Sigh...
“Labradors [are] lousy watchdogs. They usually bark when there is a stranger about, but it is an expression of unmitigated joy at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning.” – Norman Strung
Kip and I survived the Vet visit. Great clinic, great recommendation, adorable puppies and dogs. A hopping place for a Sunny Sunday afternoon!
So, I’m so glad I went. Kip had only just expired on his 3 year rabies shot so I was not such a delinquent owner after all.
It turns out that a miracle has happened in that his heart no longer has a murmur! She couldn’t even hear it! I was floored. Evidently, according to the original record, on a scale from 1-6, Kip was a 4 with his VSD (hole in his heart) as a puppy when examined at VA Tech Vet School. In 2008, when he was examined before coming here (my friend took him for me as I was already in California, so I never got around to reading the reports.), his heart murmur was deemed a 2! And now she can not hear it at all!
Ok, this is GREAT NEWS! So what’s up with the loss of appetite, heavy breathing, coughing? Well, it turns out that large, older dogs get something called laryngeal paralysis. There are flaps that close over the wind pipe so that when eating and drinking they don’t aspirate and get into the lungs. These “flaps” are connected to the two longest nerves in a dog’s body and with age, they begin not to work so well. The flaps close, but don’t open, restricting the air passage way, limiting the oxygen supply. Emmmmm. There is a surgical fix (of course) where they tie only one of the flaps back because now that they don’t open and close and are locked open with surgery, aspiration is a danger. By tying back only one, they increase the oxygen and restrict the aspiration, but it’s not perfect. Surgery of course is always dangerous. In the meantime, I am to keep him cool and calm and pay attention to him on his walks.
On his back legs… they have atrophied some. Could be the lack of oxygen has contributed to that. I asked for a good supplement and then what about morphine for his breathing to relax him? She prescribed Tramadol for pain as needed for his legs which will also calm him. Would have rather had morphine drops to put on his tongue but we’ll give it a go.
Suggested I run a full blood work screen, $300. I opted to not do that today, until I talked with Dave. But I would want to do that just to rule out anything else going on, and certainly before any surgical procedures which I’m not leaning toward at the moment.
I feel so much better having gone and got sorted out what’s going on. Of course she isn’t certain he has this condition, but based on what she was hearing and observing, she was fairly certain. The only way to know for sure was to put him almost out and then look back into his throat with a scope.
It’s funny how you can be relieved to learn one thing is not an issue but a new thing is and somehow it doesn’t seem as bad!
Kind of like when Dave was originally diagnosed with metastatic cancer of the spine, only to discover it was multiple myeloma, Whew! Yeah right! 🙂 You know what I mean.
But all in all, a good report. She was impressed with his weight and how good he looked for 12 and how sweet he was. His teeth looked good too, so not a tooth/gum problem on the eating.
I will continue to provide soft food options for him as it seems that eating the hard, dry dog food is stressful due to the breathing issue and the flaps not opening and closing properly. It seems that it requires more air and control vs lapping up some yummy broth and soft food that can slide easily down.
Thanks Sandy! Love puppies. I will be learning and researching about this and then may contact the UC Davis Vet school just to see if there is anything “new” going on to resolve this medical issue. Research hospitals for our pets just like for us!
I have a lab mix puppy I am working with, and I know how anxiety-producing it is not to have a vet to call upon when things arise. It is truly sad that our beloved friends don’t have longer lives, but they are with us when we need them most, it seems. Glad to hear that Kip has such a loving owner who is taking such good care of him and intending he manages to keep going comfortably for a good while yet.
Thanks Karen! It is a relief. My trainer told me the only bad thing she had to say about dogs was that they don’t live as long as we do! I would have to agree. I’m not looking forward to the end of his life, but I’m happy that we have sorted it out a bit and I know what it’s not and can see how it goes with some small changes. And it’s really great now to have a vet I can call.
hi lori, how relieved you must be to have gotten your darling kip to the vet. no heart murmur heard – fantastic! i LOVE the photo; what a contented, precious face he has. i know you must be dismayed about the “flaps”, but your inclination to take things one step at a time, to see how comfort measures like giving him soft foods, and observing how he does on his walks is so wise. tell kip that our sadie sends him arfs and licks, and give him a gentle pet from me.