My english bulldog is 11 years old. Still acts like a puppy. The last couple of weeks when she drinks water, even if I just give her a tiny bit it seems as soon as it hits her stomach she regurgitates it up along with a very clear gooey liquid. Then she may drink a little more and does it again and then drinks a little more and it stays down. This is every time she drinks. She does not have a problem eating food. That stays down all the time. Why is this happening?

RubyPitbull

It is time to call your vet and bring your dog in for a complete health evaluation. I don't want to scare you but when there is a sudden change in which your pet cannot eat or drink normally, it is important to get your pet into the vet's office. It could be nothing or anything. The first thing that came into my mind after reading your post is that your dog may have developed megaesaphogus. The esophagus dilates due to the loss of its ability to move water (or food) properly through the canal (peristaltic function). Sometimes megaesaphogus is a symptom of a different disease such as myastenia gravis. I am not stating that this is what your dog has. It is impossible to diagnose a medical condition online. My only point in telling you all of this is that there isn't a simple answer to your question and if it were my dog I would be at the vet's office immediately looking for answers. Please let us know what the vet says and how your dog is doing.

rrizzo

Thanks so much for your response back in Oct. Here is an update. I took my dog as suggested to the Vet. She has had several blood tests and x-rays and they determined the following: Her Liver is enlarged but through an x-ray, no obvious masses. Her renal values are slightly high and with yesterday's x-ray she does appear to have megaesophagus. 10 days ago the Vet put her on Prescription Diet k/d soft food for her low protein diet (we give her 1/2 can plus 1/2 cup of Pedigree hard food), 1/2 tablet twice a day Tagamet, Denamarin (liver protectant) 2 x a day and Clavamox (antibiotic) which she finished the other day. That was 10 days at 1 x a day. Also for the past 10 days we've given her 200ml of fluids through injection to flush out her kidneys. We are waiting for a blood test results today to find out if any of this treatment has improved any of her numbers and what her future treatment will be. The doctor also suggested that she drinks her water at a higher level and we hold her head high for a few minutes to allow the water to go into her stomach. Did this last night and the water seemed to stay down. Not sure if it's was just a coincidence. Let me know your thoughts.

RubyPitbull

rrizzo, I am so glad that you are getting some answers and your vet is doing everything he/she can to help your dog. You are absolutely on the right track. Follow your vet's advice. Allowing her to drink her water at a higher elevation is a simple method that is used in these cases. It does work, as you noticed last night. You might want to purchase an elevated dog feeder, like one of these: Elevated Dog Feeders - Dog.com Have her take a little water or food at a time, and if you want to, instead of just holding her head high: with one hand, gently hold her beneath her muzzle pointing it upward as you did, and with the other hand, slide your palm gently under the chin and along her throat in one downward motion. Do it a few times to ensure that the food or water is moving downward properly. See if that makes any kind of difference. Keep us posted as to how your girl is doing.

rrizzo

Ruby I must tell you the Vet called today with the blood results and she was amazed at the improvement. Her alt's went from around 660 to 227 and her BUN went from 57 to 19. We are going to keep her on the liver protectant and give her fluids every other day and the Vet wants to put her on a Kidney protectant also..not sure which one and in 2 weeks we will take another blood test and see how her liver is doing. Meanwhile funny you mentioned about the dog feeder because that's exactly what we picked up for her today. It stands 12 inches from the floor, perfect height for her, she does not have to bend and best of all it works....she didn't throw up. I will let you know in a couple of weeks how she is doing.