So I took my buddy Sidney to the dog park today because it was really nice out for a January day. As always, he had so much fun and as always, there is water in bowls out at the park. Since Sidney has MegaE and cannot drink water like non-MegaE dogs or risk Aspration Pneumonia, it is always a concern. This is the case for us anyways, not necessarily the horizontal drinking of water which is a No-NO for all MegaE dogs, but for us it doesn't even work well in his Bailey Chair (so we give him water in the form of Knox Blox - recipe is in a below post). I always make sure to give Sid extra Knox Blox before we go and I just feel lucky that he really has no interest in drinking water from a bowl. I assume since he was born with MegaE, that it is so much easier for us to manage this because he has only known how not to drink water from a bowl. I say this because he ignores the water bowls - see the above photo.
Anyways, what I love is that Sidney is allowed to be a normal dog. He can have fun playing with other dogs and it really makes me happy to let him be normal and happy. YES, I watch him closely, but we really have our system down and we have a happy and normal dog. Does he have MegaE? Yup. Does he care? Nope!! That's all that matters to me. So if you get the diagnosis and wonder what your fur kid's life will be like. It will be great. Just get your system down and let your dog be a dog and enjoy having fun. It has worked for us. And I am so much happier, living though Sidney's happiness.
FOLLOW UP: I was curious about Prilosec OTC longtime use in my previous post. From what I have found, it isn't an issue and for us, we will continue with this every night for Sidney!!
Hi
ReplyDeleteI also have a chocolat lab with ME and i'm happy i found your blog :-) love it
Hope to get some tips with you
I have a Boston terrier who has just been diagnosed with ME
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! It gives me hope that Boscoe will have quality of life
Thank you for sharing
Ps- you inspired me to start blogging about my dog and our journey with ME! Thank you....
ReplyDeleteThanks for your inspiring blog. We have a 7 month old labradoodle named Gus who was diagnosed ME. Still working to get his routine down and reading your information is very helpful.
ReplyDeleteGlad our experience can help you and Gus!!! Sid was diagnosed at 10 weeks and will turn 3 years old this year!! So you and Gus should have a long life together!
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog, my black lab diagnosed 2 weeks ago - there is so much great info on here!
ReplyDeleteIs there anything you can recommend to help my boy gain weight?
At present he is very thin. We are only just starting to work out what is working for him to be able to keep his food down. As he is still only 6 months, he is growing up but not growing out.
Many thanks
When Sidney was a puppy - we crammed as many calories into his blended meal as possible. We added a Tablespoon of Olive Oil, Instant Oatmeal and Eukanuba Puppy Weaning Formulaa to the soaked Eukanuba Puppy Kibble and blended it all together. Maybe look into something like that? It worked for us!
ReplyDeleteI have a 4 mo. Old Boston with mega. He is very thin. I will try the oatmeal. I've even tried mixing in baby food.Is there anything u can do if u think they are choking in between feedings other than holding them n rubbing their back?
ReplyDeleteAre you feeding your dog water to drink? Sidney does NOT do well with that and often chokes it or regurgitates it - we use Knox Blox with a huge amount of success compared to water!
DeleteWhat is Knox Block ?
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me how he was diagnosed? I think this is what our 8 week old puppy has, but they are doing an ultra sound to look at things.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me how he was diagnosed? I think this is what our 8 week puppy has but they are doing an ultrasound to look at things
ReplyDeleteThey did something called a Barium Swallow Test - that showed the shape of the espohagus
DeleteI am happy with my dogs handling of MegaE, but he won't drink very much - is that O.K.
ReplyDeleteHi...my 11 year old mixed breed was just diagnosed with ME. Hardest thing is that water is not her friend. How much knox blocks should she have per day. Tried it today and she tolerated it well. We have only known for 4 days and it is not easy. Especially since we have 3 other dogs.
ReplyDeleteMy 11 year old mixed breed was diagnosed with ME 4 days ago. Hardest thing is no water. Tried know blox today and she tolerated them well. How much knox blocks should she get? Hardest part, we have 3 other dogs.
ReplyDeleteMy 11 year old mixed breed was diagnosed with ME 4 days ago. Hardest thing is no water. Tried know blox today and she tolerated them well. How much knox blocks should she get? Hardest part, we have 3 other dogs.
ReplyDeleteWe usually give him 6 or 7. Just really what feels right. He also gets water in his food when we blend it up. Good luck!
Delete