[Gina v]

Hi – I have a 6 year old Newfie that came down with pancreatitis. Not acute, so no vomiting or runny stool, but very painful belly and got worse if he ate anything. Blood work came back normal which is apparently not uncommon so vet put him on Tremadol. No fever. That went on for two weeks. Third week he didn’t need the Tremadol anymore but he was very weak (lost a good 10-15 pounds). We are in week four now. He is eating small amounts, drinking, stool is normal, but walks incredibly slow. Very lethargic and low energy. All symptoms point to chronic pancreatitis. Have been feeding him probiotics, pancreatic enzymes, B12, chicken, rice, sweet potato, tuna – all low fat. He’s eating several times a day in small amount but remains very weak. Does anyone have a dog with pancreatitis and is it normal that after almost a month he is still not his usual self? Will this ever get better? I’m reading on http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/11_11/features/Canine-Pancreatitis-Symptoms-and-Treatment_16081-1.html that they can’t see chronic pancreatitis on diagnostic imaging so doing a ultrasound sounds like a waste of money. Only certain bloodwork can tell you Spec CPL test. Has anyone used this test to confirm the pancreatitis? I’m at my wits end and just want to know if anyone has any advice.

[Becca]

My dog was just diagnosed with pancreatitis, he seem too have gotten really bed acid re flux for a while. vet said to give him these two meds one is pepcid ac, and another that breaks down the acid. he prescribed 2 antibiotics at the same time and my dog was getting sicker, i stopped the antibiotics, and the pain seem to let up a little. i was feeding raw for 4 years with no problems until i added trachea to thier diet. i did not know the repercussions of doing this. he wound up with hyperthyroidism, and now the vet insisted i cook his food, well now he has pancreatitis and bad acid reflux, he never mentioned a digestive enzyme, i now have him on a very bland diet, low fat. should i give him a digestive enyme? i have a plant based one but i hear that is not as good.

[theBCnut]

I’m sure your vet has warned you that from now on you may have to always be VERY careful about the amount of fat in their diet. I’m not fond of RC foods, but I never would have thought it was possible that it could be the cause of your dog’s pancreatitis. I hope they are all recovering well and continue to be healthy.

[Donna G B]

I am new to Food Advisor, I have 3 fur kids: Seniors, Willie Bill 13 years old, full of Allergies, takes shots for the Allergies, has a leaky valve in heart, heart murmur #4-6, little growths on kidneys etc. Poor baby is such a good little boy. He has been on Science Diet for years z/d, I HATE IT. He is allergic to so many things, Food: Sweet Potatoes, white potatoes, eggs, beef, tomatoes, shellfish and borderline on so many others: Rice etc. I need to get him off this z/d but it is scary to try.
My other two are: Walley: Rescue, 8 yrs. All teeth pulled except 4. Had pancreatitis and was put on I/d Science Diet for such a long time. I HATE THAT and put him on Royal Canine for Intestinal problems (with a new dogtor) well THAT is full of grains, etc. So, I decided to put him on “Wellness” Senior Formula just getting ready to switch him and my other Yorkie (Willow) little over 5 lbs. 10 year old Yorkie that has had pancreatitis also, and I find the word CARRAGEENNE in the ingredients. Look on computer and that is NOT GOOD, so called them. They told me it was “Food Grade” and not the harmful one. I BELIEVED THEM and then looked up “Food Grade Carrageene” and it is just as bad, I guess. I don’t know what to do. I don’t see much advice on this site for Senior, low fat Canned Dog Food. Not much about seniors at all. Maybe not looking in the right place. HELP!!!

[Donna G B]

I am new to Food Advisor, I have 3 fur kids: Seniors, Willie Bill 13 years old, full of Allergies, takes shots for the Allergies, has a leaky valve in heart, heart murmur #4-6, little growths on kidneys etc. Poor baby is such a good little boy. He has been on Science Diet for years z/d, I HATE IT. He is allergic to so many things, Food: Sweet Potatoes, white potatoes, eggs, beef, tomatoes, shellfish and borderline on so many others: Rice etc. I need to get him off this z/d but it is scary to try.
My other two are: Walley: Rescue, 8 yrs. All teeth pulled except 4. Had pancreatitis and was put on I/d Science Diet for such a long time. I HATE THAT and put him on Royal Canine for Intestinal problems (with a new dogtor) well THAT is full of grains, etc. So, I decided to put him on “Wellness” Senior Formula just getting ready to switch him and my other Yorkie (Willow) little over 5 lbs. 10 year old Yorkie that has had pancreatitis also, and I find the word CARRAGEENNE in the ingredients. Look on computer and that is NOT GOOD, so called them. They told me it was “Food Grade” and not the harmful one. I BELIEVED THEM and then looked up “Food Grade Carrageene” and it is just as bad, I guess. I don’t know what to do. I don’t see much advice on this site for Senior, low fat Canned Dog Food. Not much about seniors at all. Maybe not looking in the right place. HELP!!!

[Susan]

Hi, Holistic Select Senior digest easy the protein-26% fat-10% fiber-3.5% & has 3 proteins… as dogs get older sometimes high fat & high protein diets can cause problems like pancreatitis, acid reflux so keep that in mind…..Holistic Select Guaranteed money back
http://holisticselect.com.au/senior-dry-dog-food-chicken-meal-and-rice#ingredients

[Jenn H]

The Honest Kitchen Zeal is also what was recommended to my girl with pancreatitis/IBD.
Because she seemed to improve after her last bout and my bank account didn’t, I’m trying something else to transition to instead.
She’s also been on a Rx diet. I don’t care for the ingredients, but it’s kept her belly from getting angry. Hoping this new food works. If/when I find the right food I will likely feed Zeal at least part time.
Zeal is supposed to be the best choice because it’s potato & grain-free and doesn’t use chicken as the protein.
Hope your dog feels well & stays well.

[Barry P]

What’s the best low-fat dog food for our beagle/bassett? She was just diagnosed with pancreatitis. The vet recommended (and sells) Royal Canin. I don’t like all the by-products.

[Mary H]

My GSD almost died of tick disease in the “chronic phase”! I adopted her at 1-year old, i was told she had health issues – vets thought pancreatitis – this was farthest from the truth. Some days it was limping, some days low energy, some days not eating! active then not active – throwing up bile – by this time i’d taken her to 3 vets and to each one i asked, “can this be tick disease”. answers were, no i don’t think so. Six months into having her – 4th vet – she went for a bladder infection – was given treatment and said, if not better in 24 hours its urgent come back. URGENT – we go back, by this time i’d been feeding her broth and cottage cheese, she was on her death bed – i scream at the Vet – this has to be tick! she was put on doxiclycine – the vet said it won’t kill her if its not but will save her if it is – blood was sent to lab (takes a week for results) the next day on treatment we got a glimmer of hope then 48 hours later on treatment she started eating then bouncing back eventually to a healthy dog. Her lab tests indicated she was positive at the highest tick Tider for 3 tick diseases. Vets know very little about chronic phase tick disease – but everyone should know about this if you live in tick borne areas. because she was young her immunity was enough to fight it off till suddenly like in her case a bladder infection came on – usually if its not caught at this stage they die quickly. I read horrible stories about vets not picking it up at this chronic phase then their pet dies before anything can be done. i tell you i was extremely lucky.

[Melissia H]

Stormy was fine one min and in the blink of an eyeye she went from fine to laying down and balling up, whining, quivering, fever, vomiting..it scared me so bad I rushed her to the vet on a Sunday night and of course her pancreas was the problem.. He started her on an IV and she is not showing any improvement whatsoever.. She has been in “hospital” for over a week and she seems to b getting worse.. The vet has done ever test imaginable and she still will not eat…get eyes have turned a milky white like a blind persons eyes and I am so damn worried about my baby!!! What can be done?? She is 4 years old and has just gotten into everyone’s heart here at home… My dad has Parkinson’s and he lives with me and if something happens to her then I am afraid it will just destroy him…I want my baby home and healthy..have her back to doing tricks and junk…does anyone have any advice that maybe we r missing??? I am crying now..

[Laura D]

We have a shih tzu who is sensitive to chicken and we’ve learned pork. We had a terrible time a few years ago with her itching. Vet thought environmental, but the winter didn’t bring any relief. Read up and at the time sensicare precise was said to be a good choice for allergy prone dogs. Put her on it and noticed that we weren’t at the vet all the time for itching!! I then tried to give her a little of what I thought a better quality food and the minute I added it in, she was itching. So the culprit in my opinion was chicken.

About the same time we were adding a shih tzu/bichon to the family and the breeder warned us that sometimes her dogs have chicken allergies. She was feeding venison a the time. So we found that both could eat lamb and venison with no issues. I don’t thing 2nd pup has ever had chicken to know if he has any issues with it.

Recently the shih tzu had pancreatitis so we’re experimenting with vet prescribed foods and she’s back to itching – pork this time. Hoping the newest that we are weaning her onto will do the trick – it’s fish based.

My recommendation is limited ingredient foods. If one doesn’t work compare ingredients and you may be able to figure out the sensitivities.

[Laura D]

Feel like this is a stupid question, but I need to ask it. Have a dog who had pancreatitis. So the fat content is a concern in any food. She also has food sensitivities/allergies. We knew to chicken, but have learned through the prescription vet food also to pork.

I noticed while with vet that they had a binder with all the info on fat content once they calculated the dry matter, etc. I know it applies to canned and have found info on how to calculate. But is dry food…well, dry and there is no need to calculate any moisture out?

[virginia R]

Hi Greg – I did buy Dr Becker’s book – it is helpful but the recipes are very complicated because of the need to mix your own supplements – which can include a dozen or more vitamins and minerals in minute to large amounts. I then researched to find recipes and a pre-mixed supplement and had a consultation with my vet and Hilary Watson of Hilary’s Blend. I followed her program closely – everything measured to the gram, cooked according to the recipes and no substitutions. Ingredients included boneless chicken breasts, wild catch salmon, lean ground beef – with rice or potatoes and fruit and vegetables along with the supplements. Cooking for 2 dogs approx. 45 lb. each was a huge effort which I was willing to continue. My dogs did not do well on this program – while it may not be related, the 11 month old has been diagnosed with pancreatitis and the 4 year old doesn’t seem to be able to digest brown rice and/or chicken. We are now on Hills ID for the 4 year old and Royal Canin gastro low fat for the baby. I’ve also tried raw (violently ill). So while I still think that home cooking should be better (especially when you use quality ingredients), my experience is that the dogs do better on commercial kibble and canned.

[Susan]

Try feeding a wet tin food fat under 3% in fat, Wellness has their Small Breed Petite Entree’s in gravy with 2% min fat, the Petite Entrees casserole flavours have more fat around 5% when converted to dry matter (Kibble) that’s around 23-26% fat if it were a kibble…. Maybe Pancreatitis ask vet to feel around the pancreas area… even you can do it stand behind her or sit behind her then around the rib cage with both hands start pushing firmly as you go toward back legs, if she has any pain she will either flinch & turn & look at you or that area, cry or go to bite you…When my boy eats certain kibbles he gets his pain & goes off his food, now I ask him to pick which one he wants to eat, I’ve noticed he picks the kibbles that are easy to digest, Holistic Select, Eagle Pack, Wellness Simple Lamb & Oatmeal…… how I check if a kibble is easier to digest & doesn’t just sit in their stomachs. I get a glass of warm water & put a couple of kibbles in the glass of warm water, if the kibble sinks you’ll find it will take a while to soften, even if the kibble floats it can take over 1-2 hour to go soft…..Patch likes the kibbles that go soft within 20-50 mins….sometimes they are not being picky its cause the kibble does give them pain while its digesting…

[Jenn H]

I’m so sorry to hear your Maddie is in hospital. I hope something works for her soon and forever. It’s the worst when they can’t figure out what exactly is wrong.
At first they thought my girl’s problem was acute pancreatitis. Then figured inflammed bowel from the powerful antibiotic to treat Lyme. She had every imaginable blood test and a lot of x-rays & ultrasounds, sub-q fluids (she tends to stop drinking). Went on that ride twice. And other things in between.
This last time I took her to a specialist referred to by the emergency hospital. It was him who said to stop all raw & blah blah blah. Her numbers went back to normal with all his suggestions.
I did have another dog a long time ago that had IBD/IBS. At the beginning he was on Prednisone and Imodium. Then weened off both. Tweaked his diet and he never had a really bad episode again. When symptoms did start he was given a much smaller dose of steroid, bland diet for a few days and he was fine again.
My point is that if your usual vet isn’t getting you anywhere, then have another take a look. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes sees something else. This last ultrasound he looked at every single organ very carefully and didn’t blame everything on the Lyme.

Make sure when she gets home you put a lot of water in her meals. Dehydration makes things so much worse and it helps to keep things going thru the gut.

If it means taking meds and/or supplements for life that’s a small price to pay for her being otherwise healthy.

I truly hope you get answers very soon and she gets well. It’s heart wrenching to see them suffering and uncomfortable and not being able to do anything.

Please keep us in the loop. Best of luck. She’s lucky to have a person like you.

[Jenn H]

Jeffery T had some good advice.
My dog has also been experiencing symptoms of IBD and pancreatitis off & on for the past yr.
After much research and different gets & specialists I have it pretty under control (knock wood).
The most recent specialist was adamant about not giving her any raw meat or goat milk. She was put on a probiotic, pumpkin, bland diet, etc.
It’s been 2 months w/o relapse so I’m thinking of getting her off the prescription can food and trying something else. She gets very little kibble. Not even 1 cup/day.
She continues to get 30 mg Pepcid 2x/day and 2 Tbsp pumpkin for breakfast.

My problem with changing her diet is that low fat is recommended and she’s so active. Keeping weight on her can be tough.

I’m told to try a food with highest protein possible, low carbs and 10% fat on DRY MATTER BASIS (cans seems to be working better for her). Because she’s a GSD that’s kind of low as they really should have about 19% fat. So we’ll see.

The lower the meat protein, the more carbs there will be in the food. The source of the carbs can be difficult on the GI.

The kibble she gets now is Wysong And then
Her wet food is i/d. Usually turkey. Sometimes the stew (not her favorite) or chicken (that’s low fat).
I’m about to try Wysong Epigen cans.

Basically I have had success so far by cutting out raw animal products, probios, pumpkin and lower fat & carbs.

You may find adding enzymes to be helpful also. And maybe even try a novel protein. (If you choose fish be certain no one uses Ethoxyquin as a preservative.)

Remember to make sure the makers of your supplements aren’t sourcing anything from China.

Good luck to you.

[gina w]

Thank you for all the advice, She is smelling better today, We are just 2 days in with the pre and probiotics and the renal support. Does it matter when you give the supplements with food, prior to food, after ? I have been trying to give her 3 small meals but she is getting fussier by the day. Prior to all this happening she ate everything and anything hence probably why she got the pancreatitis. Big learning experience for us and my 4 other dogs aren’t allowed anything but their dog food now.
A few years back my brother was septic and experienced acute tubular necrosis, he was in kidney failure for about 2-3 months and his kidney function returned. Have you ever heard of a dogs kidney function returning after an acute injury? That is my hope.
Thank again Shawna for all your suggestions I will keep you posted.
gina

[Nora L]

It is difficult to ascertain the actual fat percentages of commercial foods (including treats) because producers are not required to divulge this information, and they do not do so voluntarily. Even when they do provide a percentage, it is deceptive because it is by weight, not by calorie. This is the trick that allows milk producers to put “2%” and “low fat” on their labels. They include the water in their calculations. 2% fat milk is actually 35% fat by calorie. So using the same trick, if a pet food producer says their product is 9% fat, it is more likely at least half fat by calorie. That’s not low If my dog had already had pancreatitis, I’d be making sure that I was feeding low fat and the only way to do that is to feed meats that are low fat and/or that you can cut the fat off of. When you buy commercial pet food of any kind, you give up control over the fat content of what you feed. It is also easier on all the digestive organs to feed raw.

[Julie L]

MY dog also has had Pancreatitis, in fact twice. Once they have it they will always be subject to get it again unless you get them on a low fat food. I found Anna Maet Lean and called the company to get the max fat. which is 9%. I’m very happy with this food. Ellie (dog) has to be monitored all the time. I had her boarded since I had to go out of town and gave them the strict instructions on her food. When I got back she had her 2nd bout with Pancreatitis. My dog cannot have any store treats, NONE I make all of her treats. Guess what I’m trying to say is find a very low fat food and don’t ruin it by giving your dog any store treats. Dehydrate chicken breast or boil/pressure cook chicken breast for food topper. Turkey is also a great treat.

[gina w]

Hi Shawna,
I have been reading the posts and my dog recently had an acute renal injury which caused her to go into renal failure. She started vomiting and had diarrhea and became lethargic. When we took her to the vet we found she had pancreatitis and renal failure. We thought the pancreatitis came from an obstruction so during surgery there was no obstruction but an abscess on her pancreas with a necrotic area that was removed. It has been touch and go for the last month. We did all the post surgical care at home as I am a nurse and my daughter a vet tech. It seems one week kidney improve and next week worsen. She has been getting IV fluids since the initial assault on the kidneys. This past week we have seen improvement and will get more blood work done on Monday. The uremic smell has decrease and her hemoglobin and hematocrit has slightly improved. Creatinine is 5.0 BUN >130 Phos 11 these are all down except for the BUN which is up from 110. We are getting ready to finish week 5 since the surgery and she has returned to her bossy self. Faith is a 5 1/2 year old border collie. I just purchased all the items you recommended Standard Process, Garden of Life Primal Defense and sprinkle fiber. How much of the sprinkle would you give a 40 lb dog and the primal defense. We are going to keep her on IV until Monday Feb 8th when we get her new labs. Then we will continue with Sub Q fluid boluses until we have all labs normal. Her diet has improved and we are doing a raw diet with green tripe and adding plenty of water. Thank you in advance for giving me your dosage amounts. She is also on Aluminum hydroxide three times daily.
Gina

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by gina w.

[Jenn H]

Wendy I’d be happy to share. Right now I’m on break at work, but when I get home I’ll have my lists.
Until then at the moment I’m feeding my 7 month old GSD 4-4.25 cups Solid Gold Wolf Cub bison. That’s split into 3 meals. He’s about 70 lbs.
He’s done really well with it. His coat looks good and he’s really been building muscle since switching him completely 1 month ago. As a result of the muscle tone I’ve noticed his confirmation improving.
My 7 y/o GSD has been having GI issues since having to be on 2 courses of antibiotics for Lyme and 2 other antibiotics for other issues and a bout with pancreatitis. For her right now I’m giving 2 meals of 1/2 can i/d and 1/2 cup Wysong Anergen. I’m about to switch the i/d to Anergen cans. She’s 67 lbs right now. It’s winter. Nomally she is much more active and eats more but her normal weight is 60-63 lbs.
I have a 10 y/o Lab/Pit mix (more Lab) that’s about the same weight as my 7 y/o. She gets Wysong adult 2 times/day. 3/4 cups. She has nothing but muscle. No fatty lumps or anything! Best looking Lab/Lab mix I have ever seen at her age.
They are all healthy & energetic (even my sick girl).
Once my pup requires more kibble I’ll probably sub it/add Solid Gold cans. I’ll have to figure out the amts on that first.
Before this food he was getting about 61/2 cups Wellness Core Grain-free Puppy. He did pretty good w/ it, but I was going thru so much food. And his coat & muscle tone wasn’t like it is now.
The reason I fed that and not the Wellness large breed puppy was because it had 1.5% calcium. The lbp has more than that surprisingly.
Solid Gold Wolf Cub (bison) has 1.3% max.
All of them also get 2 Tbsp pure canned pumpkin (Libby’s brand from the market.)
Every once in a while I give them goat milk and/or cooked & cooled whole groats oats just to fill them up a little or put a couple extra pounds on for cold weather.

So it goes like this:
Puppy: 1.25 cups Solid Gold am & pm
1 cup middle of day
2 Tbsp pumpkin in 1 of the meals.
Lab mix: 3/4 cups Wysong Adult am & pm
2 Tbsp pumpkin

I’ll get back to you later with the other foods I’ve tried/like.

[Coonhound Mama]

Hi John B:

Since dogs do not technically have a carbohydrate requirement, I would say that a diet with little to no carbohydrates would be best for your dog. Corn, wheat, potatoes, rice, squash-all are heavy in carbohydrates and therefore unnecessary unless you have a dog with a high metabolism and you need to add calories to help them maintain weight. Fat is an essential nutrient to a dog but those suffering from sensitivity to high fat levels and/or pancreatitis may have issues, so it’s not really very easy to say one is better than another across the board.

[Nora L]

Pancreatitis is associated with high fat consumption. All commercial foods have too much fat, and most don’t even disclose actual percentages on the labels. If a dog of mine had this problem, especially if s/he was as small as yours (and therefore cheap to feed), I’d opt to feed the best foods possible, raw, uncombined and in proper quantities. People are brainwashed to believe that disease just happens out of nowhere. This is not only not the case, it is possible to avoid disease and, in most cases, even reverse it by recognizing and removing the causes. My own dog died (naturally and at home) at age 19 and had not visited a vet for a symptom in the last 11 years of his life. My sister’s dog almost died from Pancreatitis 6 years ago and she switched him to a rotational mono-diet and he has not been to the vet since, for any reason. I’d be happy to share the details if you are interested.

[Michael N]

I am new to this site, and would love some advice. I have a 10 year old shetland sheep dog who was just diagnosed with pancreatitis through blood tests. He has lost weight, but is not vomiting and has no diarrhea. The veterinarian put him on antibiotics, and he spent one day in the hospital getting IV meds. He looks fine, but he will not eat, except for a little boiled chicken He is drinking water. Any suggestions on how to get the dog to eat again?

[Kristen H]

I am going through my third round of pancreatitis with my 10yr old pom. The first time was 6 yrs ago and the result of some hot wing bones that were left out on a table at a friend’s house and he politely hopped up on one of the chairs and had a party. It got pretty bad but he recovered swiftly. The second bout was in July of 2015 and we caught it because I noticed he had a fever and he never showed symptoms beyond that. He is currently recovering from the latest and seems to be in so much pain. He is lethargic and not too interested in food. I just don’t understand what keeps causing it. We have monitored his food and will now switch to Hills Science Diet. I am so scared this will be a never ending thing. He was doing great for 6 years and then out of nowhere twice in 7 months. I would just like to hear from others who’ve had similar experiences. I am such a nervous wreck right now. I know I’m not helping my dog feeling like this. I can barely eat or sleep I’m so worried. I hate seeing him like this.

[Keira L]

Hey there, I have boxer called Lola, she was diagnosed with congenital renal failure 2 months ago, she is at stage 4, she turns 2 in feb so she is a bubba ❤️
She is not sick, still energetic, very very hungry , we just noticed her weeing in the night and it got progressively worse, to where she was weeing every night. Since a diet change she is a lot better, maybe has a little accident 2-3 times a week at the most.
Our vets gave us hills KD and pretty much just said there’s nothing you can do just give her a happy life for what she has left?? They gave her 1 yr or more , prob won’t make it to 5.
No supplements, no advice or any other information, we asked a million questions and did our research and asked them about raw and supplements etc which they didn’t really like I don’t think. We were really sad about the lack of help, as help or advice/information, as we have loved our vets to date.
Our second vet visit after upping her food a bit she put on weight which I though was great, 2kg I thought. But I still feel our vets feel like there is no hope, am I crazy for thinking that there is?? And that there are some positives surrounding her at the moment.
-energy-appetite-weight gain

I have been researching endlessly, it s very overwhelming, I have decided to go onto a raw /vegetable diet with supplements, again very overwhelming as there are a lot of options and conflicting information.
I wanted to know some advice on good veggies for her? We were adding sweet potatoe, carrots green beans- egg yolk and lean hamburger mince to her diet. I opted for lean meat as she had pancreatitis as a very young pup and heard that they shouldn’t have high fat after suffering from that.
Raw chicken breast good option?
Anyway I love my girl so much I would love some ideas on food to give her? Any advice for stage 4 renal failure??
She is now getting renal support, fish oil, coq10, pro and prebiotic – and was looking get her on a gentle fibre as I was researching nitrogen trapping. Does that conflict with pre and probiotics??
Sorry I’m typing fast hope this makes sense haha
Any positive stories or advice would be amazing!
Thank you so much :)))
Keira 😀😀😀

[Brian L]

My dog recently had Pancreatitis and was in hospital for 4 day. He’s an 11 year old Yorkie. We think it was brought on from him eating puppy food we were giving our 6 month old yorkie.
We now feed him only Royal Canin Low Fat prescription food, wet and dry. We leave the dry food out all the time, as he’s always been good at not over eating dry food. We started giving him maybe 1/8 of a can of the Wet RC food in the morning, noon and evening. We now sometimes give him a little wet food in the AM, but feed him no more than 1/2 a can a day (he’s around 10 lbs). For snacks, he gets boiled chicken, and so does the puppy. We have to feed them apart, which isn’t easy. We also give both of them organic low fat cottage cheese occasionally for snacks.
Many people on this forum suggested i join the Canine Pancreatits group on Facebook, which has been an excellent resource.

[anonymously]

I would go with the prescription diet recommended by the veterinarian who is treating your dog, at least till the dog is stable. Increase activity/walks, keep their weight down.
Nutrisca Salmon and Chickpea has no chicken in it (canned and dry)
I use dry as a base and add a tablespoon of wet or something as a topper.
I also add a little water to their meals and take them out frequently to void (pee) because I have been through the bladder stone experience with one of my dogs…..I would prefer not to go there again.
I feed twice a day (measured amounts), monitor meals, separate dishes, opposite sides of the room. Anything not consumed in 20 minutes is picked up and put away till the next meal.

See General Guidelines for tips: http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

Also, try the search button here, you may find something helpful. /forums/search/pancreatitis/

PS: No cheese, ever (imo)

[Laura D]

Having quite the week with our pup. She’ll be 4 next week and is a shih tzu. We have 2 problems going on, pancreatitis as well as some back issues. I’ve ended up at our regular vet and then a 24 hour one for the back problems. Between the 2 different vets and my research on foods they’re suggesting I am drowning in thoughts/questions and not sure the directions to go.

She’s been on a bland diet and given her dx’s is feeling pretty good. Pancreatitis was under control pretty quickly, but is the 2nd incidence of it (she had same symptoms but no blood taken, end of November so we’re assuming 2nd incidence.) Bland diet is going well and it’s time to put her on regular food. Main problem – she has a CHICKEN ALLERGY so it’s limiting our options.

ER vet gave me a couple of can samples of Royal Canin gastrointestinal low fat. We feed just kibble and for whatever reason it just never occurred to me to give her canned food. Not sure why.

Regular vet gave me Hills Prescription Diet Digestive Care i/d sensitive dry. This food has 13% fat and I know she needs a “low fat” diet. This concerns my somewhat because she was eating taste of the wild and it has 15% fat which isn’t that different to me. I’ve also read here that going too low fat can compromise the quality.

We aren’t sure what caused the pancreatitis. I was giving her a pill in a small amount of cheese prior to the recent one so i’m not sure that isn’t it?!

Anyway I guess i’m wondering if anyone has any great chicken-free recommendations? And do you feed can or dry? Are there advantages/disadvantages to either? Like I said, I have no idea why I settled on dry. With the 2 dogs feeding them eating together has been an issue, one which if they were fed canned they’d be more likely to eat on a better schedule I think. Any advice on getting things put back together and avoid pancreatitis?

[crazy4cats]

Very good to hear that your cat doesn’t mind the new pup. It can be stressful trying to keep them apart if they don’t get along. My cats would be long gone if eating dog food was that dangerous. They jump up on the counter while we are fixing the dogs’ meals and sneak a bite before we shoo them away all the time!

I would really try to keep her out of the cat poop though because not only is it very gross, it could make her sick. And as Anonymously posted, cat food is higher in fat and could be a problem for dogs that are prone to pancreatitis if they ate a lot of it. It sounds like you keep the box clean and your pup isn’t interested. You are very lucky!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by crazy4cats.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by crazy4cats.

[anonymously]

Yes, cat food is bad for dogs. It can cause gastrointestinal upset, diarrhea and pancreatitis.
Remove the dog from the area and supervise the cat’s meals, allow about 20 minutes then pick up anything left, save for the next feeding. Same thing for the dog, keep the cat away from dog food. Just feed them twice a day.

[Rox B]

I realize this post is old, but I wanted to comment anyway for those who see it and become fearful of feeding raw. There is a lot of information missing here to determine why this dog got sick. I have seen this happen before with other people, and the problem is not with the raw diet. Here are some reasons for failure…People are feeding kibble and raw food together which can cause illness. Pancreatitis is from eating too much fat and is rare in dogs, it can be caused by underlying issues or a high fatty meal. Many commercial pre-packaged meals contain organs. Organs should not be fed when transitioning from kibble to raw. ONE PROTEIN should have been introduced first. Too bad this person did not have a holistic vet to help teach her how to feed raw properly. Completes have organs which are a fatty and a no, no when starting raw. I prepare my own raw food and follow PMRD guidelines 80/10/5/5. This way I know how much my GSD is eating in the way of raw meat, raw bone, raw liver and raw secreting organ. As far as salmonella poisoning I am going to say I don’t believe it. This dear person told their non-supportive, non-raw friendly, conventional vet, that she was feeding raw and so he assumed the dog had salmonella poisoning. I’ve heard this many times before.

[Emily G]

Hello,

I wanted to share my experiences with pancreatitis. Years ago my german shepard had an acute case and we almost lost her. She would not touch the prescription food the vet gave us so we make her food ourselves. We found that she did well on the leanest beef, and as all white meat chicken and turkey (we bought the breast only.) We cooked the meat as she was picky eater and seemed to prefer the food cooked when at her sickest. We rinsed the cooked meat after it cooked to rinse off any extra fat that she did not need. We added preferance by the honest kitchen or used our own blend of crushed vegetables and added pumpkin or sweet potatoe. If we feed the vegetable blend, we will add calcium from eggshells. She did well. After a time she handled the meat raw but raw bones she never did though bones have more fat. It would make her act like she did not feel well so we kept this up with this recipe for a long time, and gradually found she could have most kinds of meat just as long as it was lean (lamb and duck were no, and she ate fish and eggs very occasionally once she was healthy.)
I will agree with the bone broth. We didn’t make it first but once started it seemed to help heal her digestive from the irritation caused of vomiting. For treats use bites of meat and she cannot have cheese or dairy (too much fat.) Also give coconut oil if tolerated. We use no grains. Keep stress low and water bowl clean and lots of sunshine. Feed more meals instead of one or two. A day of fast can help. I hope I can help and am sorry English is not my first language. I hope you can understand my writing.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by Emily G.

[jewel0247]

Hi all,
My doggy had a pancreatitis episode 2 weeks ago and was hospitalized for a day. She made a good recovery. Placed her on bland diet sweet potato and puréed chicken breast and transitioned to raw primal venison (she loved it! She was on darwins before). We ended up at the vet Monday with vomiting… She vomited undigested food 6 hrs after her dinner :/ and then vomited several more times even water the next day. The vet thought she ate too fast or she maybe was over fed? I think her pancreas is still upset and she couldn’t digest the food or too high in fat?

I’m at a loss what to give her now. We’re back on sweet potato and puréed chicken doing fine (of course on nausea med). Trying a sample of zeal here and there but she’s not crazy about it. She’s a very picky dog.. Will go on hunger strikes and vomit bile. :/ scared to give her primal.

Looked for homemade recipes but it seems complicated and I’m not sure what to portion out for a 12 lb dog :/.

Appreciate any input!!

[Howard J]

Hi!
She is starting to feel a lot better. Her stools are formed although they still are slightly yellow and mucusy. We brought her to a homeopathic vet and nutritionist today, she said she likely suffered from acute pancreatitis from the blood works and symptoms that we gave her. She also said she has symptoms for textbook Cushing’s disease and our other vet, thought this could be the case as well. She said to feed her chicken and rice for a few more days and she will help guide in the right direction regarding diet. She gave us PMG pancreatrophin, Paraplex and Enteric all whole food supplements. Here hormones are out of whack and she believed it stems from her pituitary gland.

[Susan]

Hi, have you joined the “Canine Pancreatitis Support ” group on face Book ? someone on the site might know good low fat wet tin foods with good ingredients cause I live Australia I don’t get a lot of the American foods, we get all the Well Pet range Wellness, Holistic Select, Eagle Pack, Earthborn Holistic range & all our Royal Canine Vet diets have different ingredients to the Americian Royal Canine vet diets the Australian R/C has a bit better ingredients cause we have very strict custom laws…..

My boy was eating theVet Diet Royal Canine Gastrointestinal Low Fat Kibble, but it has wheat & barley & Patch started to smell real yeasty & scratch & had bad fermenting breath smell so I changed kibbles again, he couldn’t eat the R/C Gastrointestinal Low Fat wet tin food cause it has rice in the Australian Royal Canine, there’s also Hills Vet Diet I/d Low Fat Restore wet tin food, it has digestive enzymes but it has rice so Patch can’t eat it… http://www.hillspet.com.au/en-au/products/pd-canine-id-low-fat-canned.html

I understand about the raw having enzymes but when a dog has a compromised immune system they can’t fight the bad bacteria in the raw that’s why I went thru a Naturopath Jacqueline Rudan from “Natural Animal Solutions” & she would not let Patch eat any of the commercial raw diets, she said I’ve seen them all being made & they all have very low grade meats & veggies, so I had to buy raw human kangaroo, fresh chicken breast & fresh veggies & make my own raw, it was pretty easy & soooo fresh, I had to put her digestive Enzymes 1/2 capsule & a human Probiotic that is dairy free gluten free 1/2 capsule with every meal to help Patch digest the raw & not get diarrhea.. but he kept regurgitating & burping up the raw even with the Digestive Enzymes & Probiotic, so I cooked the raw & stopped the Digestive enzymes & stopped the Probiotic Patch doesn’t do well on Probiotics he does better on Prebiotics… here’s her site she answers all emails & only cost me $60 for 1 hour phone consultation, she does Skype for overseas customers, every now & then Patch gets bad pain right side chest area under front paw, stomach pancreas area, he comes to me lifts his right paw whinges & wants me to rub his chest after eating certain kibbles that are high in protein over 25% protein, Jacqueline told me Patches Pancreas isn’t doing its job & working properly, all vet test came back OK but he gets all the symptoms of Pancreatitis, vets said it IBD & Helicobacter-Pylori he had Endoscope & Biopsies done 1 year ago, we tried every vet diet none worked for Patch but that’s cause of the boiled rice cause when I was first buying the Hills I/d Low Fat Restore the wet tin had no boiled rice, when we read the ingredients we must of missed rice & when I opened the tin I couldn’t see the rice he was doing really well on the I/d Low Fat Restore wet tin food, then I must of bought a different batch when I opened the tin the top was full of clumps of boiled rice, I rung Hills & said whats happening she said the I/d Restore is made at 2 different places, it sounds like the rice wasn’t grounded & has clumped all together, do I know the Batch numbers of the I/d Low Fat wet tin foods he was doing really well on, I said NO but I have the Batch numbers of all these tins full of rice, so I had to take them all back to the vets for refund, I was so disappointed even though, I hate Hills it worked & you start to not worry what the ingredients are when they start gaining weight & doing better, I tried feeding the i/d wet tin with the rice & scoping out most of the boiled rice but he started having his yellow sloppy smelly poos again farting rumbling bowel noises that you could hear in the next room, his breath stunk so his vet put him back on the Metronidazole for 3 weeks & gave me 3 repeat scripts for when it happens again I don’t have to keep seeing her just for some Metronidazole, the Metronidazole clears everything up I can’t believe how good it is the vet wanted to keep Patch on the Metronidazole she said she has a few dogs like Patch & they are on a low dose of Metronidaole once a day, but I just use when needed I have found since Ive been cooking chicken breast, sweet potatoes, broccoli, zucchini & kangaroo some days & using 1/2 spoon of the Natural Animal Solutions DigestaVite Plus-100 Patch is slowly getting better……I can’t believe it all these years I thought he couldn’t eat cooked food but it was the stupid rice it ferments in their stomach & was iratating his bowel….he can eat grounded rice in kibble just not boiled rice.. I contacted Jacqueline the Naturopath for help naturally.. her diets are under “Information” you pick 1 to 2 proteins I started with just the 1 protein Kangaroo now I feed chicken more then you pick 2-4 veggies & 1-2 fruits, I picked apple when he was eating raw but now I cut up watermelon & give as a treat or Paw Paw, Paw Paw is suppose to be excellent for the somach it has natural digestive enzymes..I freeze inice cube tray, its Summer here in Australia
http://www.naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/intestinal-flora-imbalance.html

[Howard J]

She does not take Metronidazole. We gave her Royal Canine low fat wet food a few hours ago, the ingredients are horrendous but she seems to be doing better. Probably will never give it to her again. Still looks like she is losing weight though.

Her breath does not smell good. Smells like putrid throw up, although it has gotten better. Her butthole seems to be inflamed too. I’ll try the mashed potatoes.

I’ll refrain from giving her a raw based diet, also I mine as well buy the Honest Kitchen food looks great! My only question is the Fromm wet food I have been feeding her has 44.63% Protein on a dry matter basis of 100 grams and 10.24% Fat on a dray matter basis of 100 grams. I can only imagine the fat content of Natural Instinct’s Venison Raw.

For Honest Kitchen the Zeal Dog food profile says Protein is 38.40% on a Dry matter basis and Fat is 9.25%, which is less than the Fromm wet food. However, it does not say the amount of grams, which would be my only concern. If its 100grams then she would likely do better on this food, in part because of the low protein and fat content and the better ingredients. The Fiber is much lower than Fromm’s wet food however the carbs are higher, not sure if that is good or bad for pancreatitis.

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/media/wysiwyg/AAFCO/ZEAL-nutrient-profile-1.pdf
http://frommfamily.com/products/four-star/dog/can/shredded-chicken/technical-analysis/

Also, the As-Is Basis of fat per 100 grams of the Fromm is 2.10, which is lower than the As Received (8.5%) as well as the As Served Hydrated (4.25%). Yet, Fromms dry matter basis of 100g, the fat % is higher than all the categories in the Zeal Dog Food Nutrient Profile.

Really confusing!

[Susan]

Hi Howard, did she take Metronidazole (Flagyl)? its an antibiotic for the stomach & bowel, also smell her breath does it smell & what of?? that’s how I know what’s happening with my boy when I smell his breath, when my boy starts doing the yellow mushy poos I have a few scripts of Metronidazole the vet has given me & I put Patch on the Metronidazole with food for 10 days & change diet, also I cook potatoes instead of rice, boiled rice can irritate the bowel…. Australian vets are using boiled potatoes now instead or the old fashion boiled rice..
When Patch has had the gurgling pinning bowel noises it was either from the boiled rice or an ingredient he was sensitive too, then over the years I found he has food sensitives…. He has had Pancreatitis when I first rescued him, vet put him on a vet diet for his skin allergies & the fat was toooo high at 19%…..now I cook chicken breast, potatoes, broccoli, zucchini, sweet potatoes, it depends some days I add Kangaroo rissoles some days or I add salmon in spring water drained, I put it all thru a blender for a few seconds….
I cant get The Honest Kitchen in Australia if I could I’d be feeding Patch the “Zeal” the fat is only 8.50% its low in carbs & limited ingredients & fish as protein so easy to digest, for the days I’m lazy…..http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal

I wouldn’t be feeding a raw diet with those symptoms, or if you do want to feed a raw diet, I went thru a Naturopath cause Patch was diagnosed with IBD & needs low fat diet & has Skin Allergies the raw worked for his skin but not his stomach (IBD) he kept regurgitating & burping up the raw Kangaroo & blended raw veggies but when I bake the kangaroo into rissoles & boil the same veggies, he’s OK, so I cook instead now & freeze meals…..

Sounds like you just haven’t found the right diet yet or she may do what happens with Patch, he needs his foods changed every month when I feed kibbles or he starts reacting to an ingredient, I posted a link about this I’ll try & find it, he cant stay on the same kibble too long he starts doing yellow sloppy poos….
Go supermarket get a couple brown potatoes, 1 small sweet potatoes, 1 zucchini & a small broccoli head, peel boil & put in containers in the fridge also maybe change the chicken to turkey or try the chicken & potato & see if there’s any gurgling pinning bowel noises & yellow mushy poo, if its still making loud noises change the protein, no chicken…maybe at first just do the chicken & potato & see if there’s improvement in stools, if there is then add some zucchini wait 2 days look at poos if poos are firm then add broccoli or whatever you want to add, then after a couple of weeks start adding some tin salmon in spring water drained to get all the healthy omegas & vitamins from the salmon, I add 1/2 a small tin per meal but you could make a few meals for a couple of days having a smaller dog… if you do see vet ask for a script for some Metronidazole its good have in cupboard when this happens, she may have too much bad bacteria in the stomach/bowel (S.I.B.O) & needs the metronidazole to fix everything up again….

[anonymously]

Doesn’t sound good. I assume your dog is under the care of a Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist, I would go by their recommendations, prescription diet, additional testing….
Anyway, maybe someone over here has been through this with their cairn. http://www.cairntalk.net/
Also, you might find this sight helpful http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=pancreatitis
Good luck.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by anonymously.

[Howard J]

Seven months ago the vet discovered that my 11 year old cairn terrier had multiple nodules on her pancreas. They said that it was either a tumor, benign or malignant or hyperplasia of the pancreas, which is common in old dogs. A month ago she was acting lethargic, depressed and had a seizure like episode. They prescribed her doxycycline after she tested light positive for anaplasmosis and from here on she got much worse. She threw up yellow, foamy bile every night. She’s always had GI PROBLEMS but the doxy made her feel very sick, she refused to eat anything, and lost 2.5lbs in the process.

We brought her back in and they took her off the doxy, they gave her an anti-nausea injection and prescribed various medications to treat her stomach and pancreas. A few weeks later her blood test seemed to have improved, her ALKP at the time of the crisis was over 6000!! However, it went down to less than 2000 with all other liver enzymes in the reference range. Everything else was normal, including the blood count, except for slightly high calcium and BUN levels.

Any who, they compared her pancreas photos from seven months ago and the nodules have not changed at all. They said they are ruling out cancer, and it is most likely something that shouldn’t be worried about. However, they are saying her liver enzymes are still high and they want to do a liver biopsy to figure out what is the problem, in order to give us a better diagnosis and to implement a treatment plan. We refused and instead opted to give monthly urine samples, as well as administrating milk thistle into her diet.

MY QUESTION: What should her diet consist of? After the supposed pancreatitis episode we introduced her to chicken and rice, which she seemed to do okay on. We then introduced her to Fromm grain free, shredded chicken and Natural Instincts frozen raw venison. She absolutely loved it, and seemed to be doing great. We fed her a small amount of the medallions. I know raw diet, especially natural instinct has high fat content, so maybe it isn’t good? She is back to Fromm with some boiled chicken and rice and her symptoms of pancreatitis seem to be coming BACK!

Her stools are muscusy, yellow, greasy diarrhea, which are signs of pancreatitis and/or too much fat in her diet. She has also been dry heaving occasionally. These symptoms have developed after we stopped giving her Natural Instinct. Today we fed her just chicken but her stools are the same. Pungent, yellow diarrhea.

Should we give her ENZYMES and/or probiotics, it seems that she isn’t digesting her food properly and the vets aren’t really helping diet wise. Is it wise to give dogs with pancreatitis raw diets and if so which brand is the best for this condition. If not, what food is appropriate for her condition?

I would greatly appreciate the input!

John

[Susan]

Hi, did you look at the Honest Kitchen Zeal, the fat is only 8.50% & it already has the protein fish, fish is easy to digest.. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal…
I looked at the Preference the fat is 8.4% & you haven’t added the meat yet….have you looked into cooking? once you cook & freeze everything its pretty easy, just once a week you have to cook & days you feel lazy, I feed a wet tin food, kibble is hard to digest so maybe stick with wet foods less work on the stomach pancreas & bowel…. on Face Book there’s a “Canine Pancreatitis Support” group, post a post asking brands of low fat premium wet tin foods…I know a few feed the “Holistic Select” Senior kibble its easy to digest… just remember the fat % in wet tin food is higher then kibble, if a wet tin food says 5% fat that’s around 22% fat if it was a kibble….

[jewel0247]

Hi,
My 12 yr old dog is hospitalized with pancreatitis (on fluids, bowel rest)… She also has elevated liver enzymes. Before getting sick, she was fed darwins in the morning with coconut oil and natures variety instinct in the evening with probiotic. She was doing great with her skin and allergies…

I want to modify her diet to less fat… Any suggestions? Cancelled darwins and was thinking either honest kitchen preference (add ground turkey) or natures variety instinct rabbit. She’s very picky..

Should I start her on milk thistle or sam-e?

Thank you for your time

[K C]

My 30 lb mixed breed dog, turning 14 next month, otherwise very healthy until her annual exam’s lab work led to a Dx w/kidney insufficiency (also called renal failure, kidney disease, renal insufficiency) and put on Hill’s Prescription Diet R/D. She was eating it mixed with a small amt of canned R/D because she didn’t seem to like the kibble by itself, but otherwise seemed to be doing okay. Until she wasn’t. She began to reject the dry kibble and eat only the wet food from it, licking it off the dry food, which she put on the floor outside her bowl. And then she stopped eating the canned food. And then the vomiting started. A trip to the vet and lab work showed she got pancreatitis from the high fat level in Rx kidney diet. The labs also showed her kidneys values, of course still showing kidney disease, had improved a little because of the diet, which was great news. She has lost weight because of the not eating much because of the pancreatitis.

She was sent home with fluids for us to inject under her skin and a medication to inject for nausea. She is currently only eating boiled chicken breast and rejecting rice, canned food, kibble, and egg whites, but she likes the Pill Pocket I put her Pepcid in. We were instructed to feed her a lowfat diet, whether it is a prescription diet (Hills or Royal Canin) or a mass market brand.

In preparation for when she is eating normally again, I have been researching the dog foods low in fat. The problem I am finding is that all of the low fat foods are high in protein. That means that in adjusting her diet to prevent a relapse of pancreatitis, as directed by her vet, I will be burdening her kidneys with higher protein, thereby assuring a faster decline. It is the worst catch-22 to be caught between two diseases like this!

Does anyone know of any dog food or diet or anything at all that would be a happy medium of low fat AND low protein, that I could present to my vet? And, be able to provide a dog all the nutrients it needs? I feel so helpless and I love my girl so much!

I thank you in advance for your help!

[3pupmom]

Good afternoon. My apologies for the length of this post. My Miniature Schnauzer Ninja was dx w/struvite crystals in Sept. I took him to vet to get some Metro for his yucky diarrhea & it turns out he had a raging UTI, his liver function was out of whack plus pancreatitis all at once. He was hospitalized for 2days, xrays showed no stones and he came home w/antibiotics. I think clavamox. 1 month later at his recheck, ph was 7 still has struvites in his urine plus some rbc/wbc but no infection (vet did a culture). 2nd recheck in Nov ph was 5.5, no struvites, but now he has calcium oxalate crystals. In Sept, before the hospitalization, Ninja was on Canidae All Stages only. When he came home I started him on THK Halcyon, the duck formulation, with a little of the Canidae. After the Oct followup I started him on VetriScience UT strength supplements which contains D-Mannose & Cranberry Extract and switched the kibble to Nature’s Domain Turkey. I was going to add Vitamin C supplements but now after the Nov followup with his urinary ph being 5.5 my vet said not to. I’ve now completely cut kibble out of his diet & he’s on 1/3cup THK only with 3/4cup water to rehydrate twice per day. I give him a 1/2 cup of unsalted broth (23mg sodium) mid-day and there’s plenty of fresh/clean water throughout the house which he barely touches. I’m putting a little bit of white rice in his food/broth to entice him to eat/drink. 2weeks ago I switched from the VetriScience UT Strength to UT Stat. He goes back for another recheck on 12/18. He’s 5years old & this has never been an issue before. Since Sept the vet has been suggesting Royal Canin SO. It’s garbage food & I’d rather not feed that. I’m at a loss at this point. Any suggestions on a different supplement?

[Tom G]

Hi, it would be great if this site provided a way to filter the different foods. E.g. a vet recommended to a friend that they feed their dog with Pancreatitis a high-fiber, low-fat, grain-free, chicken-free food. With filters this would be easy to find but without them it’s almost impossible.

Thanks.

[Jenn H]

I agree with anonymously. Get a 2nd or 3rd opinion. ASAP. Go to as many vets as needed to get an answer. An animal that small takes no time to become dehydrated. Dehydration can also cause nausea.

You can add a little low sodium/low fat chicken broth to get her to drink. Or freeze it if she likes ice cubes.

To help with the diarrhea give her a tiny bit of pumpkin or probiotics. This really is only treating some symptoms. Not the cause.

Also don’t leave food out 24/7. It loses its nutritional value, usually loses its enticing smell and just makes dogs less interested because they know it’s not going anywhere. If they have limited time to get eating they become better eaters.

Always add water to her meals. Especially kibble. Helps keep her hydrated and makes things easier to digest. And offer lots of small meals throughout the day. Much easier on the belly.

My dog is going through some GI issues now too. My regular vet hasn’t been able to find the cause. She ended up at emergency even though her symptoms weren’t terrible. Yet. Turns out she was in some pain. Slightly dehydrated. X-rays showed nothing really. Labs weren’t too out of whack.
Gave her metronidazole, tramadol, Pepcid, prescription probiotics, sub-q fluids.
The next day we were at an internal medicine specialist who did an ultrasound and redid the labs. Still haven’t found the cause of her trouble, but we have a plan going forward and I’m confident we’ll figure it out. They looked at everything. Pancreas, gallbladder, liver, kidneys, spleen, etc.

In Feb she had acute pancreatitis and was diagnosed again with it and the general inflammed bowel while treating Lyme. She’s had issues since Feb. Finding the cause is a little difficult given the Lyme and it’s treatment options.

Don’t waste time on vets who can’t or won’t help you. Time is of the essence. She’s likely experiencing pain. It’s not fair to let her suffer. Even a little bit.

Good luck.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Jenn H.

[Susan]

Hi Corinne, was your dog tested for S.I.B.O Small Intestinal Bacteria Over Growth ? with S.I.B.O their poos have a rotten smell, its awful, they have wind/gas, vomiting, they are normally put on Metronidazole (Flagyl) for 21-28 days & feed the Royal Canine Gastrointestinal Low Fat diet.. after taking the Metronidazole, if symptoms come back again then they are normally put on Tylan Powder, the Tylan powder is made up in empty capsules cause it taste awful & some dogs are turned off their meals cause of bad taste, 1 capsule of Tylan Powder is put in 1 meal once a day… poos firm up pretty much as soon as you start using it…. you could get Tylan Powder over the counter last year in America but now I think you need a script from vet…

My boy has IBD he has had Pancreatitis & S.I.B.O, out of all the vet diets he did really well on the Royal Canine Gastrointestinal Low Fat wet & kibble, the Royal Canine Gastrointestinal Low Fat breaks down real easy, so its easier to digest, if you just feed the Royal Canine for 6 months & let stomach & bowel heal & rest then start looking for another limited ingredient food & slowly introduce new food over 3 weeks, I feed a Fish & Rice kibble now, I’m finding my boy does real well stomach & skin wise on fish based kibbles….. when your girl is stable, I would be cooking meals, if you can, kibble is very hard to digest, now what I do is I feed cooked meal for breakfast & kibble for lunch & dinner or sometimes the cooked for dinner as well, its better to feed 3-4 smaller meals thru the day…..
When I buy a new kibble or I try & get samples, I soak a couple of the kibbles in a glass of warm water & I see how long does the kibble take to become soft, the Royal Canine Gastro Low Fat only takes about 40 mins & its soft, so I know its not hard to digest…. I hope your baby gets well again…

[Catherine C]

Hope your dog does well – thank you for sharing about pancreatitis.
The problem i am having is trying to manage pancreatitis as well as diabetes, however my little guy is doing brilliantly with insulin.

[Brian L]

I’m not trying to plug a website or anything, but when my dog was really sick and I didn’t feel comfortable with my local vet’s advice, i paid an online vet to give me their opinion of my dogs situation. It was $15 as I recall. justanswer . com and pay for a vet to answer your question with some advice.

But, that being said, my dog went through the symptoms you posted with pancreatitis. When she recovered, if she ever had diarrhea again, i waited 24 hours to feed her, but encouraged her to drink on her own by placing little glass bowls of water around as she would need an IV if she lost too much fluid (we had a IV bag the vet sent home with us to do Sub Q IV’s with).

She was put on Royal Canin Low Fat Gastro wet food and we just left a bowl of the dry out 24/7 in case she wanted any. After the 24 hour period would happen, we slowly introduced low fat cottage cheese.

[Jenn H]

I have 2 dogs that were diagnosed w/ acute pancreatitis the day after the Super Bowl. The Lab got into dog food and just gorged. The GSD didn’t eat nearly as much yet had more severe symptoms that didn’t completely resolve after treatment. Her Lyme came back really high so they chalked it up to that.
10 months later and she still isn’t completely 100%. In fact we were just at the emergency vet a couple wks ago.
This yr she has been treated for Lyme twice w/ 2 different antibiotics. Both aggregated her stomach.
A couple of times her labs showed some high #s with her liver and kidney. Not alarmingly high and they did go back to normal.
X-rays have shown lots of gas to the point where her intestines were pushed over.

We’re now working with a specialist. He did an ultrasound to look at everything. Her pancreas, gallbladder, liver, kidneys…all looked good the day after the emergency visit.
For now he’s given her the general diagnosis of IBD/IBS. Once she’s completely off i/d and meds and back to her normal diet we’ll see if she regresses again.
The only meds I’ve given her right now is Pepcid w/ meals. I’m very slowly decreasing that and very slowly transitioning her back to Wysong.
She also gets 2 tbsp pure pumpkin in the morning.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. While she was initially diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis is a potential next diagnosis.
She is a very very very active dog and keeping her weight up has always been a challenge as a result. Low fat diet is not satisfying or even reasonable. My hope is that transitioning her diet even slower than usual and she won’t need any meds for other problems we’ll finally stop this upset stomach nonsense once & for all. If she has to remain on Pepcid for life I’m fine with that if it means she can go back to her completely normal life and eating habits.

I hope you have better luck with figuring out what’s going on. But know that pancreatitis and IBD are manageable diseases. And for that I am grateful.