Hi, my name is Melissa and I'm the proud owner of 2 Siberian Huskies. My 10 year old Lucy was diagnosed when she was 2 years old with having Zinc Responsive Dermatosis. She takes Zinpro on a daily basis and has been on and off prednisone since she was diagnosed. I'm not sure if there is any relation to her most recent development, but I thought I'd ask.

I believe she might have larygneal paralysis too. She has this horrible cough and gag that is so loud. It literally sounds like she has something stuck in her throat, almost like a cat trying to cough up a hair ball, but that times 100. She sticks her tongue out when she gags and almost always spits up saliva. It always happens after she drinks and for a while there I thought she just might be drinking water too fast, but it's gotten so bad, I know it's not that anymore. Plus it happens just out of the blue. She doesn't vomit up any food, but she's definitely sensitive to certain treats that I give her. She's thrown up certain treats so we can't give her just anything. She also pants like crazy, not just after playing, but even in a resting position. She doesn't bark, so I can't tell if she's lost her voice per say. I brought her to the vet earlier this week and I'm not a happy camper at all. I'm out several hundred dollars and I still don't have a confirmed diagnosis. When I brought her in, I listed all of her symptoms to him and after not finding anything by his physical exam, he suggested we take a an x-ray of her lungs and do some bloodwork. He found nothing other than he thought the size of her heart was smaller than average and an elevated liver enzyme ALP?? level of 1500. She tested high for that last August also and the vet thought it might be Cushings Disease, but she doesn't have any other symptoms other than having to potty all the time, but all of that is probably a result of the prolonged use of prednisone. I did have her tested for Cushings Disease in August and it came back negative. Which 100's of dollars later, I was told that it could possibly be a false negative. Anyway, the vet did said that one of the causes of her symptoms could be laryngeal paralysis but that he didn't hear the traditionally roaring sound when he was listening to her breathe. Now, I was watching him examine her and she wasn't panting heavily when he was listening to her breathe. She was just kind of frozen stiff so I don't know if he got an accurate listen to her lungs. According to him, he was pretty certain she didn't have that. Well, I started doing my own research online on specific health issues of Siberian Huskys and to my surprise I found out that laryngeal paralysis is common in Siberian Huskys. Does anyone think based on everything that I've said that she probably has laryngeal paralysis? Do you think there is any connection to the prolonged use of prednisone and laryngeal paralysis? I've tried to do more research but am coming up with nothing. I want to be as prepared as I can be for my next trip to the vet with her.

Thank you for taking the time to read this long post and any information you have is greatly appreciated.

Melissa

Not sure about the laryngeal paralysis so I will defer to someone else that might know. However, my Mikko does have zinc responsive dermatosis and I have become somewhat of a self read expert on the disease. Why is Lucy getting prednisone? None of my research ever came across that recommendation for treatment of ZRD. Long term use (even sporadically) of prednisone has all sorts of side affects. ZRD comes and goes in MIkko, which from what I read is typical even with zinc supplementation. His lesions never seem to really bother him as far as licking or scratching.

Also for what it's worth both my huskies gag, especially on water from time to time and both have sensitive stomachs that cause vomiting with certain foods.

ZRD thread - https://www.itsahuskything.com/t1101-zinc-responsive-dermatosis

Welcome Melissa and I'm sorry to hear what you and your dog are going through. You're in our thoughts. Sorry I have nothing helpful to add on the subject as I am not familiar with laryngeal paralysis.

Lordbroll wrote:

prednisone has all sorts of side affects.

Prednisone I believe is a steroid. Which can raise unholy hell with the kidneys, long term usage yikes I hope it been really low dosage. But I'd bet the rent that is the reason for her frequent potty breaks.

Mylo, had it prescribed to him once for a skin infection and just about drove him an me crazy needing out just about every 2 hours. Never for gave the vet for that for it put him thru hell for over a year before being able to pee on a normal basis.

Prednisone is used for inflammatory disease and immune-mediated responses...in this case for the constant itching from the dermatitis...
However, it shouldn't be prescribed for long periods of time because of the side effects that have been mentioned...and it could be the reason why his ALT is high...I would definitely follow up on this...steroids can damage the liver and kidneys when used for long periods of time.

I don't know much about laryngeal paralysis but from what I looked up on the internet...it does sound like it. Like you said, the vet may have dismissed it because your dog wasn't going through an episode at the time. I would definitely get a second opinion from another vet as this sounds like a very serious condition.

Good luck and keep us updated