Pup Feed station - megaesophagus

[zmk1962]

Hey Raiders,

Totally unrelated to fishing - but very dear to me and my family - and it may help someone else. 

After many month$ of visits to the vet we finally have a diagnosis for our maltese shitzu pooch Archie - at 9yo he was happy and thriving, but then out of the blue started to throw, heave, chuck, regurgitate .....  hmmmm...  

Unlike a human's vertical oesophagus which gets help from gravity, a dogs oesophagus is horizontal so they totally rely on muscles to push food along to their stomach ...

Well it turns out the little pooper has myasthenia gravis a condition where he has lost control of the oesophagus muscles in sections ... so as he loads up with food it sits in his oesophagus, which he then regurgitates. If left as is, the situation would worsen into another condition where bags/sacks form in the oesophagus which further traps food (megaesophagus) - most dogs with this conditions are diagnosed at this stage - we are fortunate to have got it early.  

Left untreated the pooch basically slowly fades as they cannot get enough essential nutrient - in the end the needle is the only humane solution.

So we have tried holding him upright for 20min after food, which has had marginal improvement,  but my thinking was he has loaded up and we are trying to get a gob of food down in one go, it would be easier if small doses of food made their way down as he ate -  I googled it and others have thought the same - and its actually a "thing" - a bailey chair - lots of youtube clips.  People had extended their pooches lives by years.

So now after a day in the workshop I'm happy to report our pooch has his own "Archie Chair" .

The front hinges open for easy loading .....

Trial fit - he's not sure about this - standing up - 

... a minute later - all good - sitting and comfy - 

 

Looks like he's ready for some of @kingie chaser's special tucker .... well I think he certainly looks formal enough for it ! 

Cheers Zoran

PS - varnishing and covering of foam with cloth is in progress.

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by zmk1962

[61 crusher]

Great job Zoran when I first saw it I thought it looked a bit like a kings throne, the way Archie has settled into his knew chair I reckon he could join you & Maria at tea time or even a dinner party in time 😁

[kingie chaser]

Wow Zoran, that's awesome that your looking after the little fella's special needs 

 

Still not sure what to think about your last statement though 🤨

My food is either only fit for the dogs OR its good enough to feed to most precious extended family member 😏………..🤣

 

Archie looks pretty stoked either way 👍

[frankS]

Zoran. You have to do whatever it takes to keep your loved ones comfortable and you have done just that. great job and I hope the little fella adapts to his new throne quickly and feels no ill effect from his ailment. I lost a loved one 2 years ago now to kidney failure and still get weepy eyed when we view photos of her. Long haired Jack Russell . Have had and lost many dogs in my time but shy was very special.

Frank

[zmk1962]

1 hour ago, kingie chaser said:

My food is either only fit for the dogs

Oh dear ... sorry KC, was never meant to come across like that .... I was just picking up on someone's comment that we all felt we had to dress up to taste your fare !!!

Actually I think we are all a bit wary of posting in the kitchen - think @mrsswordfisherman should be handing out some Michellin hats to separate you from us mere mortals !

Cheers Z

[zmk1962]

24 minutes ago, frankS said:

Zoran. You have to do whatever it takes to keep your loved ones comfortable and you have done just that. great job and I hope the little fella adapts to his new throne quickly and feels no ill effect from his ailment. I lost a loved one 2 years ago now to kidney failure and still get weepy eyed when we view photos of her. Long haired Jack Russell . Have had and lost many dogs in my time but shy was very special.

Frank

Thanks Frank. He has settled in but we have not had a feed as yet. Just waiting for varnish to dry, then second coat tomorrow. I think first feed will most likely be Monday's dinner.  So sorry to hear about your Jack Russell - they are a lively package - she would have kept you on your toes and in great company I'm sure. They have such individual personalities - just like people.

Cheers Z

[kingie chaser]

1 hour ago, zmk1962 said:

Oh dear ... sorry KC, was never meant to come across like that .... I was just picking up on someone's comment that we all felt we had to dress up to taste your fare !!!

Actually I think we are all a bit wary of posting in the kitchen - think @mrsswordfisherman should be handing out some Michellin hats to separate you from us mere mortals !

Cheers Z

Mate I was just kidding, I knew what you meant.

I am by no means trying to turn the kitchen some fine dining thing.

Like I said early in the piece I am just trying to show there is something else that can be done to our catch other than turning it into fish & chips every time.

So merely trying to broaden peoples horizons so to speak.

 

 

[mrsswordfisherman]

11 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

Oh dear ... sorry KC, was never meant to come across like that .... I was just picking up on someone's comment that we all felt we had to dress up to taste your fare !!!

Actually I think we are all a bit wary of posting in the kitchen - think @mrsswordfisherman should be handing out some Michellin hats to separate you from us mere mortals !

Cheers Z

Hey please do not feel wary to post in there @zmk1962

We have so many raider members from different heritages and members were always asking about how to cook their captures so I started The Kitchen years ago.  

There are a few members like yourself and KC and flatheadluke that have "fish chef" badges. All of you have great recipes in there. Cooking is a funny thing isn't it. I always thought that I was a poor cook but when people eat my offerings they eat it all and compliment on how tasty it was. I think that is what all chefs want from their meals - enjoyment by the diner. 

Michelin stars hmmmm I might change the name to The Kitchen - a 3 star Michelin establishment  

Anyway back to the topic. Very impressed with your care and love for the little fella there. You and Maria are truly special people. Please let us know how Archie gets on. 💖

 

 

 

 

[zmk1962]

Ok... so just to close this out.  The chair is complete....I used some marine canvas which I had salvaged from an old boat cover - to cover the foam - still needs to be washed -

Archie is progressing well, getting used to having his meals upright....

But it is a process and we are not entirely there. He has to unlearn 9yrs of eating habits. Luckily my daughter is very dedicated - here's an earlier video where she started with treats and then progressed to spoon feeding....

So far the outcome is looking positive as he has regurgitated much less ...... we'll get there !  

Cheers Zoran

[Blackfish]

Good on you Zoran and Go Archie.