Month: March 2010

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Megaesophagus & The Bailey Chair

I get so many visitors to the site looking for information on Megaesophagus & Bailey Chairs, I’m updating the post. If your dog has just been diagnosed, I want you to know there are lots of people out there who are dealing with the same thing and want to share what they’ve learned.

I recommend joining the Yahoo megaesophagus group—they’re active, responsive, & helpful.  Look under “Files” for years worth of invaluable information on everything to do with megaeshophagus.  There is now a Facebook support group for megaesophagus which is also active & growing.

Megaesophagus is a condition in which a dog’s esophagus is enlarged to the point that food remains in the esophagus and never makes it down to the stomach and is instead regurgitated. The muscle contraction and relaxation that normally takes place to move food down to the stomach doesn’t work. Megaesophagus can be present since birth or can develop in adult dogs. If left untreated, it can cause a range of problems, including starvation and aspiration pneumonia.

  • The Mar Vista Vet site has a crash course on megaesophagus, including:
    • how regurgitation differs from vomiting
    • x-rays comparing a normal esophagus to a megaesophagus
    • interactive videos demonstrating megaesophagus
    • plus information on cause, diagnosis, & treatment

The Bailey Chair was designed by, Donna & Joe Koch, the owners of a dog (Bailey) diagnosed with megaesophagus. The dog sits in a “begging” position to eat, drink, or take medication and gravity does the work to bring what’s ingested to the stomach. There are a few ways you can acquire a Bailey Chair:

  • The creators will send you a DVD or video of instructions for building your own Bailey Chair for $6.00 to cover costs. Send email to Matthew1@earthlink.net to inquire about the address.  (Find out more in the Yahoo Megaesophagus Group.)

This “highchair” for dogs can be made of different materials and in different sizes to accommodate small and large dogs.
smallbaileychair.jpg largebaileychair.jpg

With proper eating position, diet, and medication, these dogs can have almost normal lives. Like Roxie, Rocket, Jasmine, Mattie, Diyoji, and in particular Tobin, whose caretakers’ describe their trials, errors, and successes in ongoing journal entries.

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EPA Evaluates Spot-On Flea & Tick Treatment

Reports of adverse reactions to spot-on pesticides increased 53% from 2007-2008.  That’s a big increase and the EPA launched a study.  Spot-on pesticides are those flea & tick treatments you apply between pet’s shoulder blades or down their spine like Defend ExSpot, Sergent’s Squeeze-On, Hartz Flea & Tick Drops, Bio Spot, Advantage, Frontline, etc.  Spot-on products fall under the purview of the EPA instead of the FDA because they are a pesticide, not a medication.  A scary ramification of EPA oversight instead of FDA oversight is that there’s been no post-market tracking of the products.  That means once they’re registered by their manufacturer, these spot-on pesticides haven’t been monitored.  Not good, but things are changing.

The EPA’s review of data on spot-on pesticides found most adverse reactions were minor, such as skin irritations that resolved quickly, however, they’re were disabilities & death.  In cats, the problem was usually inappropriate application of dog products, which contained ingredients dangerous for cats or were too large a dose.  In dogs, small & toy breeds had more adverse reactions than larger dogs probably due to too high a dose.  Here’s what the EPA plans to do:

Improving labeling as needed to insure product:

  • is very clearly identified as for cats or for dogs only
  • lists safety precautions, such as keeping dogs apart from cats immediately after product is applied
  • lists possible reactions

Safety changes:

  • changing dosage by narrowing weight ranges (a current weight range for one brand is 23-44lbs, which means a 23lbs. dog is getting almost twice as much of the active ingredient per pound as a 44lbs. dog at the high end of the weight range)
  • determining safety of inert ingredients which can enhance absorption through skin, cause skin sensitization, be toxic to cats
  • improving testing requirements to examine differences between dogs, long-term exposure, effects of exposure orally from grooming
  • appropriate testing–beagles are usually used in testing and this breed isn’t sensitive to spot-on pesticides
  • bring EPA’s data requirements inline with FDA’s data requirements (click on the chart below to see how they compare at this time)

EPA’s Safety Tips:

  • Consult your veterinarian about the best way to to protect your pets from fleas and ticks and whether pesticides are even needed.
  • Use extra care before use on weak, aged, medicated, sick, pregnant, or nursing pets, or on pets that have previously shown signs of  sensitivity to pesticide products.
  • If you use a spot-on product or any other pesticide on your pet, carefully read and follow the product label.
  • Use flea and tick control products only on the animal specified by the product label – for example, dog products for dogs only and cat products for cats only.
  • Follow any label prohibitions against use on weak, aged, medicated, sick, pregnant, or nursing pets, or on pets that have previously shown sensitivity to pesticide products. Apply only the amount indicated for the size of the animal being treated.
  • Do not apply to kittens or puppies unless the product label specifically allows this treatment. Pay attention to the age restrictions for puppies and kittens on the label.
  • Monitor your pet for side effects or signs of sensitivity after applying the product, particularly when using the product on your pet for the first time. Do not apply spot-ons to pets known to be sensitive to pesticide products.
  • Keep the package with the product container (such as individual applicator tubes).  Also keep the package after treatment in case adverse effects occur.
  • If your pet experiences an adverse reaction, immediately bathe the pet with mild soap and rinse with large amounts of water.

For more information check out:

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We Like: Garden Tip—A Digging Pit For Your Dog

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It’s warmed up enough here in the Pacific NW that I can work in the garden and I was reminded how much Saffron loves her digging pit.  Rather than fight her urge to dig, I redirected her to a dedicated space for digging.  She’s happy and I’m happy!

Several years ago, in a moment of insanity, I agreed to be part of a garden tour.  So all Summer and Fall we worked on the yard.  I planted hundreds of bulbs, divided perennials, moved plants around like you move furniture, and prepped raised beds for vegetables.  Then Winter came and we waited for Spring to see how it looked.

Next, we adopted our dog Saffron who didn’t know that a flower bed was different from a lawn or that the great smelling compost & manure on the veggie beds wasn’t for her to snack on or that all that yard wasn’t for her to dig a bunch of nice holes in. We had months to go before the garden tour and I needed to keep things looking nice, so I had a lot of incentive to quickly teach Saffron what she could and couldn’t do.  To top it off, Saffron had a lot off fear issues and was overly submissive, so repeatedly scolding her was out of the question and who wants to spend all their time saying “No!” to their dog anyway.

I think dogs need to be dogs and it’s asking a lot to expect them to act like they’re not.  Dogs like to dig and Saffron was making it pretty clear that she liked to dig too and make burrows or nests in our lawn for herself.  Given that she spent her puppyhood alone as a stray on a Reservation, I’m sure she dug burrows to keep herself warm and to feel protected.  I didn’t want to take that away from her, but I could get her to dig in a suitable place that didn’t wreck the yard.

I’d read about giving your dog a specific area where it’s okay for her to dig, which sounded like a great idea.  It’s kind of like a sand box for dogs.  Here’s what I did for digging pit success:

  1. I picked an unobtrusive corner of our yard that got sun in the morning and shade in the late afternoon.
  2. As I prepared the area, I called Saffron over and told her in a happy voice how cool this was going to be so she’d get interested and excited.  I kept repeating the words “digging” & “dig” so she would learn them and associate them with her pit.
  3. I put in a simple border made from garden edging from Home Depot to define the space.  Dogs are very visual and if you teach them, they can understand borders and barriers.
  4. Saffron is about the size of a large Border Collie and her pit is about 3 x 4ft. and 2.5ft deep.  I would make it 4 x 4ft. if I had more room.
  5. Then I started digging in the “pit” with a shovel to loosen the dirt.
  6. I decided to add some sand to the existing dirt so she wouldn’t get terribly dirty from soil sticking to her paws and fur.
  7. Next, while Saffron was watching, I buried some new cheap toys, a rawhide chew, and a large treat like a Greenie that sand wouldn’t stick to.
  8. Lastly, I pointed to the pit and said “Get it! Dig!” and praised her for getting in.  She was so timid she needed some encouragement from me, so I dug with a hand trowel and cheered her on.  She got it and had a blast.

Anytime I caught Saffron digging in an inappropriate place, I redirected her to her digging pit.  And more importantly, anytime I saw her in the pit—even if she was just lying down—I praised her.  I reinforced digging in the pit every few days by digging in it with a shovel and burying things while she watched.  She started learning that good things happened when she was in her pit.

Saffron totally gets her digging pit now.  She digs in it when she’s playing with us because she’s excited, she digs in it when she needs to release stress like after a walk in strong, scary wind, she digs in it and roots around when she smells something interesting, and she digs lovely, cool nests to lie in and take it easy while we’re doing yard work.  Every now and then, I bury something interesting in her pit for her to find just to keep her interested.  She still occasionally digs in places I don’t want her to, but very rarely.  And if she does, I just remind her of her digging pit.  Yea!

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