Pet Digest

The Esophagus — Your Dog’s Food Highway Last time, we talked about how digestion begins in the mouth . Now, let’s follow your dog’s food as it travels down the esophagus — the muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach. It’s like a super-efficient food highway, making sure every bite reaches the stomach safely and quickly. What Is the Esophagus? The esophagus is a stretchy, muscular tube lined with moist tissue. In dogs, it’s made mostly of striated muscle, which means they have good control over swallowing. This is why dogs can sometimes regurgitate food if needed — a natural defense mechanism. How Food Moves Down After chewing and swallowing, waves of muscle contractions called peristalsis push the food down the esophagus. At the bottom, a valve called the lower esophageal sphincter opens to let food into the stomach, then closes to keep stomach acid from coming back up. Why the Esophagus Matters Problems with the esophagus can cause your dog to regurgitate ...