Maddie Gambler Puppies 3 weeks old

July 14, 2010 3 pounds 5 ounces, walking talking, hearing oh and eating. They say a picture is worth what?

3 Pounds!!!

July 12, 2010 Quiz is 3 pounds now and is increasing not only in weight but in size and strength. He is so strong it's becoming a challenge to hang onto him when I feed him. It's also getting harder to figure out which one he is in the whelping box. Eyes are open like little quarters, and you can see the wonderment in his eyes. Still tube feeding every 4 hours, but looking to add solids to his diet by the weekend.

The Adventure Begins...

July 1, 2010 my heart just about stopped as I looked into the whelping box to see a puppy with milk coming out of his nose while he was nursing. I have herd about puppies with "swallowing disorders" but I had never seen one. A consult with my veterinarian Dr. Cheryl Lopate - lets try nursing him by himself or with just one other puppy for a couple of days and see how he does. Her thoughts were he has an upper spinster esophageal dysfunction. So every two hours around the clock I would give Quiz time with his dam 10 to 30 minutes depending on when or if he would regurgitate. By the 4th of July he had gained 2 ounces, he was happy and thriving outwardly but this was not enough gain. Dr. Lopate consults with a Veterinary Nutritionist to see what we may be able to supplement with. None of the high calorie supplements on the market would do - the concern is Quiz will get diarrhea and become dehydrated.

July 4, 2010 Dr. Lopate wants to try tube feeding, we meet her at the clinic and she successfully feeds him 15 ml of formula. From July 4 through July 8, he gains a total of 25 ounces, that is a 5 ounce gain per day. Yea we are on a roll!

July 8, 2010 Barium study shows a normal esophagus, but obviously we have some sort of a esophageal dysfunction. Continue tube feeding.

In the meantime sleep deprived worried and emotionally just wrung out I begin to question myself. Am I being fair to this puppy? To what end do I take this? I look on the Internet for information on neonatal esophageal disorders. Not a lot comes up. Scared and frightened I send a plea out to a list I belong to of breeders. I get three replies; the first with heartfelt concern and experience suggests I weigh the situation out verses my lifestyle, other pets, etc. The other two were success stories of dogs who have made it past this... Add the support I am receiving from Dr. Lopate, who's detication to her clients unbeleivable - I am beginning to deal and feel less frightened.

I joined the Yahoo list group for Megaesophgus and I have explored the website inside and out. There is a lot of good informaiton on this web-board. Much of which may traslate to Quiz's management, of course we are hopeful that he will out grow this. Only time will tell - hence The Adventure Begins...