My dog has been sick for 3 weeks now, and the initial diagnosis was kennel cough but after weeks of antibiotics, steroids, and no improvement, they finally diagnosed him with mega-esophagus. The vet sounded optimistic and stated it’s “manageable” with a Bailey chair, daily medications, and lifestyle/diet modifications.

However, as he was talking, it felt extremely unmanageable and the manageable label seemed to do nothing but guilt trip me into thinking if this condition led to my dogs death it was my fault due to improper management.

I am exhausted. I haven’t slept a full night in 3 weeks since this all started just because he keeps me awake coughing. I am heartbroken. I try to feed my dog sitting upright and I just sob. When he goes to where his water bowl was, I break down into tears because he’s thirsty and he is at MY mercy to give him water when I can. I just cry and cry when I think about it. I look at him and sob, and he just stares at me like dad what’s wrong? But also sometimes when he’s coughing, puking, etc he stares at me like dad please help and I just think I am trying 😭

I can’t imagine the thought of being at the mercy of someone else when I am thirsty or hungry. Or when he stares at me while I’m eating wondering why I don’t feed him anymore. I am devastated by this. He is the sweetest, most happy go lucky dog until this started and now he acts depressed, mopey, and unwell. He’s only 1.5 years old.

I am lost. I don’t know what to do.

Hi all!

Our Bailey chair recently arrived and it’s been great so far. My main issue with it, is that it seems that my pup’s anal glands get expressed when she’s sitting in the chair? Unfortunately, the smell is strong and was wondering if nah one has dealt with this. She’s a 20 pound weiner dog and sits in the chair after meals for about 25-30 minutes twice a day.

I’m not sure what else to do besides unscented wipes and constantly showering her… anyone else has advice?

Thank you!

Trigger warning: pet loss

My beautiful girl was born 3 years ago with megaesophagus. It was a mild case, and she was able to keep her food down as long as she was vertical for a few minutes after.

Last week she accidentally ate mouse poison. Because she spit it right back out we were made aware that both her and our other dog were in danger. They were treated immediately and after a few days sent home to continue the treatment with pills. We administered her pills in all the recommended ways, but because of her condition there's a big chance she could've been spitting them up and we didn't realize. By the time we noticed she wasn't okay, it was too late.

We should've kept her at the vet and administered everything through an IV line. I wish we had a time machine, but maybe this story will help someone else.

Hug your pets for me tonight.

Hi all!

First time posting as our 10 yo boy was just diagnosed Sunday. He's a border collelie/Aussie shepherd cross and about 55 lbs.

He's currently on Sidenafil, omeprazole, and doxycycline. We've been feeding him on the stairs so he's somewhat elevated and then holding him in an upright position afterwards for 15-20 mins. He's had very minimal regurgitation all week which we're happy about!

I'm still concerned however about his breathing. He hacks every once a while pretty aggressively (without regurgitation thankfully) and most of this time he's exhaling very loudly and forcefully. Inhaling he seems fine but the exhale is worrying me.

Has anyone else experienced this ? Any advice ?

He's finally starting to have some energy again and wanting to play and be mischievous so I'm optimistically hopeful that things are getting better.

We also have a Bailey chair being made for him. Currently he eats raw and I'm making them into tiny meatballs. No treats and he's had minimal walks until we get him a better harness and a muzzle so he doesn't eat grass.

Any advice/help/insight is so so appreciated!

Hi all.

My fiance and I brought home a kitten from a friend's surprise barn cat litter yesterday. After a couple meals, I'm about 95% sure she has megaesophagus. She struggles to swallow and makes wheezing/choking sounds as she eats. She hasn't regurgitated anything yet and has good energy levels. She's a very sweet little kitten and I don't want to have to give her up, but I'm not sure we can properly care for her given our busy schedules.

We bought Tikicat baby wet food for her, so that's what she has eaten. Tonight I'm going to try to blend it up and see if that helps her swallowing. And do elevated feeding of course.

I'm just looking for any and all information on how to feed and care for a kitty with ME. Thank you.

Edited the post a bit for clearer information. Sorry for being too brief.

Dog tax in comments if anyone wants to cheer up after this miserable story.

My dog (adopted bully breed mix with severe BOAS) cannot hold in any fluids anymore. Raised bowl (standing with her front feet on a step and then bowl on head height) and very small portions throughout the day used to work (semi).

Mixed with kibble or wet food doesn’t work. Fluids with gelatine doesn’t work. Fluids with thickener doesn’t work. Ice chips don’t work. An IV is not doable long term (discussed with vet, gave them myself as I have an animal care degree) and also doesn’t helpt with her dry mouth (panting).

She has a Bailey chair. I wish it were possible for her to sit in it all day. She gets four small meals in it a day, frozen dog food (I think that’s what it’s called in English), looks a bit like rough puree. Tried other types of food too, but this stays in best, next to that she’s a picky eater and can hardly chew because of her underbite. She stays in it for 30-45 minutes every time. Water in the chair, the moments she gets out of it, not matter how gently I put her horizontal, she regurgitates. Clear water, slime and bubbles. And small parts of food if she regurgitates more than once.

Her medication : Omeprazol, Sucralfate, Cisapride and Infacol. Oh and apoquel for allergies and Medicated shampoo.

I don’t know what to anymore. It’s 30 degrees. My dog is miserable. And so am I, if I may be honest.

I guess I primarily wanted to vent a bit to fellow ME sufferers, but Any advice is welcome.

Hi all,

My 4 year old miniature dachshund has recently been diagnosed with megaesophagus. She’s eating knoxcubes and water filled kibble. While her Bailey chair gets here she’s been held up for 30 minutes.

Even with the 30 minute upright management, she is still regurgitating thick clear liquid as if it is saliva being pooled.

I obviously cannot hold her upright 24/7.

Any advice with dogs with ME when it comes to regurgitation from pooled saliva?

Thank you.

Husband and I lost our minds and agreed to foster an 8-month-old puppy with ME. On top of the three ME dogs we already have with our senior that doesn’t like anything that’s furry with four legs. (We do crate and rotate.)

This girl is house trained, crate trained, and trained in her Bailey chair. Sounds easy, right? No.

She was adopted/bought at 3 weeks because she was the runt and not getting enough nipple time with her mom. So not learning how to be a dog with her littermates and mom. Then no socialization until surrender to the rescue. Girl knows no fear and does not respect boundaries. Though she’s a great nap partner. (Cannot leave anything out she can chew. Already sacrificed a pair of shoes and pair of pants to the cause. 🤦🏻‍♀️)

She’s sweet as she can be and also driving us and the dogs crazy. Good thing she’s cute as she is.

We have our boys old chair. If your dog is about his size it’s all yours if you’re not in the area I can ship it on your dime.
Just wanna help someone else! If you’re in need of a chair I can take measurements. And send you pictures

What kind of mask do you all use for your ME dogs outsides? Especially those of you that live in the country and let your dog wander outside without a leash?

We mask our 10 year old lab/bassett mix, but just cannot seem to get it right. It feels like if we look away from him for one minute he either gets the mask off or he manages to get chicken poop through the breathing holes.

For those of you who have had animals who have to through surgery for praa and getting diagnosed how much did you spend?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for guidance for my 6-year-old chocolate Labrador, Max (72 lbs), who is currently being treated for suspected megaesophagus/esophageal motility issues along with GI irritation/reflux.

Right now he is taking:
- Cisapride 30 minutes before meals
- Sucralfate every 12 hours
- Amoxicillin every 12 hours
We are feeding him upright/perpendicular and keeping him upright after meals. At first we were doing 20 minutes, but I’m now considering 30–45 minutes after reading more experiences here.

Today I fed him about half a can of Purina Pro Plan Adult 7+ wet food around 11:30 am and kept him upright during and after feeding. Around 4 pm I found a small puddle of mostly yellow liquid with some bits of pâté food in it. I didn’t witness whether it was active vomiting or passive regurgitation.

His feeding schedule today was:
- 11 pm last night
- 6:30 am
- 11:30 am

I’m trying to understand:
1. Does this sound more like vomiting from stomach acid/bile reflux or regurgitation from megaesophagus?
2. For dogs with ME and reflux issues, how often are you feeding meals?
3. Are smaller meals 4–5x/day usually better than larger meals 3x/day?
4. Has anyone had success with Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach wet food for dogs with similar issues?
5. How long do you keep your dogs upright after wet food meals specifically?

He still has appetite, is drinking water, and otherwise seems fairly normal.

I’d really appreciate any feeding schedule tips, meal consistency suggestions, or general advice from owners managing ME long term. I’m still learning and trying to reduce both regurgitation and stomach irritation as much as possible.

Thank you.

My dog is 8 years old, turning 9 in September. Recently she's had veterinary issues, bladder stones removal surgery a month ago, with another surgery a few days later to drain fluid from her nearly going into sepsis (she almost died, but thankfully made a full recovery, to the vets surprise).

Since her surgery, when we switched her back from her recovery wet food to her urinary diet dry food, she starting reverse sneezing, coughing and regurgitating all of her food. I've switched her to wet food in the meantime and things seem to have gotten better, but I'm wondering if this sounds similar to what other people noticed in their pets?

I'm trying to get the money together for a diagnosis, but it's tough right now after already spending $5500 in vet bills since January. They said it could be ME but won't know until they do testing, but I've tried things that would normally help with ME like keeping her upright during/after feeding and that seems to actually make the issue worse, she seems to do much better when lying down.

What were the signs your pet showed before getting diagnosed with ME?

My 7 month old puppy with mega esophagus has recently gained two new friends. Meaning he’s running around playing. I’ve noticed he’s gagging and occasionally regurgitating small amounts during play. Is this normal or does this mean I need to have him in his Bailey chair longer.
His last meal was this morning at 530. He just was playing at 420. Shouldn’t have his food digested by now? He is in his Bailey chair for 30 min, 10 to eat, 20 to sit. He gets 1.5 cups each feeding in the form of meatballs

I posted yesterday about being a new parent to a ME dog. This is Fenrir and I just finished his bailey chair! As you can see he is eating fine, I caught him mid yawn in the 2nd pic.

My wife and I just adopted a 75lb Husky from the shelter last week. He was throwing up every day, but I thought he might just be getting over kennel cough so we waited a few days. It wasn't getting better so finally last Thursday I called the shelter and asked if he was throwing up before we got him, they said he did but they just thought he was eating too fast. We scheduled with their vet yesterday and they covered the bill, after xrays our new boy was diagnosed with Megaesophagus. My wife and I desperately want to make this work, we fell in love with this dog day 1. I don't know how it was undiagnosed for so long at the shelter as they said he was there for 7 months.

I need to know what works for fellow owners of large dogs with ME? I've learned of the Bailey chair and will be building one for him, but what else can help? I don't think we can afford the expensive food the vet recommended, they also mentioned there is a surgery to correct it which is out of our reach for now, but have any of you gotten it and did it work?

Hi all, for background my 20kg lab mix rescue has been diagnosed with pharyngeal dysphasia or ME - the vets at the university where she was tested said it wasn’t very clear exactly which one she had and that they would have to do an invasive surgery to figure out which one. With my vet we decided it was better for her for me to just maintain the situation without surgery.

I am in the process of getting a Bailey chair made as none are readily available in Kenya where we currently live - but I am able to manage the feeding by hand feeding or putting one kibble at a time on a high surface. The problem is water and my girl likes to drink in big gulps. So placing a water bowl at a high surface is not working as she is regurgitating more and more frequently plus the risk of aspiration.

What has worked for you ? I’m her only human and while I work from home most days there are also days where I have to leave her for a few hours and I feel awful knowing she may be regurgitating by herself but I also feel cruel leaving her without water . Thank you in advance!!

Hi everyone. Our dog Pebbles was diagnosed in September 2025 and we’ve got her on a decent routine now with the exception of night time or sleep time regurgitation. We thought it was only when we put her in the kennel at night so maybe a timing food/meds issue but it’s also when she takes naps during the day.

Has anyone dealt with this and found a good solution? Our vet has no answers for this one.

She’s tried all the meds and the only one she’s currently on is sildenafil. We even try having her wear a donut shaped neck pillow when sleeping but she’ll still regurgitate.

Thanks in advance!

Hi! My 1-month-old puppy was diagnosed with ME today. Could you share how you help your little ones sleep at night with this condition?

Hi everyone,

I'm considering a very slow taper and removing Omeprazole from my cat's maintenance meds. She has been on it for 7 years now but I am concerned about long term effects and she has already had elevated Clostridium in her stools for several years which have been managed but diarrhea is becoming more frequent.

I'm considering using the Healios as a maintenance supplement in lieu of the Omeprazole and mixing it into her food. Obviously wouldn't be using as a mouthwash.

Has anyone else added this to their pet's regimen? Have you seen good results from it?

Thanks so much!

Hello, everybody. I made a post here a few months ago about my 7 year old Lab Collie mix, Olivia. I am happy to say she has been way more stable since my last post. My parents really stepped up for us and built us a Bailey chair to give me a chance to save up for one with a table. My mom has also taken it upon herself to keep her on a strict feeding schedule where she eats around 3 to 4 times a day upright in her chair. Olivia learned how to get inside her chair all by herself and stands upright to eat just fine. I also had her tested for Myasthenia Gravis and came back negative, so we are stuck with the idiopathic ME diagnosis for now.

I am very grateful for the advice I received last time, so I came back to give a happy update. She has gained weight again, she has a lot more energy and even regained her voice! We are all so ecstatic with the progress she has made. I also wanted to bring up three concerns of mine, in case anyone can share their insight with me.

1.) Lately, it's been a bit challenging to keep her hydrated. We started off with the jello blocks, but she didn't like them very much, so we have stuck to soaking her dry kibble for every feeding, using ice cubes multiple times a day and giving her Rebound liquid in small doses, always upright. I wanted to ask if there's anything else I could do to keep her hydrated as I worry for the health of her kidneys. She used to have a pet fountain accessible to her at all times of the day, so I can't imagine she is feeling satisfied with our regimen.

2.) Is it possible to exercise a dog with ME? The hydration aspect makes me hesitate to bring her on walks. I'm strongly considering getting her a wagon so she can still see the world and get some fresh air.

3.) Lastly, I took her to her first grooming appointment in so many months since this bout of illness sprung up. I used to take her to Petco and PetSmart because the prices were comparable to local groomers anyway, but I could accumulate points through the stores. Unfortunately, even though I wrote a note for the groomer when I scheduled the appointment, the groomer informed me that I would have to pay their VIP prices because every kennel is required to have water bowls, especially when they blow dry them. So they had to groom her as fast as possible to avoid putting her in a kennel. Have you had better experiences with local groomers in accommodating your pup with ME?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated ☺️ Also, enjoy the healthy Ollie pics!