb 26, 2009)

Not always but most of the time an indicator of long term Pancreas or esophagus issues would be loss of muscle mass from not digesting and getting the nutrients from the food. I wouldn't recommend Pedigree or any other "typical" dog food. I would go with a good quality dehydrated food, holistic food made for digestive issues or even home cooked for a while and see how Prissey does on that. Keep in mind the vomiting might continue for a couple of days because obviously your dog already has a sensitive tummy and any change over in food can cause minor issues. As for eating grass...yes lots of dogs do it, but it can also indicate a dog/cat has an upset tummy or is sick in some other way. (Grass isn't good for dogs anyway) 

Personally, I would seek a specialist and in them mean time try some home cooking....chicken breast w/ brown rice or sweet potatoe , salmon, or scrambled eggs....mix a bit of cheese with every meal ....small portions twice a day and see how she does in the mean time. Good luck and please let us know how Prissy makes out.


----------



## rokmurphy (Oct 31, 2011)

It's the grass. As harmless as it is, and as much as animals love it for some reason...They can't processit and they will always vomit it up when their body's try too digest it.


----------



## Reese and Miley (Jun 24, 2010)

I too would suggest a change in diet. Some dogs will do well on any food, an others with more sensitive digestive systems will not do well on foods that are highly processed or use fillers like corn and similar grains that offer little nutritional value. One of my three has a very sensitive stomach and he can't digest even the best kibbles. I would check out the dog food analysis site others have mentioned, and try switching her onto either a high quality canned food (the food analysis site will give you a great idea of what to look for and avoid on dog food labels) or perhaps a premade raw if you're comfortable trying that. I give my three Stella and Chewys, which are a premade raw patty, and super gentle on my sensative guys tummy. I buy the frozen, they're also available in freeze dried but these are more pricey. You thaw them in the fridge overnight and mash them up with some warm water and feed. Your girl would probably only need 1 or 1.5 patties/ day, which would cost you about 40 cents a day to give you some idea of cost. I was worried before we tried it that the cost would be too high, but it works out cheaper than kibble for us. I'd give her a few weeks on the new diet and if you still see no improvement I'd try a new vets office or specialist. Good luck!


----------



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

Wow, all the answers, alone, make me feel so much better, that sooner or later, Prissey will be well. As to the food, we only went to the Pedigree pouch about 2-weeks ago, mostly because she loves it so much. Before that, we tried plain rice, and also human canned chicken, and many other things. However, I'm going to a large chain pet store this morning and will ask for some of these mentioned here. 

Most times, my wife gives Prissey liquid tagament before meals. Last night, she forgot, and thought it was to late to do so after Prissey had eaten. I suggested we try it anyways, which she did. And, as usual, Prissey started her gagging and gurgling at about 2am, trying her best to not throw up. I took her out to couch, wrapped in a towel and petted her, till she wore herself out and seemed to collapse in my hands. After a minute or so, of being still and catching her breath, she hopped up and wagged her tail as she went back to bedroom and waited for me to pick her up and put on top of the mattress. A few more minutes, she started again. This time, wife took her out to recliner, talking softly to her and cradling her in her arms, as they both fell back to sleep in the recliner.

This morn, when I asked if she threw up, my wife said it was only a little bit of clear fluid. This is a BIG improvement! I just knew it would be like night before when there was 3 places to clean up. 

As to better Vets, yes, I strongly agree. Before next visit, I'm making a list of suggestions from here, and I'm going to tell them, first, "There is 3 of you working here, and you-all need to get together to see if you can figure this out, and if not, then go back to your books and Internet and find the right answer." "Between 3 Vets, working together, there's got to be a better answer than all those guesses you've been doing individually."

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Any more info and suggestions greatly welcomed. Thanks


----------



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

OK, everyone, you make me feel as if there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. I've wrote a list of all the recommended foods and am heading to big box pet store (can't remember the name) along with some Black Friday shopping. 

Usually give liquid tagament before meals. Last night, forgot, and decided to try giving it after meal (about hour later). At 2am, Prissey started her gurgling and gagging , trying her best to not throw up. She became exhausted in my hands as I held her and petted her till the episode stopped. After a minute or two, she hopped up, wagging her tail, and off to the bedroom she went again, waiting for me to pick up and put her on top of the mattress. A few minutes later, she started again, and this time wife took her out to recliner, where they both spent rest of night. By morning, Prissey had only thrown up a little bit of clear fluid. This is a BIG improvement. 

And, just now, about 7am, Prissey had another bout with the clear fluid, fighting to not let it out, to the point it comes out her nose. Still not full blown throw up. 

Month or so ago, when fighting back this clear fluid and it coming out her nose, I took her straight to Vet without appointment and thought it was mucus in her lungs from sever sinus problems. This is where the 5mg benadryl came from. But as time goes by, now realize it must be stomach acid, like terrible heart burn/indigestion. She tries so hard to not let it out. I tell her to go ahead, while holding towel under her, so she will feel better. It gets to me when a dog will throw up and then lick it back up. Yuck!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Thank you for helping, and for any other info. God bless.


----------



## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

It may be your dog has reflux (gastric contents being brought up to the mouth) Yes like severe heartburn. I give my dog a 1/4 of a 10mg Pepsid tablet very other day(vet prescribed) for her reflux. It does help her. I'd also recommend another food--canned or pre made raw like Stella and Chewies. They have a 'chicken' one. Good luck Sue


----------



## Reese and Miley (Jun 24, 2010)

Good luck! Make sure you check ingredients carefully and then give her tummy plenty of time to adjust to a new food. Many of the foods we suggested you may not be able to find at the big chain pet stores, if you have a natural pet food store in your area definitely buy there instead. The salespeople in a smaller shop specializing in more natural diets tend to be MUCH more informed and better able to help you choose something than those in the big chain stores.
If you want to give Stella and Chewys a try you can check out their website and put in your zip to find the closest store carrying it. We had a lot of mysterious stomach problems with Reese before switching to Stella and Chewys. He would get an upset tummy, the runs, vomiting and worse for days at a time. The vets couldnt find a cause, ran blood tests for organ function and all came back fine, so we treated symptomatically. After switching to S&C we had ZERO problems. For awhile I put them back on Orijen kibble, but within a week or two Reese was getting his old symptoms back. For him kibble is just too much for his body to process. It may be that your little girl has something else going on, but getting her on a gentler food can only help, and I think is your best starting point.


----------



## EmberLuvu (Oct 24, 2011)

At big chain petstores, like Petco and Petsmart, will sell you anything to get money, like alot of vets. I reccomend looking carefully at the ingredients- no grain, corn, by-products, fillers, artificial flavors or preservatives (mixed tocepherlos is fine... i probably spelled that wrong) or meat and bone meal- it must be identified meat. 

Hope this helps.


----------



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

You-all are really a fantastic bunch of people. I was skeptical when I first posted, but also desperate to find help, and had no idea so many of you-all would speak up. I cannot thank you enough.

PetSmart is where I went this morning, and gave the male clerk the list I had made. He did not have any of them! But went on to say he had other brands like them. I bought 3-cans of lamb and brown rice without any grains, but does have vitamins added. And I bought a small bag of hard holstic no grains beef and sweet potatoe flavor small bits. 

Our first course of action is diet change and continue the liquid tagament (had to get prescription from Vet Dr. for this, and had it filled at WalGreens), for minimum of 3-days to look for positive results. If this does not work, I'm going to request all 3-Vet Dr.s get together to check Prissey. Hopefully this will keep my wife from having to let Prissey go to a University or such other for overnight observation and other procedures. We live in a very rural area of North Carolina. My daughter lives in Raleigh where they have much more advanced animal hospitals and such. She offered to pick up Prissey and take her to a specialist up there. A couple hours after I told my wife this, she made the statement that she could not bare to not have Prissey for even one night. Don't take this wrong, it's that my wife cares for Prissey so much that it would drive her crazy to not know how she is doing during even one night. I guess the only way something like this could happen is if my wife could stay at the animal hospital overnight also. 

I will be checking around for those brand foods listed by you-all here. What has me so hopeful now is, knowing others have had the same problems and overcome them. For a while there, I thought we were alone in trying to help Prissey get better. 

Love is a strong feeling. Love and sympathy is even stronger! Thanks again, everyone.


----------



## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Petsmart/Petco and other big box stores will not carry the high end foods. Chances are the food they suggested aren't as good a quality.  Tractor Supply however does carry some decent foods (but be careful as they also carry low end stuff!). Taste of the Wild they do carry...

You'll have to look at specialty stores for the dehydrated raw foods mentioned like ZiwiPeak or Stella & Chewy's or The Honest Kitchen. Check your yellow pages or check the website of the food your interested in & most will have a store finder. You'd be surprised at how many stores you may have around you! We actually have 2-3 small speciality stores within 45 minutes of here yet no big box stores closer than 1hr away! You could always order them online as well...

I hope you figure out a solution quickly. It can be so stressful when they're not feeling their best!


----------



## bayoumah (Nov 30, 2010)

hi so sorry about your little girls stomach trouble yes i agree change the food soon as possible she should clear up very soon whithen a week good luck she sounds so cute


----------



## eddie27970 (Nov 24, 2011)

Guess I need to update this post. Had noticed for about 2-weeks when Prissey drank water and started her gurgling there was a soft lump on the right side of her neck. If I gently rubbed it, it seemed to soothe her. So, made another Vet appointment, about the 5th or 6th one, and held back her water till Dr. was in room. Then let her drink so he could see this lump. He then did X-ray, and called me to the back to show X-ray to me, and said Prissey has mega esophagus. I kind of broke on him about why didn't someone see this before I had to come in and show him the lump? We had asked them to get the 3-Vets in this office together to go over all those other guesses and come up with an answer. He went back through the file and tried to explain the other treatments as byproducts of mega esophagus. Yea, right! 

So, anyways, I've now spent about 6 hours reading on the Internet, and made a Bailey chair, to small. Got to enlargen it. Holding her 4-pound upright for 15 to 20 minutes after each feeding is helping. Laughed about this last night. Now she gets tasty soft food, and then lots of lovens after each meal.

The Vet took blood to send off for a $220 test to see if it is this MG, and if it is, then there is medicine that can help. If not, then he will give us a referral to the Vet school/hospital in Raleigh, a 4 hour drive away.

But now we are on the right track, and I see we are not alone. 

Vet said diet of holistic food will not make a difference. But I wonder?

Thanks everybody for all your help.


----------



## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Poor baby. But I am so happy for her and you that you finally got a diagnosis and will be able to manage this condition. Best of luck.


----------



## qtchi (Jun 19, 2010)

eddie27970 said:


> We became proud parents of a 1-yr old 4-pound chihuahua about 3-months ago, and named her Prissey Baby. Shes now been to the local vet office 5-times, and still vomits 2 to 3 times a night (sometimes during day time). There is 3-Veterinarians at the local Vet Office, all 3 of which have examined Prissey, and come up with different diagnosis-es each time. Prissey seems to have normal bowel movements (actually seems big to me considering her size), mostly once a day, but sometimes once every 2-days. After a night of vomiting, she loves to eat grass, which one vet says is fine.
> 
> I've tried to search Internet for possible causes. These vets have done blood work each time, and took about 4-xrays. Each time it is basically a "guess" as to the cause, and then possible treatment for that guess. Antibotics about every visit. Liquid tagament. Several changes to diet, and supplements. Nothing has made any difference in these daily vomiting episodes.
> 
> ...



This is the same thing that seems to be going on with Venus. She has always been like this since we got her nearly 2 years ago. We just got her from the shelter when she was about 2 years old. She was a stray so she had no history. Anyway, we have tried her on many different foods for a 2-3 months at a time to see if that would help. Nope. We have tried supplements of all kinds. Nothing made a difference except maybe limiting her water intake and we avoided picking her up after she ate or drank. She would still vomit even if she was standing still. Vets had no real idea of what was going on either so we just put up with it.

Anyway, we moved to Reno in June. We had only been in town for about 2 weeks when she all of a sudden started having a seizure or what looked like a seizure. It was her first time doing that with us. I didn't know what to do because we didn't even have a vet yet. After her "seizure" she soon started to sound like she was gurgling. She never had that sound before even though she would vomit anywhere from 1-3 times a day and about the same amount at night. Once in a while she didn't vomit at all.

I took her to one vet that seemed to have good reviews. He examined her and did all kinds of tests and xrays. She had somehow taken fluids into her lungs probably while she vomited some water. She was given medicines and sent to the pet emergency room so she could be monitored and given oxygen throughout the night. I picked her up and took her back to the regular vet the next morning. He did other tests to her that day.

I discussed her constant vomiting because that is what led to her inhaling fluids into her lungs. He looked at her x-rays and didn't see anything that would indicate mega esophagus that he thought it could be. He said that we could do a barium test on her and see if that would show something more, but he did say that there wasn't a real effective medicine or surgeries for it in his experience.

Anyway, we didn't do the barium test since he really didn't think she had mega esophagus based on the x-rays and blood work. It wasn't determined whether or not she ever had a seizure or if she just looked like she was because she was struggling a lot with having just inhaled water into her lungs. 

I took her home and thought about what I could do because I didn't want her to almost die again because of inhaling water into her lungs. I got her a water bottle to slow down her drinking. I also powdered her dry food and decided to make a paste out of it with water and spread it on a small plate to slow down her eating. It worked. She can go a few days without vomiting, and when she vomits, it's not as bad as when she used to do it. She might vomit 3 times a week as opposed to 3-6 times in 24 hours. She used to love gulping water down like it was going out of style. She ate faster than I could put her food down. Now she has to slow everything down, and it has helped a lot. She is an expert at the water bottle so I have to stop her by taking the bottle down after I think she's had enough or else she can still drink too much at once and have problems vomiting again.

By the way, Venus is also a fairly small chi at 4 lbs give or take an ounce.


----------



## nabi (Nov 25, 2004)

qtchi said:


> This is the same thing that seems to be going on with Venus. She has always been like this since we got her nearly 2 years ago. We just got her from the shelter when she was about 2 years old. She was a stray so she had no history. Anyway, we have tried her on many different foods for a 2-3 months at a time to see if that would help. Nope. We have tried supplements of all kinds. Nothing made a difference except maybe limiting her water intake and we avoided picking her up after she ate or drank. She would still vomit even if she was standing still. Vets had no real idea of what was going on either so we just put up with it.
> 
> Anyway, we moved to Reno in June. We had only been in town for about 2 weeks when she all of a sudden started having a seizure or what looked like a seizure. It was her first time doing that with us. I didn't know what to do because we didn't even have a vet yet. After her "seizure" she soon started to sound like she was gurgling. She never had that sound before even though she would vomit anywhere from 1-3 times a day and about the same amount at night. Once in a while she didn't vomit at all.
> 
> ...



sorry to hear of Venus' problems...I would ask for a referral to an Internist /GI specialist....her symptoms do point to ME...Bella had many xrays and her ME was missed...it took a specialist to find it...our Internist said it is frequently misdiagnosed....if she does have ME she is at great risk of aspiration pneumonia with drinking water as she is....her food should be pureed and she should be fed upright and remain so for at least 30 minutes post eating to allow gravity to help the food actually get into the stomach...you would be surprised at how much the esophagus can stretch..if she does have ME she needs to wear a Procollar to prevent aspiration....Wishing little Venus all the best...Kathleen


----------



## qtchi (Jun 19, 2010)

nabi said:


> sorry to hear of Venus' problems...I would ask for a referral to an Internist /GI specialist....her symptoms do point to ME...Bella had many xrays and her ME was missed...it took a specialist to find it...our Internist said it is frequently misdiagnosed....if she does have ME she is at great risk of aspiration pneumonia with drinking water as she is....her food should be pureed and she should be fed upright and remain so for at least 30 minutes post eating to allow gravity to help the food actually get into the stomach...you would be surprised at how much the esophagus can stretch..if she does have ME she needs to wear a Procollar to prevent aspiration....Wishing little Venus all the best...Kathleen


Okay. I will look into it further. She's been doing really well since I switched the way we feed her and give her water. I don't know if treatment would be any better than the results I've already gotten. I'll ask that vet again why he thinks that mega esophagus isn't that treatable with medicines or surgeries. He gave me a good explanation last time, but I can't remember anything except that there is not a lot that can be done if she even has mega esophagus. I don't know if there are any specialists here for GI problems. For all I know the vet I took her to is a GI specialist. I know he was recommended by the emergency vets, and he had a lot of positive reviews from other people. 

By the way, does she need to wear the procollar all the time, before, during, or after eating?

Venus's food is pureed or actually it's powdered because it's a dry food that she tolerates wonderfully and then I add water to the powder to make a paste. Is there a way to give her water that's not in a bowl or in a water bottle? She does horribly with a bowl because it really allows her to tank up on water as quickly as she wants. The water bottle allows her to drink standing up, and it slows her down. It's easy for me to take the bottle away from her if I think she's drinking too much too fast.


----------



## qtchi (Jun 19, 2010)

I just researched mega esophagus again, and I saw the Bailey Chair. I can make one of these for Venus regardless if she has mega esophagus or not. I'll see if her vomiting will be completely eliminated altogether. I'm afraid that over time even vomiting 3 times a week can take a toll on her esophagus and teeth from the acids. At least she is a lot better now.



Canine Megaesophagus, Aspiration Pneumonia & Myasthenia Gravis - Support Page


----------



## nabi (Nov 25, 2004)

qtchi said:


> I just researched mega esophagus again, and I saw the Bailey Chair. I can make one of these for Venus regardless if she has mega esophagus or not. I'll see if her vomiting will be completely eliminated altogether. I'm afraid that over time even vomiting 3 times a week can take a toll on her esophagus and teeth from the acids. At least she is a lot better now.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am glad you are making her the chair...she will do much better with it...the procollar is worn whenever the dog is not in the Bailey chair or is walking on a leash/playing...they need it on whenever there is a chance they can lay down...fluids can be incorporated into the puree....knox bloxs are also good....Bella won't take them so all her fluids are in her puree...if you join the ME support group you will finds lots of info and support....

I don't want to knock your DVM but there is many ways to help a dog with ME..things I have already mentioned plus many medications are available and effective....chronic regurgitation causes esophagitis and that is very painful....many DVMs feel ME is a death sentence...but with lots of care and knowledge on the owners part, many of these dogs live a long time....many do not but we all pray for the best outcome....


http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/megaesophagus/messages



this web site will help you figure out what your dogs daily water needs are...just enter the weight....

Water Requirement Dogs


----------



## qtchi (Jun 19, 2010)

I joined the ME group. I'm going to get the video on how to make the chair, but it does seem fairly simple to make. I make Venus a lot of things so this should be no problem. 

Thanks for including the water requirements link. Sometimes I do make Venus's food more milkshake like instead of more of a paste.


I had no idea that some vets think it's a death sentence. This vet didn't seem to think it was a death sentence. He just said to continue what I was doing because her condition improved so much.


----------

