My first Labrador and long time friend, "Witchy"
has Laryngeal paralysis. I would give her one of my organs if I thought it would help. The vet says it
is eventually terminal. She has been breathing heavy for a while but now she can not move when she starts the heavy panting and spitting salava.
Does any one know of anything I can do to help it or cure it?

I have a bitch that was diagnosed with it about 8 months ago and was told she would die. My vet did suggest the tie back or de-bark could be done. There is a LP Yahoo list to join and they are good.
One thing was that my bitch was 102 pounds... YIKES I didn't think she was THAT big till I weighed her. My vet said that sometimes if they drop the weight they get better. She is now 72 pounds and no more episodes of gasping and puking mucus. She hasn't had one in 4 months. Maybe that will help... Try the Yahoo list too.

Many years ago my first lab, at age 12, was diagnosed with LP and we were told they had this new surgery and if we didn't do it she would die in 6 months. But if we did the surgery she could no longer swim and water and food had to be fed to her with a teaspoon (remember this was years ago!) We declined the surgery and at the suggestion of our vet, we put her on buffered aspirin and benadryl (why the benadryl, who knows)

She died at 17 1/2 from angiosarcoma and swam and gobbled food until 3 days before she died.

Bonnie

Hi Lynn, So sorry to hear about Witchy. Such a sweet and lovely bitch. I had it with my chocolate dog at age 11. We gave him Theophalyne(Not sure of the spelling) but it made it easier for him to breathe. You don't want to let her out in a lot of heat or exercise a lot. Just walk her, if you can. I opted not to do the surgery at his age because of the anesthetic and also the they can then inhale some of the food while eating and have it in their lungs. My boy got to the point of going down and his tongue would turn blue. This happened several times and he would get over it. When this happens the temp goes up to a dangerous level as it did at the vets one day and they imerced him right into cold water to get it down right off. So the last time he had this happen he really took a long time to get over it and when I took him to the vet, my vet said "Do him a favor" which I did. She said she didn't want him to die at home. He went peacefully and in my arms. It is hard to lose your best friend. Wishing all good things, Lynn for both you and Witchy. You have been a real team. Ellie

We had a bitch, years ago with LP. We rushed her to the vet hospital the first time she was struggling and he said he could do the surgery. We did treat with buffered aspirin. This girl was the real "outdoor" type and still very active, even at 13. As I recall, she made it through the winter and it got harder for her as the warm weather came. We kept her in air conditioned rooms, but when she went out for her stroll around the "perimeter" she got continually worse as the weather got warmer. Tried as we might to only let her out a few times a day and stay with her, she had 3 episodes of turning blue. That was enough for me. She was not enjoying the quality of life she would have wanted - I'm sure of that. We let her go in early July of that year.

Maybe surgery is the way to go for some dogs, but we felt that this girl was not the right candidate for it.

Our dear, sweet Mick was diagnosed with LP at alomst 11 1/2 years. My vet told me about the tie back surgery, but also said if Mick were his dog, he wouldn't have it done. I have a lot of faith in my vet, so we followed his advice. Mick got quite the senior cocktail over the next 4+ years, starting with ArthriSoothe (which he had been getting for a year before the diagnosis) and MSM. I added Cholodin, Biotin and Vitamin B Complex as the years went by to help slow down the muscle wasting that comes with LP.

Not only will heat bring on an LP episode, so will severe cold and wind. When it was too cold, Mick wore an easy to put on dog coat- one that looks like a horse blanket. I also made a scarf for him for those windy days. It was very easy to make- I cut the end off a thick hunting style sock, slipped it over Mick's snout and held it on with a velcro muzzle. Another important thing- I only walked Mick on a tracking style harness. I preferred clipping the leash to the ring at the front of his chest. To keep him cool in the summer, I used to simply hose him off.

The biggest mistake we made with Mick was treating him like an ivalid right after he was diagnosed. We finally figured out to let him do what he wanted, and just keep a closer than normal eye on him. Excercise is important to slow down the muscle waisting (as well as mental well being). Our games of fetch eventually became me rolling a ball a few feet away and Mick walking to get it and bring it back and our walks became a leisurely stroll to the end of the road and back (about 1/10 of a mile each way) or a wander around the perimeter of our yard. Keeping him mental active was just as important. I was assisting at training classes back then. Mick still went with me. Some nights he just hung out under the table, and earned the tilte of Class Greeter. Other nights he wanted to do more than that, so we'd do some simple heeling for a little bit, and he'd do stays.

A couple of years after Mick was diagnosed, I found out there are 2 kinds of LP- hereditery and aquired. Hereditery comes on earlier in life and involves muscle waisting from the front end back. Aquired is the oppostite. When Mick was diagnosed, I was so sure we would only have another year to 18 months with him. When I shared that with my vet, they told me they were figuring the same thing. We attributed his longer than expected life to the supplements and the fact that Mick had never been over weight.

Something else to keep in mind- LP episodes can be very scary. But to make it easier on the dog, it's very important to stay calm. I used to lay Mick on his side and just massage and talk to him. Then, after it ended, I would break down in my husband's arms away from Mick.

My dear Trekkie, who died from cancer at age 14.5 years in October, made it through two summers with LP. I also elected not to have the surgery and fed her special home cooked meals when her appetite wasn't good. Other than that she did not get medication. The dogs and I went for a daily walk out to the end of the field and back, about 1/2-3/4 mile. Trekkie was allowed to go at her own pace. Sometimes she made it all the way and sometimes we met her coming back. In warm weather I waited until it cooled off. The first summer was warm, and she sometimes had to lie down and rest every 50 feet or so. The second one was cooler, and maybe we had learned more about pacing her, because that happened only a few times all summer long. So for her it was not progressive.

Our beloved Ginger was diagnosed with LP at 11. We had the tie back done and it was totally successful. We live in Florida so she spends little time in the heat of the day outside. She travels 3-4 times to North Carolina a year and will be 16 in November. She lives a total quality life. You must get a specialist, she will not be able to swim again. The only thing I moisten her kibble for 10 minutes before she eats. She knows to drink and eat slowly they adjust. She is amazing almost 16 she would not have been here without the tieback. Hope this helps.

My beloved Kansas was diagnosed with severe LP in 1998 and we opted for surgery as the only alternative would have been saying good-bye. She was with us for another 2 wonderful years with no complications. Wanna had mild LP and never had surgery. We lost her to aspiration pneumonia which can be an LP problem whether or not surgey is performed.

The problem with LP is that there is no consistant line of progression. Some dogs never progress and some
fail overnight. An LP episode can be brought on by heat, cold, exercise or just about anything else. Kan's worst times were in the middle of the night.

One of the problems that we still face is that many vets are not up to speed on LP and a lot of misguided
as well as false information is given to owners. This is why we suggest consulting a certified surgeon
before making any decision. Surgery isn't always an option but can be a life saver and give you more time with your labbie.

I kept a daily journal (they now call them blogs) of what we went thru with Kanner. It can be accessed at the address above. The yahoo list is found at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LP/files/ and can be accessed by all. It has a lot of informative files that can answer a lot of questions. Unfortunately Yahoo deleted the LP website so that is not available
at this time but there is now a lot more LP info out there to help cope with this condition.

Good luck with Witchy and if you need to talk just drop me a private email and I will help where I can.

Hi Lynn,

So sorry to hear that you are going through this with Witchy. one of my old guys was diagosed with LP when he was a little over 11 and he lived to be 14. I found it best to limit his activity in the warm weather months - especially when it was really humid.

Ditto what Ellie said about the Theophylline - our vet prescribed this as well and it did help, it is an asthma medication. You can also try a lose dose of prednisone (vet presribed only) which will help but you need to be mindful of other complications with the steriod.

Best of luck with Witchy.

Cheryl

My boy Tucker aquired LP when he was 10. He was very "bouncy" even in his later years. He would get all excited when I came home from work every day and go into an episode. My vet had me put him on ACE to keep him calm. It was so sad to have to keep him tranquilized just so he could breathe. The second year he had a really bad one when I put on the leash to take him in the car for a ride. I thought he died as he turned blue. I had the vet come to the house to put him down the next day. It still breaks my heart.
I know these stories are not making you feel any better Lynn, but it is good to know what you are dealing with. If my Tucker had not been such a wild child he would have survived quite a few years with it I think. Best of luck with your girl. I would contact some cutting edge surgeons to see what your options are these days. Try one of the great veterinary collages to see if there are new treatments available.
Traci

Our boy was diagnosed with LP at the age of 12 1/2 and we decided not to do surgery and just try to keep him calm as possible. He was doing well for approx 3 months and then one night had a really bad episode and he pretty much went down. We managed to relax him enough to keep him breathing ok(but not great), and took him to the vet the next morning. They would have had to put a Trach tube in to allow him to breath properly/easily and it would have been about a week before a surgeon was available to do the tie back. We decided to opt out of that option and end his suffering. It was a hard decision, but one we felt was right for him.
Godiva Labs has already replied, and this is a link to her site about Kansas - http://www.godivalabs.com/LP.html

There are a couple of meds mentioned that she tried, which might be an option for you.

Good luck to you and your baby.

My heart goes out to you. I lost my "Finney" to this last year (Am/Can CH Huntcrest Finish Line).

One thing that does seem to help make them more comfortable is to have a fan blowing on them all the time and to have them cooler rather than warmer. Finney had his own fan next to his pen and we moved him next to the air conditioner vent, too.

I still miss him...and always will.

Hang in there!

Best,

Leslee Pope
Huntcrest

Yes, I kept the air conditioning on even when I and the other dogs didn't really need it, and often went for walks after sunset. Being in Wisconsin rather than Florida also was a help.

A few years ago my 11 year old male developed the condition. Chiropractic adjustments really helped for a couple years. When it got beyond chiro, I had the tack back surgery done (at age 13) and he did well for 6 months until he died of other causes. Surgery is not perfect - drinking is a problem and I hand fed him balls of canned food to prevent choking (he thought it was great, but I thought it was expensive!). Overall, his quality of life after surgery was good.

Go to a board-certified surgeon and get the surgery done! We do these all the time where I work in San Diego. We have not lost one yet to the surgery.
Ask your regular vet for a referral to a good surgeon in the are. You may have to travel, and it may be expensive, but don't take the "no we can't do that" attitude of the general practice vets.
Best of luck, Lynn, I love your dogs.

Witchy and I want to thank everyone for sharing their
heart felt stories of their older dogs with LP.
With your experiences and suggestions I now have
good advice on how to improve and prolong the life of my long time friend "Witchy."

Witchy sleeps on my pillow at night. I am looking foward to being able to actually sleep.