Dog has difficulty breathing

Episode in which our dog is unable to inhale. This clip shows him improving following the most acute phase. Background tapping sounds are my patting his chest to comfort him. In the worst episodes he foams, his gums go pale, and he collapses. His vets aren't sure what causes these attacks. Laryngeal Paralysis (LarPar)? Growth or abscess in air passage? Something else? X-rays aren't definitive. The next diagnostic step would require anesthesia, but he is elderly and has numerous other ailments so we haven't decided to go ahead. Anybody recognize this condition?

Added later. His condition was confirmed as Canine Laryngeal Paralysis (LarPar or LP) and he has undergone successful surgery. (More info at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=075DT9lUWOk )

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Canine
• LarPar
• LP
• dog
• breathing
• inhaling
• distress
• medical
• diagnosis
• problems
• Wilbur
• dyspnea

[SusanMCM]

So what happened?

My vet thinks my Labrador has LP, too. He's eleven, blind and diabetic. He also has some less dangerous but irritating medical problems as well. I've been thinking of putting him down and was hoping to get more information on LP. My dog is always out of breath, panting and often wheezes. Sometimes he makes a horrible rasping sound. He also wakes up from sleeping gagging. It frightens me.

Since you had to deal with this do you have words of wisdom for the rest of us?

[reddishegret]

He had the LP (LarPar) surgery 3 months ago. (See linked video with more info.) Since then he has been breathing well. But, like your dog, he has other serious afflictions, including heart problems and arthritis. So we are not sure how much longer he will hold out. [Continued in next posting]

[reddishegret]

[continued from previous posting] I would say that we decided to do the surgery not just to prolong his life but more to alleviate what seemed to be a lot of suffering during his non-breathing collapses. They seemed hard on him and they were certainly hard on us. Breathing well is a blessing. Now when his time comes, we can hope he can go peacefully.

That said, each dog is different, and we know the decision cannot be easy. We wish you and your dog the best.

[bedfordaa14]

This happened to my dog, a labrador. He unfortunately he had to be put to sleep last night. I wish the best to you

[marty800]

looks exactly like my dog. he just jumped for a frisbee and came down on a sprinkler head and yelped. now he is breathing like he is out of breath all the time. im very worried

[birchwolf]

I too had a dog with LP, a catahoula mix, who started to have severe problems with LP at age 10. Cash had noisy breathing, throat clearing/sneezing sounds for a while prior. He had complete respiritory collapse, blue tongue, could not breathe one day.Rushed him to the vet, breathing for him nose to mouth, went on oxygen right away. He was sedated mildly to calm him down, then he got diagnosed. He was in a harness from then on, it helped keep him calm and slowed him down. Good luck with your dog.

[SusanMCM]

I appreciate your input. It is helping me make this awful decision.

[SusanMCM]

My vet is not sure if my guy can handle anesthetic. He has developed a nasty condition called histiocytomas. It causes multiple fast growing benign tumors that abscess with profuse bleeding. The tumors have to be removed surgically. The dog will be neutered at the same time to stop hormone production which caused the condition in the first place.

Hense my question about LP. If my dog survives the above surgery is living with LP (as it advances) worth it? Would it better to put him down now?