Zuli was diagnosed with Megaesophagus at 8 weeks of age. For the first few weeks that we had her, she seemed like a normal happy pup. Then she began to make these awful whining sounds after she ate, like she was in pain. At first we thought she had just eaten too much, like puppy sometimes do, but it happed too often. One night, her screaming was too much and we rushed her to the emergency vet. They took an x-ray which showed her esophagus was filled with food, none was in her stomach. It filled her entire chest cavity putting pressure on her heart and lungs.

The vets think that her hanging caused nerve damage, which in turn caused her to lose the ability to swallow. When she was first diagnosed, I was told she probably wouldn't live to be a year old. Frustrated with that news, I searched the web and tried to learn as much as I could about this condition. I am by no means an expert, but I can give you my experience with mega.

We feed Zuli twice a day, once in the morning, once at night, We soak each meal in water until the next feeding time. Then we mash it with a potato masher and mix in more water, until it is the consistancy of a milkshake. She is then fed in an elevated position, in our case, we had a plant stand that works really well for this. Her body is positioned at a 45 degree angle, this seems to work the best for her. If we aren't at home, stairs or picnic tables work well too. Zuli does get to have treats, small pieces of freeze dried liver seem to work just fine.

There is no cure for this condition but with careful managment it is possible for these dogs to have a happy, fairly heathy life. Each case of mega is different, some dogs do well with mashed food while some need to be tube fed. Zuli can drink water but there are many mega dogs who can't, in that case ice cubes work or there is a product for humans with megaesophagus called Thick-It. Mega can also be a symptom of other problems.

Here are a few links, that I have found really helpful:

What mega is, with a great Shockwave demonstation

Another mega dog's page, Pumpkin

Yum, look at that gruel...It's about the consistancy of a thick milkshake.