a sick labradoodle pup-any ideas?UPDATE!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Hi everyone--I have a friend who just got an F1 labradoodle from a "backyard breeder"--my daughter is familiar with the breeder and she has had very healthy pups in the past and has shown herself to be a good person who cares about her pups and raises them in her home where they get lots of love--so that made us feel secure about suggesting this litter to my friend --who could not afford to pay a lot for a pup.
So, there were 12 pups--one died right away and one, that my friends has chosen as theirs early on from a photo, has some vomiting issues--he was very small and had trouble eating--but then he seemed to improve, so they got him anyway (the breeder had offered them another pup). Now, he is home with them and at 8 weeks old, he weighs 6 1/2 pounds--he is small but also quite skinny. (Parents are a full size lab and standard poodle, so he could be much bigger). He is also adorable, with an apricot cream coat, a brown nose and green eyes!
Here comes the hard part--two days ago, one of his brothers had pnuemonia from aspirating food and the vet determined that he had megaesophagus. The people did not want to deal with that incurable condition, which requires you to feed the pup in a special chair for the rest of his life and they put him down.
Of course, this made us all very nervous about my friend's pup--but despite his small size, he was acting normally otherwise--until last night. I got a call to come over quickly to see if I could help my friend because the pup was vomiting his dinner for over 40 minutes. By the time I got there, he was sleeping, but a bit raspy and uncomfortable. We are hoping it is not the megaesophagus issue. He had been playing hard just before dinner and maybe he ate too fast, or maybe he ate something when they took him outside, we just don't know and we are hoping it is nothing serious--but he was really having trouble swallowing. I gave him a bit of water with a syringe and he threw up another little blob of kibble--then after i left, he vomited a few more times about an hour later. The he slept well thru the night.

This morning, he is acting normal and ate his breakfast just fine--he played and did his business with out issues. I advised them to feed him just half of his meal at a time since, being the smallest in his litter, he gobbles the food like it is an eating contest.

My question is--can megaesophagus come and go? Can a pup have episodes of it (especially if they eat after hard playing) and be normal otherwise? Has anyone had experience with it? I told my friend that if they had another night like last night, they should have it checked out--I think you just have to do an X-ray. I sure hope this little cutie (who will hopefully be joining DK soon) is OK!!!

UPDATE:  The pup went to a vet today at the best facility around here--they said his lungs were clear, no fever (so he didn't aspirate any food) and they saw no obvious signs of Megaesophagus, but if there is another vomiting episode, they should bring the pup in for an Xray. He did not think it was necessary to do it today (That doesn't seem very helpful to me, but that is what happened.)

THEN, the breeder called and said that 9 out of 11 pups have it so far--OMD!!! I think she must have gotten the message to not repeat that breeding--if she didn't learn from that statistic, nothing is going to convince her! So sad to think that all those pups are sick--her family must be very upset as they kids help raise the pups and they are very sweet people.

I will see the puppy now and then and I hope I see him gain some weight--he is so thin, but he eats well, so hopefully he will gain now.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This just makes me so very sad.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I see Karen's point---guess I should not have put so much trust in my daughter's recommendation--she steered me away from another breeder in her area that had a litter of pups in the past that all had some sort of neurological issue--but after trying hard to figure it out, the pups all grew out of it and are fine....so you never know what is going to happen--even WITH HEALTH TESTING, but the way--lots of sick pups out there whose parents were tested for all sorts of stuff--no guarantees!!

I felt sorry for my friend who had spent 13 years cleaning up the hair from a 120 pound rescue dog --they loved him to pieces and he was a doll, but it was a bit like having a pony in the house! Oh, well--enough said about this...

[Henry Borick]

Hi all,

I am the sad recipient of the our dear departed Myles - see profile photo.  He was so truly adorable but most of what has already been posted is true. Here is our story.

Upon bringing Myles home friday evening, we noticed he was panting a little bit, but didn't think there was anything amiss. I've had dogs before and thought maybe some seperation anxiety and a little thristy.  It was a two hour drive.

All day saturday he played, he napped, he ate, he napped, just what puppies do.  But he ate very very quickly.  The regurgitation some of his food.  Sometimes it was 30 mins later, sometimes 3 hours.  There were a couple of times where we picked him up, and when we put him down he regurgitated. Nothing serious we thought, puppies have some digestive upsets at times.  We cut back on the quantity that we fed him.  We put a bowl upside down in his food bowl, so that he couldn't eat so fast.

Now its sunday, he doesn't quite have the pep he did on saturday.  More regurgitation, napped much more, played less.  Initially we thought, maybe kennel cough. We'd take him to the vet monday morning.  By dinner time he was just so lethargic.  We are in the middle of our 15 year olds birthday party... enough was enough.  We ended the party and took Myles to the Emergency Vetrinary hospital.  Initially the vet thought Kennel cough as well, but was concerned enough to take an xray.

When the vet comes back, she has tears in her eyes. Said that he had megaesophagus and a touch of pneumonia. WOW! Talk about a knockout punch.  We stood there stunned beyond belief.  There was no medical procedure that could be done to resolve.  Essentially, the esophagus could not push the food to his stomach. It ballooned to a 1 inch thick pouch. The "buddy chair" MIGHT prove helpful, if we wanted to strap him into it 3 times a day to help gravity get the food to his stomach.  For a puppy, that'd be like torture. Maybe it'd work for a older dog that feeds only once a day. The vet said it wasn't like detected earlier because the diet would be mostly liquid, but when transitioning to solid food it became a bigger issue.

To recap, yes it was a $850 puppy, they had breeded before without any previous incident that we know us. Yes, it affected 8 or 9 puppies of the litter. Vet bills were $700.  We are told they would refund our money and half of the vet bills (haven't seen it yet). Just such a truly sad and depressing experience for the puppies and families involved.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Henry, I am very sorry for your loss. 

[Sheila & Finnley]

How tragic and sad. I'm sorry for your loss.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I feel so sorry for Myles and his litter mates...and my condolences to you Henry.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

So sorry for your loss Henry and for poor little Myles.  Hugs and prayers to you!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am very sorry to hear about your puppy.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Thanks Henry for clarifying this--I agree that the breeder had no previous issues and she is also a wonderful person who has been very upset about all of this--especially after the family hand raised these babies--so sorry for your loss--it is truly sad--so far Beethoven is doing OK--he was the smallest, so who knows what will happen--but no Xray yet.

[Sheila & Finnley]

Ginny, you were just being a friend. There are NO guarantees with anything in our lives. Although we would like to think it works that way on occasion. You were a friend and that is that.... have no guilt !!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Henry, I'm so sorry for what you and little Myles had to go through.  RIP sweet Myles.  

I spent 2 years researching doodles before I got my pup (not that I suggest anyone else take THAT much time). My interest began with Marley...a magnificent black standard golden doodle who appeared with his owner at a "garden party."  I started researching online and over time visited with several breeders. My friends were amazed that I could walk out without a pup (and it was hard!) but I wanted to know as much as I could before I made a lifelong commitment (and I love to learn).  I was also one of those people who thought that in the beginning I would never pay $1,800 - $2,500 for a dog, but my attitude changed for all the reasons stated here and more.  Just as Ginny said though, even with extensive health testing, there are no guarantees that your pup will be healthy and sound. You will get your money back, but who among us would not rather have a healthy dog. You do know, however, that your dog's parents have great care and loving homes, your pup is well socialized and loved from the minute they're born, they've had proper vet care, and a dedicated breeder will stay in touch, be a great source of information to you, and will track any health issues to try and eliminate them from their breeding program. 

One thing that bothers me though is the number of pups on this site that have turned up with MegaE.  What is going on?  Ginny, I hope your friend's pup stays well and grows out of this. I don't think you have any reason to feel guilty.  You gave them all options, and you had no reason to suspect something like this.      

   

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I know you must feel bad Ginny, but you certainly didn't do anything with malicious intent. S--T happens! And it sounds like the breeder really is a reliable person ( even if a BYB) as she is being very forthcoming with all the owners and refunding money. So you were right there. This is so sad and I hope they find a happy ending to all this suffering both human and dog like.