Megaesphogus Drinking Technique

The greatest challenge for your dog will probably be staying hydrated. Using wet dog food is a great help and is in most cases mandatory. However, you will still need to provide your dog with water. You cannot have your dog just drink out of a water bowl. That will lead to water getting trapped in the esophagus, vomiting and eventually aspirating pneumonia.

It is very difficult to get the water to the stomach through a dead esophagus. Therefore you must give your dog the best chance possible.

We bought a "hamster" water bottle at Petco. They make in much larger sizes for dogs. When your dog is thirsty, have them sit in an elevated position and allow them to drink from the water dispenser. They will quickly get the hang of it. Always try and move the dispenser higher to straighten out your dogs neck and allow the water to drop straight down to the stomach. The water is more difficult because it does not have the weight of food.

When your dog has had enough, he/she will stop drinking by themselves.

Immediately after this, you must elevate your dog and burp and shake the dog to get as much water down as possible. Again this will be a greater challenge than eating because of the weight of the meatball compared to the water.

The best idea for drinking is try and get you dog to drink before eating. Then when the dog is eating the meatballs will take a lot of water down with them. Remember gravity is being used in place of an esophagus.