Not sure if this is what you are describing, although your vet said that his esophagus is normal. It's called congenital megaesophagus and people who's dogs have it, built/bought Bailey Chairs to help the dog eat and digest their food properly. If you google Bailey Chairs, and dog hi chairs, you see will see a whole bunch of links and u-tube videos. Apparently it is more common then originally thought. If Rocky is a food gulper, then maybe his problem was only temporary. It's so hard to diagnose some of the things that the little one's get, and for the most part, it is just pure guess work, unless you experiment and can prove what is causing the problem. He could have even been allergic to a treat that he was given. You probably have heard that all of those jerky treats are still being sold in the pet shops and dogs are still getting sick from them, and with all the testing that they have done, they still can't find anything wrong with the jerky treats.
http://www.pawnation com/2011/12/12/disabled-dogs-bailey-chair-allows-her-to-eat/ I am glad to hear that Rocky has improved, and can understand your concerns if you have to stop the meds......kinda scary for sure. Wish him well and please keep us posted as to how he does. When it comes to vaccines, not all symptoms are listed as to what they cause so there is no way of proving that the vaccines did cause his condition. The flea meds can also be another culprit. I personally do not believe in giving vaccines every year. Now they are talking about extending the 3 yr rabies shot to five/seven years, even though the vaccine is exactly the same as a 1yr shot and the dosage is exactly them same for a 1 pound pup/dog as it is for a St Bernard. There is a new protocol that the AAHA has finally agreed upon and that is that most dogs only need Boosters every 3yrs. Some of the vaccines are not even needed anymore, depending on where you live. There are many Vets that believe a dog has a life time immunity for most shots just like we do when we received our shots as kids. However, there are a couple of virus's that can change it's strain, much like the flu does every year, and thus a dog would need the upgraded booster. One of them is Parvo. But it is advisable to ask your Vet each year if the Parvo vaccine is the same as the previous year, if so, then your dog doesn't need it again. Here are some links for the new protocol. I will send the post on this next. https://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/CanineVaccineGuidelines.pdf -------Original Message------- From: ouidan Date: 2/26/2012 10:55:53 PM To: Chihuahuas@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Chihuahuas] Regarding Rocky(Chihuahua) I joined this group about 3 weeks ago when my dog was regurgitating food and water. The Vet said might be dilated esophagus and gave metoclopromide, sucrafate liquid and prolosec. I made a ring for his neck and fed him vertical and held him for 25 mins after food and water. Well today----- he is eating out of elevated bowl and (after gradually shortening the hold time afterwards), is not being held and going outside immediately after eating. I am still giving metoclopromide and prilosec. Next week I will stop and see if has a relapse. I am scared to do that since everything is going so good. But do you think I should continue it for life and not stop? It makes me wonder if he had ME to begin with. His xray showed normal esophagus. Just don't know. I would like to stop his vaccinations. Do you think it could contribute to his problem? Without this sites help, I was considering having him put to sleep. Thanks for all the info and support.
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