# Old Golden with LP--How We Cope



## silverstrand (Aug 27, 2012)

I posted here almost 2 years ago when our beautiful Lana had seizures due to Trifexis. She has certainly rallied since then, but about a year ago at the age of 13 she was diagnosed with LP. We have chosen to keep her comfortable rather than put her through surgery. She is now 14 years and 8 months old!

We live in a moderate climate near the Pacific Ocean, and although this summer has been unusually warm and muggy we've managed to keep Lana comfortable. I'd like to share some of the ways we've done that because I got a few of these tips from this forum and without them I'm not sure if Lana would be coping as well as she is right now. 

Lana has cloudy vision from cataracts, only seems to hear a whistle, has lumps and bumps and warts in increasing numbers (so far benign), but always, always has a huge smile on her face and still has her sense of humor. We are so fortunate that she walks well, climbs stairs, climbs into the car on her own, still has no accidents in the house, and most days is able to wade in the ocean. (We keep her on a long leash now as her balance is a bit tipsy and she can't hear us but she still gets pretty wet!) Her appetite is endless, she still plays with her toys. But, she has LP so can't run and really feels uncomfortable in warm and muggy weather.

But...after reading about this on this forum we bought Lana a Ruffwear cooling vest from Amazon about 3 months ago. Her heavy panting disappeared almost immediately from the moment we first put it on her! It is a miracle. We also bought her a powerful fan that is floor level. She lays on the floor with her nose up against the fan if we forget to turn it on, letting us know it's time! Although I had never clipped or shaved her beautiful coat, I began to clip the heavy fur on her stomach and chest. She still looks beautiful and it seems to keep her cooler. I mist her or wet her down when possible, but if not she wears her vest. 

Lana could not tolerate aspirin for her arthritic aches and I was reluctant to use Rimadyl because my previous dog had a reaction to that so the vet and I decided to give her a small amount of Tramadol to ease her aches. I give it to her in the afternoon and she sleeps peacefully all night. It works well, and if necessary I can increase the dose.

She still travels with us in our RV but we're careful to keep her out of hot places. We just took her on a road trip of over 1000 miles in our car and she did great. She seems friskier than ever since we returned home. Of course, I set the temp in the back seat of the van at 62 degrees so she had her own personal icebox!

If these tips can help anyone else with their senior dog who has LP I am happy. We are so grateful to have had this beautiful, sweet girl for all these years. Sure, we spoil her completely. That's what we're put on this earth to do!

Thank you to all of you for sharing your stories. They are heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, but have been so very helpful to us.
Sandy
owned by Lana, born January, 2000.


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## Bosn'sMom (Feb 11, 2013)

She is gorgeous! Such wonderful dedication to her you have 

My first dog is only a year old... can I ask what LP is?

Thank you


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

Bosn'sMom said:


> can I ask what LP is?


Could be *laryngeal paralysis -- *dysfunction of the muscles that open the airway during breathing and close it during swallowing. 

This would mean that the dog could not cool itself by panting, for one thing. A cooling vest would be a necessity.

(I googled *LP*)


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## silverstrand (Aug 27, 2012)

Bosn'sMom said:


> She is gorgeous! Such wonderful dedication to her you have
> 
> My first dog is only a year old... can I ask what LP is?
> 
> Thank you


Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, LP is indeed laryngeal paralysis. There has been much written about this on this forum. It is not uncommon in senior dogs, and certainly affects quality of life as it progresses.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Lana is beautiful and a very precious Old Gold.

Thank you for sharing how you're caring for her with us.

Wishing you many more happy healthy days filled with adventures and travels ahead for you and sweet Lana.


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Such a beautiful girl, I hope you have many more happy times together x


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