puppy aspirates food

a friend is fostering a litter of puppies for GR rescue. They are about 5
weeks old now. Two night ago, one of the puppies started choking on his
food. They tried to clear his airway but were unable to do so. They
rushed him to the vet, but he died. Apparently he aspirated the food into
his lungs. The family is crushed.

What, if anything, can be done to help a puppy or dog when something like
this happens? Does this happen very often?

--
Lynne

"Lynne" wrote in message
. 97.142...
a friend is fostering a litter of puppies for GR rescue. They are about 5
weeks old now. Two night ago, one of the puppies started choking on his
food. They tried to clear his airway but were unable to do so. They
rushed him to the vet, but he died. Apparently he aspirated the food into
his lungs. The family is crushed.

What, if anything, can be done to help a puppy or dog when something like
this happens? Does this happen very often?


........haven't the foggiest, but the obvious question is what kind of food
were they feeding - wet or dry?

buglady
take out the dog before replying

on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:18:04 GMT, "buglady"
wrote:

.......haven't the foggiest, but the obvious question is what kind of
food were they feeding - wet or dry?

moistened dry food. Nutro puppy, FWIW.

What surprised me is that this particular puppy was the most laid back one
in the litter. He was very sweet. He had already been selected by a
family to go home in early July. It's so sad.

--
Lynne

"Lynne" wrote in message:

What, if anything, can be done to help a puppy or dog when something like
this happens? Does this happen very often?

No clue about this, but lots of questions.

Was the puppy otherwise okay? Eating and drinking fine, normal weight gain,
no vomiting/regurgitation of food, etc.? In my very, very limited
experience, puppies that have aspirated have had other underlying health
problems, like Megaesophagus.

Suja

on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:48:37 GMT, "Suja" wrote:

No clue about this, but lots of questions.

Was the puppy otherwise okay? Eating and drinking fine, normal weight
gain, no vomiting/regurgitation of food, etc.? In my very, very
limited experience, puppies that have aspirated have had other
underlying health problems, like Megaesophagus.

He was laid back, but only compared to the rest of the puppies. He was
very alert, playful, bright eyed and curious. So he seemed fine to me, and
the vet deemed him healthy at an early vet check soon after he was born.
He never displayed any prior health problems and he was a cute little fat
puppy, just like the rest of them.

Is there any kind of intervention for aspiration?

--
Lynne

on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:48:37 GMT, "Suja" wrote:

In my very, very limited
experience, puppies that have aspirated have had other underlying health
problems, like Megaesophagus.

I meant to ask, would this present suddenly? The puppies have been eating
solids for about 10 days. Mama had mastitis and so they were weaned at 4
weeks, though she is back with them now and they are nursing again, just
not as much as before.

--
Lynne

"Suja" wrote in message
...
In my very, very limited
experience, puppies that have aspirated have had other underlying health
problems, like Megaesophagus.

.........I have zero experience with puppies, but I think other than horrible
accidents and a disease like parvo, for instance, puppies that suddenly die
at a very young age have some kind of defect

buglady
take out the dog before replying

on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:30:47 GMT, "buglady"
wrote:

"Suja" wrote in message
...
In my very, very limited
experience, puppies that have aspirated have had other underlying
health problems, like Megaesophagus.

........I have zero experience with puppies, but I think other than
horrible accidents and a disease like parvo, for instance, puppies
that suddenly die at a very young age have some kind of defect

Is megaesophagus hereditary? Should the rest of the puppies be evaluated
for this? The litter appears to have 3 different sires, if that matters.

--
Lynne

"Lynne" wrote in message:

Is megaesophagus hereditary?

I do believe that Mega is considered to be an inheritable disease.

Should the rest of the puppies be evaluated
for this?

I would, just to be on the safe side. It is possible that the pup is the
only one with the disorder, or had some other issue going on, but any home
that a Mega pup goes to has to be super diligent about the dog's eating and
drinking. As a general rule, they need to be fed upright (off a counter top
or shelf), have to stay in that position for 15 or 20 minutes after eating,
and depending on the dog, may have to drink 'jellified' water to keep it
going down the right way. While some puppies seem to outgrow the condition,
there are too many cases where the pup has to be put down eventually, due to
complications (constant aspiration pneumonia, inability to gain or retain
weight, etc.).

Suja

on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:44:08 GMT, "Suja" wrote:

I do believe that Mega is considered to be an inheritable disease.

I would, just to be on the safe side. It is possible that the pup is
the only one with the disorder, or had some other issue going on, but
any home that a Mega pup goes to has to be super diligent about the
dog's eating and drinking. As a general rule, they need to be fed
upright (off a counter top or shelf), have to stay in that position
for 15 or 20 minutes after eating, and depending on the dog, may have
to drink 'jellified' water to keep it going down the right way. While
some puppies seem to outgrow the condition, there are too many cases
where the pup has to be put down eventually, due to complications
(constant aspiration pneumonia, inability to gain or retain weight,
etc.).

Ugh, not what I wanted to hear but thank you, Suja.

Gosh I hope the rest of the puppies are going to be okay...


--
Lynne