Every day, MINI goes upstairs for...

[oscarmayer]

a nap while Sandy gets her shower. She wraps MINI up like a burrito in a big fuzzy blanket. MINI zones out quickly and snores(LOUDLY) away for an hour or so. Sandy insists she could leave her there all day and she wouldn't move. A warn pup is a happy pup.

 

[cefe13]

Thanks for sharing - adorable!

 

[Manydogs]

I love it when they snore-it is so relaxing-as opposed to a man snoring!! ha!ha!

 

[Hankster]

Sweetest thing heart melting

 

[2BullyMama]

The tippy tongue!!! Bully burrito


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[Dollys Owner]

So cute ! How is she doing with her eating? Does she still have that Bailey Chair for eating? You saved her life, so it kind of makes every day she's around something special

 

[oscarmayer]

She’s still using it every day X 2. Over the past few weeks however, she’s yelped a little getting into it. She refuses to sit and only stands. Her right back leg has a hip problem I think. We are going to do a few mock ups for a new chair that will encourage(force) her to sit. Hoping we can get the right design. Then I’ll make a permanent chair.

 

[Dollys Owner]

She’s still using it every day X 2. Over the past few weeks however, she’s yelped a little getting into it. She refuses to sit and only stands. Her right back leg has a hip problem I think. We are going to do a few mock ups for a new chair that will encourage(force) her to sit. Hoping we can get the right design. Then I’ll make a permanent chair.

Poor MINI- do you make her [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] 's turmeric paste? My wife started giving it to her 13 yr old chihuahua ( the one that recently killed a squirrel ) and it seems to be helping with her arthritis.

1/2 cup - Turmeric powder (*make sure that the turmeric powder is organic and is loaded with curcumin!)
1 cup - Filtered water
1 1/2 teaspoons - Freshly ground black pepper (increases absorption)
1/4 cup - Organic, cold pressed coconut oil

Heat water in the pan and add turmeric. Stir it, it will get thick, then add pepper and oil. Cool it down, can be stored in the fridge. Dose is 1/4 teaspoon 2-3 times a day.

 

[Cbrugs]

Super cute! Jax loves to be wrapped like a burrito as well.


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[oscarmayer]

Poor MINI- do you make her [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] 's turmeric paste?

I'll run this by Sandy. She's extremely cautious about what goes in MINI's food bowl & belly. We've(she) has tried introducing things in the past with less than stellar results. It took her a long time to figure out what will keep weight on MINI with the best chance of going in and not being regurged. That has been the biggest hurdle by far.
MINI goes in the chair(refusing to sit, she stands the whole time) and she gets about 6oz of water. After that she gets her food...a slurry of finely ground Zignature Duck, Dyne Hi-Cal Weight Gainer, Slippery Elm, Ensure, and Water. After that she gets Knox Blox made from Chicken Broth and Gelatin...that serves as added water. That is the ONLY water she gets. She cannot drink or eat anything as a normal dog would/should. Once she's done with the Knox Blox she stands in that chair for 40 minutes. It used to be 30 minutes but about 6 months ago we had to extend her time due to recurring regurge.
We never expected her to live very long. She has Congenital Mega-E and the likelihood of improvement is nil. Unfortunately, we have seen a steady(but very slow) decline in her ability to stave off the regurge. Our fear is that she will eventually she will aspirate.

 

[Dollys Owner]

I'll run this by Sandy. She's extremely cautious about what goes in MINI's food bowl & belly. We've(she) has tried introducing things in the past with less than stellar results. It took her a long time to figure out what will keep weight on MINI with the best chance of going in and not being regurged. That has been the biggest hurdle by far.
MINI goes in the chair(refusing to sit, she stands the whole time) and she gets about 6oz of water. After that she gets her food...a slurry of finely ground Zignature Duck, Dyne Hi-Cal Weight Gainer, Slippery Elm, Ensure, and Water. After that she gets Knox Blox made from Chicken Broth and Gelatin...that serves as added water. That is the ONLY water she gets. She cannot drink or eat anything as a normal dog would/should. Once she's done with the Knox Blox she stands in that chair for 40 minutes. It used to be 30 minutes but about 6 months ago we had to extend her time due to recurring regurge.
We never expected her to live very long. She has Congenital Mega-E and the likelihood of improvement is nil. Unfortunately, we have seen a steady(but very slow) decline in her ability to stave off the regurge. Our fear is that she will eventually she will aspirate.

You and Sandy are very special people to be going through all this for MINI ! I'm not a veterinarian or even close, but is there any possibility of getting her a low profile Gastrotomy feeding tube so you can just feed her liquified dog food through it?

My dog throws up quite frequently as well on the raw dog food, but luckily she hasn't suffered from aspiration pneumonia yet. I think she does better on rabbit and duck so I try to stick to those.

 

[helsonwheels]

Chip, why Weight Gainer? My other question, isn’t there any surgery that can fix this while she’s still young?

 

[KING OLLIE HOUSE of BULLDOG]

Oh that Mini. I love her.


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[oscarmayer]

Chip, why Weight Gainer? My other question, isn’t there any surgery that can fix this while she’s still young?

She can only have but so much food at a time or she'll regurgitate. And we can't expect her to stand in a chair for 45 minutes more that 2 times per day...just asking too much.
As far as surgery is concerned, she's been evaluated by her regular Vet and by 2 specialists and they all are in agreement, her issue is undeveloped nerves in the esophagus. There is no surgery that can correct it.

 

[Dollys Owner]

She can only have but so much food at a time or she'll regurgitate. And we can't expect her to stand in a chair for 45 minutes more that 2 times per day...just asking too much.
As far as surgery is concerned, she's been evaluated by her regular Vet and by 2 specialists and they all are in agreement, her issue is undeveloped nerves in the esophagus. There is no surgery that can correct it.

I love MINI, so I'm going try to offer some more advice, so don't get offended if you've tried it all:

It may be helpful to try varying the texture of the food, or adding medication such as ranitidine. Even if MINI doesn't aspirate from eating she can still aspirate her saliva, so it may help to add a drug. Here's some info I'm pasting from a vet manual:

Feeding modification:
Feed from an elevated platform such that the patient's esophagus is as close to being perpendicular to the floor as
possible so gravity aids in food/water emptying from the esophagus into the stomach. Probably beneficial to maintain
this position for several minutes after eating to enhance food emptying into the stomach.
Feed different consistencies of food to find which is best tolerated: feeding a gruel is usually the best choice, but
some animals fare better if fed canned or solid food or meatballs.
Feed several small meals per day (or free choice in the case of dry kibble) to minimize retention of large amounts in
esophagus.
Prokinetic drugs may be tried.
Only indicated when gastroesophageal reflux is suspected or confirmed, to increase normograde gastric emptying and
reduce the volume of acid reflux. Prokinetic drugs are often useful for treating gastric motility disorders, but they do
not increase esophageal motility to any clinically appreciable degree. Options include:
Cisapride (0.1-0.5 mg/kg PO q 8-12 h). Cisapride increases lower-esophageal tone (most effective prokinetic).
Metoclopramide (0.2-0.4 mg/kg PO, IM, or SQ q 8-12 h). The increase in lower-esophageal sphincter tone
described for metoclopramide is not thought to be clinically significant and does not contraindicate usage in
megaesophagus.
Erythromycin (2 mg/kg PO q 12-24 h). This drug stimulates motilin receptors, thereby enhancing gastric
peristalsis.
Ranitidine (2.2 mg/kg PO, q 8-12 h). This H2 receptor antagonist has prokinetic activity.
Gastric acid-reducing therapy: recommended if gastroesophageal reflux is documented or likely.
Omeprazole (1 mg/kg PO q 24 h); most effective drug