OT: Alaskan Malamute Puppy

[Natey]

Seems to be progressing quickly or something else is going on today. A couple times she drank her water she did like a reverse sneeze and spit it all up, but now it seems like she doesn’t want any because she’s having difficulty getting it down.

I am soaking her food, so maybe she’s just not that thirsty, but this is a definite change in behaviour that just started today.

I hope they call me back soon, I can’t watch her suffer, it’s killing me.

It's strange because it usually effects their eating too. I'm not sure if she's too old for surgery, but that's always a scary option.

What kind of food do you feed? I feed mine raw mostly and they get a lot of moisture with that.

 

[Canadienna]

Seems to be progressing quickly or something else is going on today. A couple times she drank her water she did like a reverse sneeze and spit it all up, but now it seems like she doesn’t want any because she’s having difficulty getting it down.

I am soaking her food, so maybe she’s just not that thirsty, but this is a definite change in behaviour that just started today.

I hope they call me back soon, I can’t watch her suffer, it’s killing me.

Really sorry to hear this BTT. I lost my best friend and loyal pup to muscular dystrophy of the esophagus. It made eating almost impossible for her.

I can't give any medical advice for you two (what you're doing with the food is exactly what our vet told us to do), but I'm wishing you two all the best.

She is lucky to have such a caring partner.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

My girl is in the process of being diagnosed with Persistent Right Aortic Arch (PRAA). The vet is like 95% certain this is the proper diagnosis, but her imaging has been sent off to the Atlantic Veterinary college in PEI that specialize in this to book a consultation and CT scan to confirm the diagnosis. My vet did a barium swallow with an X-ray which showed esophageal dilation and a stricture below the dilation.

Helena got real sick about 4 weeks ago and was sent home with 30 days of antacids and what we thought may be mega esophagus. She had her follow up exam yesterday and it seems to have confirmed our worst fears that it is likely PRAA, a birth defect, which is not common to this breed at all and my breeder had to look it up when I told her about it as none of her other pups or puppy owners have reported it.

I am completely devastated, this is such a sweet, beautiful, well tempered puppy who gets along with everyone and everything to have go through this just feels so unfair.

Has anyone had their pup diagnosed with this or know anyone who has gone through it? I feel so helpless, we’ve been feeding her by soaking her kibble and having her stand upright at the kitchen counter which seems to be working for the time being. I am really scared that her quality of life is going to deteriorate quickly. Anyone know anything about this? Tbh, I never heard of it before yesterday.

No idea how that progresses, but that sucks to read.

 

[Mrb1p]

Seems to be progressing quickly or something else is going on today. A couple times she drank her water she did like a reverse sneeze and spit it all up, but now it seems like she doesn’t want any because she’s having difficulty getting it down.

I am soaking her food, so maybe she’s just not that thirsty, but this is a definite change in behaviour that just started today.

I hope they call me back soon, I can’t watch her suffer, it’s killing me.

Sounds stupud but Ive seen a couple vids on tik tok where people build chairs where the dog can eat sitting jpright for this condition. Might be worth looking into.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

It's strange because it usually effects their eating too. I'm not sure if she's too old for surgery, but that's always a scary option.

What kind of food do you feed? I feed mine raw mostly and they get a lot of moisture with that.

She’s eating Nulo ancient grain kibble, but it’s soaked, nice and moist to help her get it down.

Sounds stupud but Ive seen a couple vids on tik tok where people build chairs where the dog can eat sitting jpright for this condition. Might be worth looking into.

Yeah the Bailey’s chair. It will most likely have to come to that. Not as easy for an 80lb puppy.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Really sorry to hear this BTT. I lost my best friend and loyal pup to muscular dystrophy of the esophagus. It made eating almost impossible for her.

I can't give any medical advice for you two (what you're doing with the food is exactly what our vet told us to do), but I'm wishing you two all the best.

She is lucky to have such a caring partner.

Sorry to hear this. I’m going to do everything I can for her and hopefully that will be enough.

I’ve got Trupanion insurance and they have been good so far. There’s no treatment option that is off limits for me, which is good. From my readings, there aren’t many options. Surgery is about it for PRAA, if not done swiftly then the chance of recovery drops dramatically. However, I did find some papers from a university in Illinois that stated it wasn’t the death sentence it use to be. Hopefully our college in PEI can perform the Minimally invasive surgery, but it’s not always possible. The anticipation is driving me nuts. She needs help immediately.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

No idea how that progresses, but that sucks to read.

It does, but she’s in good hands and she’s tough as nails. If anyone can get through it, I believe she can. I’m devastated, still trying to absorb it all, but soon it will be time to get to work and get on the path to recovery. If I don’t hear back by the middle of the week I will be calling again.

If PEI hospital is jam packed, I don’t mind going to other parts of the country. I just need her diagnosis confirmed as soon as possible so we can pick the right path for her. I will do whatever they recommend.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

It's strange because it usually effects their eating too. I'm not sure if she's too old for surgery, but that's always a scary option.

What kind of food do you feed? I feed mine raw mostly and they get a lot of moisture with that.

She’s not too old. Adult dogs gave successfully gone through this. The younger, the better, but 10 months Is well within the ideal range from my understanding.

 

[yianik]

I am sorry to hear about what your Pup and you are going through. I have a 2 year old black Lab named Molly and bite my lip whenever anything is going on. And it's always been minor in the end.

Vet medicine is just as evolved as human medicine.

Fingers crossed

 

[ZUKI]

Doctor Recchi may help here, no ?

 

[BehindTheTimes]

So was a bit of mixed bag. We went to PEI 100% expecting to have surgery and hopefully putting all this behind us, but turns out Dr there didn’t believe she required it. So he said if the soaked kibble and eating while standing routine is working that we should just continue with that. I was hoping for closure and getting her fixed and moving on, but tbh, he doesn’t think her condition is PRAA or mega esophagus and thinks she should live a long and healthy life.

She didn’t get a full, 100% diagnosis, but they suspect esophageal dysmotility. She’s been given a prescription for that, but the doc didn’t seem overly confident it would make a difference and he said the only reason to even give it to her is if we want try her hard kibble again. He said if we’re fine with soaking and standing her to eat then he would just continue that.

Was a bit disappointed to spend all the money and they didn’t even review her file until we got there. They could have told me over the phone they didn’t think surgery would be necessary, but delighted at the same time she didn’t need it.