Lp In A 4 Year Old Grey?

[Guest jsteiner78]

Hello All -

 

this is my first post - my fiance and I adopted 2 greys about 2 months ago - Jack and KK. We took our girl KK to the e-Vet a couple of weeks ago, because she was gagging and "dry heaving" about an hour after eating, and being two new nervous parents, we worried it might be bloat. They took xrays and everything was fine.

 

Now, over the past two weeks since that visit, we seen her gag and dry heave even at times no where near feeding time. When she greets us after we've been at work, she'll often gag a couple of times, and yesterday Jack and her were running around the yard, and she stopped and violently gagged for about 30 seconds.

 

There dog beds have a white fluffy top, and they've pulled off some fluff during "nesting", and we swapped the beds out thinking that maybe she had been eating some of the fluff balls - but after reading about LP on this forum, the symptoms seem to fit... expect for her age.

 

Our plan is to observe her for another week or two, and then heading into the vet. But did want to check to see if anyone has seen or heard of a case of LP setting in at age 4?

 

Thanks!

Justin

[Guest peacehound]

sorry I have no information on this topic but I wanted to welcome you to the wonderful world of greys and greytalk..hope you get some answers soon

[EllenEveBaz]

Welcome to GreyTalk and greyhounds. I'm sorry you're having to worry about one of your hounds so soon. No experience here, just some general knowledge about laryngeal paralysis and the esophogus because I'm a speech therapist who works with swallowing in humans.

 

Laryngeal paralysis is caused by damage to a cranial nerve, so yes, I suppose there could be some underlying neurological problem even in a younger dog like KK. But KK might have any one of a number of problems. I think LP dogs usually start choking or gagging when they eat, and you haven't mentioned that. Taking your vet a log of when events occur, whether anything is actually vomited (from stomach) or regurgitated (before it reaches the stomach), energy level, appetite, weight, how her poops look, etc., would probably be very helpful and help you work together to find a diagnosis.

 

What areas were x-rayed? Can you take a copy to your regular vet?

 

Welcome ear scritches to Jack and KK.

Edited November 21, 2010 by EllenEveBaz

[sweetdogs]

Welcome!

 

Although it's pretty uncommon, LP could happen in a young dog. But it's probably something much more simple like reverse sneezing or an empty tummy. Does she vomit up any yellow bile? That's usually a sign of an empty tummy. Reverse sneezing looks & sounds bad but is nothing to worry about. It sounds much different than LP. If you can catch her on video, that will help your vet (& us ) see what happens. Because she probably won't do it in the office & the tests for LP require anesthesia. Best wishes for KK!

[TheFullHouse]

Several thoughts here, it could be something as simple as a food allergy which would cause her to be nauseous. Licking the lips and drinking a lot are signs of nausea in dogs. She may need a treat between meals. Some greyhounds will gag and even vomit a little bile when they get too hungry. It could be reverse sneezing as someone else mentioned.

 

Does she eat well? Is her weight good? Is her energy level normal? Although I've never heard of one that young with LP, anything is possible.

[Guest Fasave]

All good advice and thoughts here. The only thing I could potentially add is that my pup had a torn salivary gland. Sometimes when the gland tears, it forms a sack on the outside of the neck but other times, like with my pup, it formed a sack inside his throat blocking part of his airway. However, with all this said, the surgeon who did his surgery said he only sees this every few years so while it might be a possibility, I would think one of the other things mentioned, makes more sense.

[cleptogrey]

is she sorta like trying to hack up some phylegm or maybe having a reverse sneeze??? it sounds strange, but w/ all the mold out there from the leaves and earth it could be a post nasal drip. l.p. is a wheezing where the dog can't catch their breath because of a swollen obstruction, it always calms down when they are put in a cold airconditioned room(my welsh terrier had it). post nasal drip is lots of thick mucous that can be cleared up for a couple of days w/ .....this is an old fashioned, low tech rememdy....a squirt of lemon juice down the throat. i use a baby's medicine dropper, like a teeny turkey baster. it holds around a tablespoon's worth of lemon juice. open the dog's mouth, squirt, and hold it closed. generally the heavy mucous will come out the other end later that day.

[Guest jsteiner78]

Thanks for all the replies!

 

On the eating front - the first few weeks we had her, she would inhale her food, and after she finished would gag and burp a couple of times - since she's started with her excitement gagging, she has also slowed her eating down quite a bit. We aren't sure if its related, or if she is just getting more comfortable with the fact that there will always be food available, and that no one will take her food from her.

 

She is at a great weight with a smooth coat. Not a lot of nasal drippings.

 

I emailed my vet as well, and she also requested a video. I'm planning on getting a film of her tomorrow morning when she wakes up and generally gets very excited. I'll post here if she does it.

 

On a positive note, Jack and KK had another impromptu race in our back yard this weekend... they got pretty into it, and she did not gag or choke once afterwards -

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed this will clear up shortly - I'll keep everyone updated

[3DogNite]

On a positive note, Jack and KK had another impromptu race in our back yard this weekend... they got pretty into it, and she did not gag or choke once afterwards -

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed this will clear up shortly - I'll keep everyone updated

 

 

this makes me think more allergies and reverse sneezing!

good luck a the vet. I hope you find out what's going on.

[Guest NJgrey]

Our girl likes to lick her self and then gag on all the hair that comes off. Probably something simple.

 

As they say, when you hear hooves look for horses before zebras.

[Guest jsteiner78]

Thanks again for everyone's feedback -

 

over the past couple of days - I've had my phone ready to capture a video of KK gagging... and she hasn't done it since! Still keeping fingers crossed, but we are guessing she had some sort of cold or other temporary respiratory issue -

 

phew!