I have a healthy 10 yr old Dane who still walks about a mile and a half each day. During a routine vet visit, the Dr heard her breathing & said she may have laryngeal paralysis. When she is excited, her panting is louder, but she has not been intolerant of exercise & often returns from her walk to run around the yard like a puppy. Is there any other explanation for the loud panting when she is excited? Hate to have her anesthetized if unnecessary. Any other clinical signs I should be looking for?
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Your doc may be right.
Also, check for hypothyroidism.
Philip McHugh, DVM
Park Veterinary Hospital
Durham, NC
Panting can be a nonspecific indicator of sore joints, “yin deficiency” according to traditional chinese veterinary medicine, or yes, laryngeal paralysis.
Complications from LP can be aspiration pneumonia, but success rate of surgery is debatable. Ask the surgeon the likelihood of success before going through that. I have seen many failed surgeries, and the potential complications can be the same as not having the surgery done. Acupuncture, specifically electroacupuncture, can be helpful for laryngeal paralysis, even in an older patient.
Dr. Rewers, DVM
Ancient Arts Holistic Pet Care
Seattle, WA
Laryngeal paralysis sounds likely from your description but can only be confirmed under anesthesia. Standard treatments have been surgical to either tie back the vocal folds or remove parts of them to provide a better airway, but there is always the risk of inhalation of fluids and foods into the lungs with the original problem and also with either surgical procedure, which may require antibiotics and other medications for aspiration pneumonia, and the problem often worsens and may need additional surgery. My own dog had the surgical resection many years ago and did well for about 9 months afterward.
Currently there is anecdotal evidence that a drug called Doxepin may help some dogs with laryngeal paralysis, although the mechanism of action isn’t fully understood. Doxepin is a human antidepressant that has some antihistamine effects and is useful in some dogs with chronic skin problems from allergies. In the course of using it for that purpose, some veterinarians are reporting that dogs with laryngeal paralysis seem to be well-controlled in their breathing problems while on it.
To my knowledge, there have been no studies using Doxepin for this purpose, so it is off-label, and your veterinarian may not be aware of this drug or this use of it. If your veterinarian has access to the Veterinary Information Network (VIN) he/she can do a quick search on it.
Keep in mind it may or may not help your dog but may be worth a trial as a possible simple solution. I have personally tried it in 3 patients so far for this purpose and all 3 improved greatly, and one owner even called specifically to tell me the drug had given her “a new dog” just when she was considering euthanasia. That dog relapsed when she failed to renew the prescription, but is well-controlled again so long as she gets the drug.
Melinda R. Burgwardt, DVM
Melinda R. Burgwardt, DVM
Lancaster, NY
Regarding using Doxepin, what are the side affects in dogs? In people they all seem to have weight gain and weird dreams for a while. How long have your patients been using Doxepin.
I believe my lab (9.5 years old) with hypothryroidism seems to be developing laryngeal Paralysis during heavy running (chaising the ball) which he absolutely loves. He shows no signs while we are out running or fast walking. So, I would like to stop this before it gets worse, if possible. I believe this is what ultimately ended my beloved first lab’s life.