For Those Of You With Dogs With Lp

[krissn333]

I finally bookmarked it in my favorites on YouTube so I can refer to it...it really helped me to hear it because it is the EXACT noise that Sutra made. It was so odd that I was just happy to know that I wasn't the only one dealing with it, KWIM?

 

It reminds me of the "dying giraffe" noise that they talk about in the South Park movie...the signal they give each other if someone is getting caught (the laugh is for the movie, not for the fact that a similar noise signals the onset of LP).

 

Lindsay, does he eat kibble? If so, try adding water to it (enough water that the kibble starts to swim in it). Sutra was not one to chew his bits of kibble so the water helped him swallow them easier. I do this for Carrie too as I've heard her clear her throat like that a few times. It's not a regular occurrence, but our vet knows about it all the same.

 

Edited to add that I always used cool water in their kibble, not sure if it makes a difference though.

Edited July 30, 2011 by krissn333

[brandimom]

Wish I had known this back in 1996-1997 when I got my first grey who died from LP. I was so uneducated on the subject. Appreciate having the information now for future pups.

[Batmom]

Video just sounds like a classic "gack" to me, no cause for concern unless you're seeing some other symptoms. I've had dogs with no LP make that same noise many times. It's just throat-clearing.

[Guest MnMDogs]

Video just sounds like a classic "gack" to me, no cause for concern unless you're seeing some other symptoms. I've had dogs with no LP make that same noise many times. It's just throat-clearing.

I agree with this. There's much more to it than just this... It's nothing I can type out on my phone, but LP can't be diagnosed by a "gacking" sound.

[Sighthounds4me]

Video just sounds like a classic "gack" to me, no cause for concern unless you're seeing some other symptoms. I've had dogs with no LP make that same noise many times. It's just throat-clearing.

I agree with this. There's much more to it than just this... It's nothing I can type out on my phone, but LP can't be diagnosed by a "gacking" sound.

 

True. But when you combine it with raspy breathing, lots of panting, a dog that tires easily, a dog that has trouble eating/drinking without choking, and the signs are there.

 

My Naples was not actually diagnosed, because we did not do a laryngoscopy. But she had all the signs, and our vet was comfortable calling it LP. I wouldn't want my vet to diagnose it with only that one symptom. I our case, we ruled out other things (such as masses on the lungs), and came up with this dx.

Edited July 30, 2011 by Sighthounds4me

[krissn333]

to what Sarah said. I'm certainly not saying that if your dog makes that noise every so often that it's LP. But when your dog is laying at rest and suddenly sits up and makes that noise several times, when there's no eating or drinking involved, IMO that's your first sign. The frequency of the gakking can also be a sign. Combine that with the wheezy breathing and starting to pant long before a "normal" dog would and you're probably looking at LP. JMO.

[Batmom]

I would disagree strongly. There are all kinds of reasons that a dog "gacks." Most of those reasons are transitory and benign -- piece of grass or stuffie fuzz caught in the throat, high particulates (pollen, dust) in the air, allergies, dry air, random piece of kibble that didn't quite go down .... Even when it happens frequently for no apparent reason, it's not a specific enough symptom to call it LP.

 

Second, there are many reasons that a dog may have exercise intolerance, wheezy or odd sounding breathing, frequent coughing, etc. You really want a full exam, diagnosis, and probably an x-ray and a scope rather than assuming it's LP. Heart disease, inflamed esophagus, tumors of various sorts ..... With these kinds of nonspecific symptoms, the possibilities are a lot wider than this thread implies.

[Sighthounds4me]

And that's why I said what I did. I would not rely on symptoms alone, nor would I trust a vet who did, unless other possibilities have been ruled out. This is what happened in Naples' case. We did not want to subject her to anesthesia for the laryngoscope because she'd had problems with anesthesia in the past. Instead, based on her age, my research, and our vet's experience and opinion, combined with his ruling out several other possible problems, we were comfortable calling it LP without definitive dx.

 

Yes, there are many other things that could produce similar symptoms. I will never disagree with that, or with the fact that LP symptoms are, for the most part, rather vague. But when you combine several different factors, as we did, it's pretty easy to see that LP is the most likely scenario in some of these cases.

[BauersMom]

Hopefully, no one is diagnosing their dog with anything because of information on a message board.

 

BUT... what does help is if you are seeing suspicious or unusual things - raspy breathing, changes in bark sounds, gacking, etc - that you at least have some idea that this might be not normal and worth the vet trip.

 

To be honest, I thought Princess' odd "stuff" was just old age. I brought her to the neurologist because of her hind end issues, and left with a probable LP diagnosis. I am lucky she didn't have any issues before we realized the risk she might be in with hot temps, exertion, etc.

 

She, too, had that same gack as in the video - and NOT associated with food consumption (many of my guys gack after a dry treat, for example). It happened repeatedly over the course of a day, not just "once and a while" sort of thing. If you are seeing this, I would have the dog checked out, if just for peace of mind.

 

My two cents.

[HopeForHounds]

Diane, do you know how much Elavil and how that is helpful? What was your experience with Trevor, if you can bear to tell me?

 

Boy Sara, we are going back 11 years! I think it was 50mg a day (it was a dose A&M suggested) and it keeps them calm.. My friend & I went to the store. We were gone about 15 minutes. Trevor was so happy to see us when we came in he stressed from happiness and shut down his airway. It was horrible. He had always come out of it before. This time he did not. You can only imagine the pain of a dog dying because he was so happy to see you

 

For LP dogs, summertime is very dangerous. At least if I had the valium and adminstered it, I would have no regrets if he died anyway. It certainly won't hurt and it may save a life.

 

Diane, that is exactly what would trigger Foxy's LP. Frank always used to say that she was fine until I came home and then the heavy breathing would start. I took her to a friends and the excitement brought on an extreme breathing crisis. Once her larynx started to swell, she started to panic which of course made things 10 times worse. She spent a night in critical condition that likely, according to our vet, could have been averted had we a) known such happiness could trigger a severe event, and had rectal valium on hand to calm her down once it started. From then on our girl was on "house arrest" and life was kept as calm as possible. Never had another problem that couldn't be handled with benedryl or pred. Foxy lived another year and 2 months after our vet was sure she wouldn't make it a month after her hospitalization.

[Guest dray1965]

This thread is scaring me - my Bailey has the raspy breathing thing happening every evening after his walk. We live in Flordia, so the walks are not long during the summer. I thought the panting was heat intolerance, even though our walks are more like 10 mins, 15 at the most. He's always happy to see me when I come home at lunch and in the evening. This weird panting stuff only happens at not, and not always raspy. Once in a awhile he coughs, I've NEVER heard the gacking sound such as what is in the video. I am wondering if his signs point to LP, he's just now calmed down beside me and is sleeping fine. This only seems to happen when he gets excited upon my arrival home. I think I'd better call the vet tomorrow and get my baby boy in there. After reading about one of these precious pups dying because they were so excited their owner came home that their larynx swelled up and they couldn't breathe REALLY scared me. I know his symptoms could be other stuff as well, but I don't want to lose him - I lost my first grey to a brain tumor after having her only one year and nine months - come labor day week will be the two year anniversary of her death and the one year and nine month anniversary of having Bailey.

 

I had posted several weeks ago that he seemed to have signs of infected anal sacs - he has since been to the vet, they were full and the right one was infected, so he is better from that at least, now looks like we've got something else to investigate here.