Cooper has always hated car rides, panting the whole way, but lately it's gotten worse. One time, it sounded like he was choking. These days, as soon as he sees I'm packing up for a trip, his tail goes straight down. He starts shaking. He'll jump right in, but I figure that's because he's just such a people-pleaser.
The vet put all of this together with Cooper's frequent issue coughing after eating/drinking. She figures it's partial laryngeal paralysis. This is common in labs (Cooper is part lab, very much apparent in his looks, though he is just shy of 60 pounds). His throat closes easily, but doesn't open so well. Panting makes it worse because, combined with the difficulty of opening, it makes the throat swell. He's 10.5 years old.
Okay, so, likely I'm not going to be spending as much time in the mountains as usual, but I do want to go sometimes - and some of his favorite activities are up there. Not to mention that hiking in the cool summer air will be a much safer/more comfortable option for him than hiking in the front range, which is tough anyway because Loki overheats so easily.
I've wanted to replace our very stupid three pane back door (previous owners put in two panes of glass with a hinge door in the middle) with a sliding door or something anyway, so if you know of any that work well with dog doors without looking completely crappy, let me know. If I do that, it will be easier to ask friends to watch him sometimes, when going to the mountains doesn't involve fun hikes. As the dogs age, I figured this would need to happen, anyway.
I asked the doc about anti-inflammatories for the drive, but she said if anything, a sedative would be more beneficial. She's giving it some thought.
I've tried keeping the back windows open, as much as I can stand, and I think it helps, but he's still very unhappy. It makes the drive traumatic for everyone.
So - have any of your dogs had this? Any tips?
I made the mistake of googling it, and prognosis is not good. Although they didn't use the word "partial" in those articles, and it sounds like they usually get diagnosed when it's a lot more acute. It sounds like it's the start of a larger nerve/neuropathy issue. Of course, we all die of something eventually, but ...
The vet put all of this together with Cooper's frequent issue coughing after eating/drinking. She figures it's partial laryngeal paralysis. This is common in labs (Cooper is part lab, very much apparent in his looks, though he is just shy of 60 pounds). His throat closes easily, but doesn't open so well. Panting makes it worse because, combined with the difficulty of opening, it makes the throat swell. He's 10.5 years old.
Okay, so, likely I'm not going to be spending as much time in the mountains as usual, but I do want to go sometimes - and some of his favorite activities are up there. Not to mention that hiking in the cool summer air will be a much safer/more comfortable option for him than hiking in the front range, which is tough anyway because Loki overheats so easily.
I've wanted to replace our very stupid three pane back door (previous owners put in two panes of glass with a hinge door in the middle) with a sliding door or something anyway, so if you know of any that work well with dog doors without looking completely crappy, let me know. If I do that, it will be easier to ask friends to watch him sometimes, when going to the mountains doesn't involve fun hikes. As the dogs age, I figured this would need to happen, anyway.
I asked the doc about anti-inflammatories for the drive, but she said if anything, a sedative would be more beneficial. She's giving it some thought.
I've tried keeping the back windows open, as much as I can stand, and I think it helps, but he's still very unhappy. It makes the drive traumatic for everyone.
So - have any of your dogs had this? Any tips?
I made the mistake of googling it, and prognosis is not good. Although they didn't use the word "partial" in those articles, and it sounds like they usually get diagnosed when it's a lot more acute. It sounds like it's the start of a larger nerve/neuropathy issue. Of course, we all die of something eventually, but ...
