Anyone had a dog with laryngeal paralysis?

elsien

This is one of mutt's possible diagnoses, and given that she is struggling with the hot and humid weather and now has developed a particularly strangulated bark, it is looking more likely as time goes on.
I'm not after medical advice, we'll be heading back to the vet if the downward slope continues, but having done a bit of googling (which I know is a bad thing, I just couldn't help myself) has anyone had a dog with this who didn't have surgery, and what the difficulties were? (Other than hearing your dog struggling to breathe, obviously.) And how manageable is it without surgery? I'm psyching myself up for the worst possible outcome on the hope for the best and prepare for the worst scenario.
Thanks

Artytarty

My mothers old boy has this.Or possibly soft palate disorder.
He's about 13 struggles throughout the night, trying to clear his throat.
He has had it a few years now and is on a fairly hefty dose of steroids which of course brings it own problems.
He seems happy enough in himself as the saying goes but I do fear for him.
Surgery was not an option given his age.

elsien

Those are the two possibilities for mutt as well.
The next stage is the camera down the throat, but given that mutt is 14 and I really don't want to put her through any more ops, I'm wondering if there's any point even going that far. Unless it makes a real difference to the treatment options other than surgery? Is heat a problem for him and how do you manage it? The vet said not to walk mutt at all if it's hot as it could be critical for her. And after a quick jaunt down the road when it wasn't hot but was close she just couldn't get her breath. It was horrible to see her struggling and not being able to do anything.
Although knowing your mums dog has gone a few years with a similar problem is quite reassuring.

Artytarty

Yes he does struggle with the heat, it has been a cold summer for us so far but is very humid today.The vet says no point in invasive treatment as he may not be able to withstand an anaesthetic.
He's a game old boy and plods along, we try not to get him over excited as that can cause a coughing fit. It is rough but I suppose something happens to all older animals. The worst part has been a few very bad chest infections he gt because the steroids knock out the immune system.I'm sure its at least 3 years since it was first diagnosed.He is increasingly wobbly and slow but old age catches up with us all.

lionheartedgirl

my old dog had this - he was a very geriatric greyhound. we didn't realise what it was until it was quite far on for him, but greyhounds don't cope well with the heat so panting excessively wasn't unusual for him. Eventually he got a really raspy sound in his throat, and being asthmatic myself I found this really hard to listen to

We didn't treat it because he was so old and he was already on medication to cope with his arthritis, we felt this was enough to cope with for him.

we did very, very short walks on hot days, first thing and last thing when it was nice and cool. We were still out for the normal time he would have walked for, but he couldn't walk far and was happy enough sniffing the flowers and getting some fresh air/change of scenery. As you say, if it was particularly muggy, we didn't go but he did complain about this! :rotfl:

when he got back from walks, we just left him quietly so he could get his breath back, kept an eye on him and made sure he had water nearby so he could drink when he was ready.

hope all is ok x