Megaesophogus- how common???

King&Skylar · 06-02-2010, 11:21 PM

I got a puppy about 2 months ago, and I had her for 3 weeks. She wasn't growing and weighed 10 pounds at 3 months. We took her to the vet for xrays, etc. and she had megaesophogus- we were told she would need a feeding tube, and even with that it would just prolong her life for a couple months, then she'd need to be put to sleep. her whole esophogus was affected so it wasn't just a matter of liquid food, etc. She slept ALL the time- she would only play for max. 30 minutes a day, and sleep all night, etc. I sent her back to the breeder. she costed me $1200, we managed to get the money back, we found out after the breeder had told us that no one else had issues, etc,etc. that the runt of the litter was put to sleep in the first month because it was vomitting and not growing, and another puppy from the litter was sold sick aswell. I went to another province last week and found another puppy, she's purebred and her mom is from Germany, her father from Boston.
Basically, I'm wondering how common it is for a shepherd to have megaesophogus and how much she should weigh at 9 weeks, when I bring her home?? We rescued our other shepherd and he hasn't had any trouble, we're new at this whole puppy thing, and really trusted the first breeder to know what she was doing and be honest with us, but now i really want all of the info i can get to make sure i get a healthy puppy- it was really heartbreaking to bring her back.
any advice would be great!
thanks!

onyx'girl · 06-02-2010, 11:31 PM

Welcome to you. I am sorry your experience with your puppy went this way...I hope the breeder will not breed that female again.
MegaE is too common in the GSD, but not that common, luckily. One case is too many. This is from a search(top of the page, you can search most anything and have a thread pop up) on MegaE, look thru them for more info:
German Shepherd Dog Forums - Search Results

**MaggieRoseLee** · 06-03-2010, 12:01 AM

It's fairly common in the breed. In fact 2 out of 3 of the GSD's I've owned had it! Though I was lucky they were only lightly affected and grew up normal and fine.

It's absolutely genetic though, and that's what breaks my heart. The litter your puppy came from had 3 puppies with it (from what you describe) so a repeat breeding should be out, and possibly not using either adult ever again in a breeding.

More info on these sites:

http://www.videxgsd.co.uk/gastrointestinal.htm

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/megaesophagus.html

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00133.htm

http://www.caninemegaesophagus.org/

trudy · 06-03-2010, 10:13 AM

I am very sorry this happened to you and also sorry for the poor puppy. This is why we always say do your research!! Ask questions, you are lucky this breeder did refund your $$ lots insist you get another pup, or just never answer your emails/phone calls. Make sure it is a reputable breeder, that means not necessarily large fancy kennels but that they do something ( obedience/show/trials, anything) and can give references. Then their dogs have been out and seen. Good luck and it will all work out next time, you can now question knowledgeably.

**Samba** · 06-03-2010, 10:18 AM

It is believed to be an autosomal recessive trait in the breed and I have known several dogs with it.
My friend has a female whose megaE is pretty severe. She has managed to live and is robust at 7 years old. There have been some episodes of pneumonia, but with the right management she has lived a good life.

There are lots of informative pages on the internet about megaE and MRL listed a number of them.

06-02-2010, 11:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
King&Skylar Master Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 513	Megaesophogus- how common??? I got a puppy about 2 months ago, and I had her for 3 weeks. She wasn't growing and weighed 10 pounds at 3 months. We took her to the vet for xrays, etc. and she had megaesophogus- we were told she would need a feeding tube, and even with that it would just prolong her life for a couple months, then she'd need to be put to sleep. her whole esophogus was affected so it wasn't just a matter of liquid food, etc. She slept ALL the time- she would only play for max. 30 minutes a day, and sleep all night, etc. I sent her back to the breeder. she costed me $1200, we managed to get the money back, we found out after the breeder had told us that no one else had issues, etc,etc. that the runt of the litter was put to sleep in the first month because it was vomitting and not growing, and another puppy from the litter was sold sick aswell. I went to another province last week and found another puppy, she's purebred and her mom is from Germany, her father from Boston. Basically, I'm wondering how common it is for a shepherd to have megaesophogus and how much she should weigh at 9 weeks, when I bring her home?? We rescued our other shepherd and he hasn't had any trouble, we're new at this whole puppy thing, and really trusted the first breeder to know what she was doing and be honest with us, but now i really want all of the info i can get to make sure i get a healthy puppy- it was really heartbreaking to bring her back. any advice would be great! thanks!

06-02-2010, 11:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,605	Welcome to you. I am sorry your experience with your puppy went this way...I hope the breeder will not breed that female again. MegaE is too common in the GSD, but not that common, luckily. One case is too many. This is from a search(top of the page, you can search most anything and have a thread pop up) on MegaE, look thru them for more info: German Shepherd Dog Forums - Search Results __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo

06-03-2010, 12:01 AM	#3 (permalink)
MaggieRoseLee The Agility Rocks! Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Bushkill, PA (The Poconos!) Posts: 22,215	It's fairly common in the breed. In fact 2 out of 3 of the GSD's I've owned had it! Though I was lucky they were only lightly affected and grew up normal and fine. It's absolutely genetic though, and that's what breaks my heart. The litter your puppy came from had 3 puppies with it (from what you describe) so a repeat breeding should be out, and possibly not using either adult ever again in a breeding. More info on these sites: http://www.videxgsd.co.uk/gastrointestinal.htm http://www.marvistavet.com/html/megaesophagus.html http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00133.htm http://www.caninemegaesophagus.org/ __________________ MACH2 Bretta Lee Wildhaus CGC TC TQX Glory B Wildhaus NA, NJ, NF + LOL (still) "*Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde* Last edited by MaggieRoseLee; 06-03-2010 at 12:10 AM.

06-03-2010, 10:13 AM	#4 (permalink)
trudy Master Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 920	I am very sorry this happened to you and also sorry for the poor puppy. This is why we always say do your research!! Ask questions, you are lucky this breeder did refund your $$ lots insist you get another pup, or just never answer your emails/phone calls. Make sure it is a reputable breeder, that means not necessarily large fancy kennels but that they do something ( obedience/show/trials, anything) and can give references. Then their dogs have been out and seen. Good luck and it will all work out next time, you can now question knowledgeably.

06-03-2010, 10:18 AM	#5 (permalink)
Samba Administrator Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: USA Posts: 6,448	It is believed to be an autosomal recessive trait in the breed and I have known several dogs with it. My friend has a female whose megaE is pretty severe. She has managed to live and is robust at 7 years old. There have been some episodes of pneumonia, but with the right management she has lived a good life. There are lots of informative pages on the internet about megaE and MRL listed a number of them.

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