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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #184: Canine Laryngeal Paralysis

Dog veterinary case - Medium - September 3, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. Progressively noisy breathing and declining exercise tolerance bring an older large-breed dog to the clinic.
  2. Heat or excitement consistently makes the respiratory noise and effort worse.
  3. A harsh inspiratory stridor is heard and the bark has become quieter over time.
  4. The dog shows increased effort on inspiration without obvious lower airway crackles.
  5. Sedated laryngeal examination reveals poor abduction of the arytenoid cartilages during inspiration.
  6. Failure of normal laryngeal abduction in older dogs causes upper airway obstruction known as laryngeal paralysis.

Diagnosis

Canine Laryngeal Paralysis

This case is most consistent with Canine Laryngeal Paralysis because the dog has inspiratory stridor, heat intolerance, and reduced arytenoid abduction on examination. The most important clues are the upper airway noise and sedated laryngeal findings, which make primary lower respiratory disease less likely.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this dog case supports the provided diagnosis, Canine Laryngeal Paralysis, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: Progressively noisy breathing and declining exercise tolerance bring an older large-breed dog to the clinic.
  2. Clue 2: Heat or excitement consistently makes the respiratory noise and effort worse.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: A harsh inspiratory stridor is heard and the bark has become quieter over time.
  2. Clue 4: The dog shows increased effort on inspiration without obvious lower airway crackles.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: Sedated laryngeal examination reveals poor abduction of the arytenoid cartilages during inspiration.
  2. Clue 6: Failure of normal laryngeal abduction in older dogs causes upper airway obstruction known as laryngeal paralysis.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this dog case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Canine Laryngeal Paralysis?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Canine Laryngeal Paralysis?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.