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.

[Adrienne]

This is heart breaking.  Henry, I am so sorry for your loss.  Ginny, I hope that your friend's pup makes a full recovery.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Thanks to you and all of the supportive people on DK--at least we now know what happened with the one puppy who was put down--we were wondering about him--poor little guy.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

 

I'm so very sorry for EVERY HUMAN and EVERY DOG  involved.  I'm sad with you too.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This is such a sad situation and heartbreaking for everyone involved. I hope your friend's puppy does not have this.  Henry, I extend my deepest sympathies to you.

[Henry Borick]

Thank you all so much for you sympathy and support.  There is certainly something special about pet lovers.  We're working to recover each and every day. It's almost like losing a child soon after birth.  All the hopes and dreams of what was to come....

I do hope that 'Beethoven' and all remaining puppies do well.  It's hard sometimes, just wondering, what could've been done differently to prevent such heartache. When should the puppies been allowed to go home, what the vet could have or should have known at their pre-release checkup. How much vomiting would be expected in a litter of puppies?

We would certainly like to find another puppy that we can love and support.  A chocolate labradoodle just fits us so well. Unfortunately we've had a hard time coming up with other locations. Myles came from a breeder in upstate NY, two hours from our home. We know there are two others in that area, but they've all used the same male poodle stud which worries us a little...actually a lot. We've not found too many other options within a 6 hour radius. If anyone has other recommendations, we'd appreciate them.

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

Henry, would you consider having a puppy flown in from surrounding states? Someplace that would be able to fly non-stop? That opens up more options for you. I've had two flown in and all went really well. I hope you find one soon and it's everything your family needs to heal your hearts.

[Ginny Nightingale]

The tough part for you Henry is finding a nice doodle in your price range--the ones that are health tested and watched closely for issues as they develop (although it is possible that these guys didn't have any issues) are much more expensive. I will send you a friend request and then we can talk privately about your options and I have some suggestions. We are not allowed to make recommendations on the forum.