A 10-year-old castrated male papillon presented with nasal discharge, coughing and chronic dysphagia. On physical examination, the dog exhibited sneezing, gurgling and movement of the throat with repeated attempts to swallow fluids. A diagnosis of cricopharyngeal achalasia (CPA) was made based on video fluoroscopic demonstration of failure of relaxation of the upper esophageal sphincter. This report describes the diagnosis of CPA in an old dog, which is rarely diagnosed in older animals.

A 2-year-old, female, American cocker spaniel dog presented for a 1-year history of severe ascites, exercise intolerance, tachypnea. At that time, she was in an emergency state. First, the dog was stabilized with oxygen therapy. A diagnosis of cardiac problem was made from history, auscultation, radiograph, ECG, and echocardiography. Jugular pulsation was palpated and a harsh, systolic murmur of tricuspid regurgitation was prominent at the right cardiac apex. Tricuspid valve dysplasia (TVD) was confirmed with echocardiography, accompanying enormous myocardial hypertrophy.