The Dog That Has To Eat Standing

Faline · #1 ● 12-12-2011, 01:30 PM

With a congenital disease that means she has problems digesting food, Bella could easily make a dog's dinner out of meal times.
But the seven-month-old pooch eats with ease thanks to her nifty chair and table set.
Aged four months, Bella was diagnosed with congenital megaesophagus.

t means her esophagus is enlarged and lacks the muscle mobility to swallow food while horizontal, therefore she must eat standing up.
She uses a Baileys Chair, a seat designed by U.S. couple Donna and Joe Koch after their dog Bailey was diagnosed with the condition.
Dogs using the chairs sit in a ‘begging’ position to eat, drink or take medication.
Instead of using muscle contractions to move the food into the stomach, the dog relies on simple gravity to get their fill.

A video shows Bella jumping into the chair, leaning against its side so she can balance on her back legs.
Using her head, she then flips down the table and her owners place a bowl in its cut out section.
Without hesitation, she gets to work on her dinner, guzzling the bowl within seconds.
Ten minutes after Bella has eaten - once the food has moved to her stomach - she is allowed to leave the chair.
Her owners added on their YouTube channel: ‘She eats soft dog food with a little water mixed in.
'She is now seven months old and doing great!’