[Christine S]

My 12 year old golden was hospitalized for pancreatitis in January. Blood tests and ultrasound also showed an infected gall bladder; it was twice its normal size. She was treated with Enroflaxacin, Metronidazole and Ursodiol with 20 mg Famotidine 2 x a day and put on a strict GI diet. I’ve been giving her Purina EN Gastroenteric and Hills ID GI Chicken and Vegetable Stew, 4 meals per day. The vet said we should just keep her on that to ensure pancreatitis doesn’t return. Ultrasound and blood tests since then show she has recovered and indicate that she’s got no other issues, except we can’t see the stomach. The thing is, I noticed that between a half-hour to 2 hours after eating, she starts panting and yawns. She also bow stretches several times throughout the day. I can tell she’s uncomfortable but she doesn’t vocalize and she always looks forward to eating. She’s also gotten pretty sluggish on our walks. Until the pancreatitis she would always trot and I could barely keep up with her, and I walk fast. Now she’ll trot some then slow down to a crawl and walk with her mouth open, I can hear her huffing so I think she’s uncomfortable. We’ve tried several times to treat with omeprazole including liquid Carafate, but she got diarrhea so we stopped it. This last time we got her on 8 days of the omeprazole before the diarrhea hit. The vet now thinks the diarrhea is a food intolerance to something in her diet. So it would have to be one or both the GI foods, or the boiled chicken we were giving as treats. I’ve since eliminated the chicken, so she’s not getting any treats. I should also add that she’s getting canned food, not kibble because she would pant heavily after the kibble, even when moistened. Anyway, the vet recommended Royal Canin Hydrolized Protein (RCHP). I transitioned her on that over a period of 5 days based on vet’s recommendation. On her 3rd solid day of only RCHP, we opened a can at lunch and noticed it had a fishy smell. Piper started to eat it then suddenly stopped and wouldn’t finish it. Nothing except the severe pancreatitis attack stops her from eating. She always looks forward to eating. I offered some EN and she gladly ate that, so there was something wrong with the RCHP. I opened another can and I thought it smelled ok but my fiancé said it didn’t and wouldn’t let me give her anymore. So I had to get her back on the EN. The thing is it seemed as though it was helping. It seemed like she wasn’t panting as much, and she wasn’t scratching her ears as much or at all which is something I hadn’t really paid much attention to with all the other symptoms. She hasn’t had ear infections and other than biting at her hind ankles occasionally, she doesn’t show signs of allergies. (She doesn’t have fleas.) I read through a ton of responses to other posts and thought I would try Natural Balance LID Duck and Potato, because it wasn’t $5 a can and it had low fat, or so I thought. I didn’t realize that the fat content wasn’t converted like it was for the GI foods, which I learned after reading many of Susan’s posts. I only gave her about 1/4 cup and she really looked uncomfortable after that, I’m guessing due to the fat content. She also had really bad gas. So she’s back on strictly EN until I figure out what to do next. Honestly I’m afraid to try anything else but I really don’t like the ingredients in the vet prescription diets and she’s been on them since January. I don’t see us cooking her food and I have some reservations about going back to raw given the possibility of inviting bad bacteria into the mix. My other concern is should I give her antacids or not? A dog that doesn’t make enough stomach acid can have the same symptoms as one with too much stomach acid. The vet said it would be rare for her not to have enough stomach acid and thinks we should try the omeprazole again. I’d like to know she needs it before giving it to her because it seemed like it would make her more lethargic. Is there a test without having to scope her? I thought about trying a novel protein but would have to go with goat or kangaroo as she’s eaten just about everything else, in every form, due to our other dog being an extremely picky eater (a Hovawart.) I would love to hear your suggestions, or any ideas you have based on her symptoms. Treating GI issues really is difficult, especially when you’re the only one in the house that thinks her panting and yawning are signs of discomfort!!

[Susan]

Hi sorry to hear about your girl, my boy has IBD & gets Pancreatitis pain he had it yesterday & today again, real whingy I’m lucky he grinds his teeth when he has his acid reflux & licks mouth like he’s suckling, so I know he’s unwell liquid Mylanta is good too keep a small bottle in fridge & give 5mls & being kept in the fridge soothes the stomach more….
When they yarn & pant, they have pain my vet said, even paw licking can be pain & they set off endorphins from the licking & Patch does a big burp sometimes, I burp him like a baby sometimes when he has his pancreas pain, I rub his back & stomach area (right side rib cage) it makes him feel better, my vet wanted Patch on Prednisone small dose 5mg, actually 3 vets wanted him on Steroids I kept saying NO the Prednisone will give him more acid reflux in the end I have him 2.5mg with breakfast & 2.5mg with dinner & only gave for 3-4 days & stopped the Prednisone did take away his Pancreas pain BUT he felts real sick vomited a few times & got diarrhea, whe I told his vet she said yes some dogs cant take steroids now she said just start him on the Metronidazole low dose 200mg at night Metronidazole has a steroid anti inflammatory type drug & antibiotic, it does help but takes longer about 4-5 days the Prednisone worked within 1 day & Patch takes Losec (Omeprazole) 8.30am every day now, it doesn’t have to be given before they eat like other acid reducers, its a blocker, I thought the same with the Losec when Patch started taking it vet didn’t want him on a Pump Proton Inhibitor (PPI) long term & said just give it to him when needed for 3-4 days then stop but I found he was doing better when taking the Losec, I started just giving 1/2 the 20mg tablet, I buy his Losec from chemist $7.99, his vet writes me 6 repeat scripts, it’s cheaper then buying from vets-$100 & the chemist orders in the Losec that can be cut in 1/2 “Omeprazole Sandoz” I thought the same when Patch first started to take the Losec, that the Losec was causing sloppy poo’s but it was an ingredient in the R/C Low Fat Intestinal vet diet wet tin food, either the Corn gluten meal, whole corn or the wheat then I realized it was the boiled rice, he cant eat boiled rice, it irritates his bowel, he eats the Hills I/d Chicken & Vegetable stew, it has the least rice & no beet pulp, I take out the rice & carrots give to my cat she loves it but the fat is 14.9% sometimes Patch gets acid reflux, but not his pancreas pain, so I tried the Royal Canine HP wet tin but it has oil all on the bottom of can & fish oils cause Patch to have acid reflux & his pain so I was using a can opener that takes off the top of the can & sliding out the whole meat loaf & patting it with a paper towel to absorb all the oil & cutting the loaf in 3rds & putting the rest on a plate & cover with cling wrap put in fridge, I found he preferred the Hills I/d Chicken Vegetable stew, are you on facebook?? join this group “Canine Diabetes Support and Information? group https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanineDiabetesSupportandInformation/files/
on your left is the “Files” click on files & 2nd link- “2017.3.26 – CDSI Diabetes dog food options” click on this & all low fat foods will come up, just scroll down for the wet tin foods the lady has converted the wet tin foods to DM (Dry Matter) DM is the fat% if it were a kibble…or email the wet tin company & ask about the formula’s your interested in, can they email back fat% after being converted to dry matter, the lady has done it with the wet tin foods on the link, I ended up cooking lean pork mince or 99% fat free Turkey mince & Kangaroo mince all human grade minces, Patch did real well on the lean beef
I added 1 whisked egg some finally chopped parsley, peeled & grated 1 carrot & a few chopped up broccoli heads mix all together & make 1 cup size rissole balls or 1/2 cup size balls & bake in oven on baking tray lined with foil just take them out after 15mins & turn over the rissoles & remove any water & fat, I also boil sweet potatoes & add 1/2 a cup to 1 cup rissole ball, all mashed & cut up so it’s easy to eat, the sweet potato & rissoles can be frozen take out the day before put in fridge to thaw….
I also feed Canidae kibble have a look at the Canidae Pure Meadow Senior the fat is 10.8% max, or Canidae Life Stages Platinum fat is 8.5% min you”ll need to email Canidae for max fat % there’s also a wet tin Platinum fat say 4% but it hasn’t been converted to Dry Matter so it will be around 16 to 20% fat so its a must to email the pet food companies,
I feed 5 meals a day 7am 9am 5am is kibble & 12pm & 8pm is wet food.. I live Australia & our Royal Canine comes from France not America our ingredient list is a bit better, I would start looking for other wet tin foods to feed, have you read the ingredient list in the Purina EN? Purina uses by product meats….. I like the Hills I/d Chicken & Vegetable Stew but we can only get the small 156g cans now so I was going to make my rissoles sweet potato & add the I/d Stew…. ask vet can you try low dose of Prednisone for her pain, 5mg my vet said steroids taken in morning is best same with the Losec best to take of a morning…

It’s awful watching them in pain, Patch is a real talker & whinger, he tells me when something is wrong, he lifts his front paw up, at first I thought he wanted me to shake his paw, (he’s a rescue) but he kept pulling his paw away when I went to shake his paw, then lifting up his paw again, I realised he wants me to rub his stomach & pancreas area….
Have you joined the “Canine Pancreatitis support group” on F/B I hope this very long post something will help your girl…. she will probably also feel sick some days, the Losec will helped with the nausea, I would be making her comfortable, the Losec starts working in 12 -24hrs so when you do stop the Losec its still in their system for 12-24hrs, even if you give the Losec every 2nd day & see how she goes but in the end I give it every morning now… Patch is nilly 9yrs old weights 17-18kg =40lbs… I just remember if you want to stay with Vet Diets look at the Royal Canine PR Potato & Rabbit but I think the fat is too high in the wet tins, one of the Potato formula’s is lower I think its the PV-Venison but R/C has stopped making the PV you’ll have to contact Royal Canine..

[Cath N]

I feel for you all. Just a brief description of my 16 y.o. Dachshund with irritable bowel disease. Started slightly about 1.5 yrs ago….now extremely intolerable to fat. Sorry to say but home cooked is the only way to know they aren’t eating out-sourced foods. It’s a lot of work, takes discipline and patience but once you discover the best for your golden baby, you’ll feel best for her/him. 1. Trial test…..small amount of sweet potato (plain), scant amount of fresh fish (I buy haddock) or if tolerated, plain “breast of chicken” ….then wait for two hours and “watch for digestive , panting, yawning, or unusual body sign. ” 2. Feed again at lunch 1/4 cup and “watch”.

Only once, I saw my other Doxie “yawning, pacing floor, digging on carpet in distress and we knew she was bloated from her food (gave her broccoli). Don’t doubt yourself. You can see when they aren’t themselves.

Of note, I don’t trust the vet prescription diets but when our doggies are in extreme distress you have to trust that it will help and that its only temporary ….until you find the right choice. I use on occasion , hills digestive glucose, approx two tbsp and mix in with organic brown rice, scant, no fat, breast of chicken (for her to smell something good is in there. Went online recently because of desperate need to help her and bought from “pet health natural nutrition” a line of digestive care, one of which seems to really help…it has freeze dried aloe Vera which is extremely helpful with digestion. Wishing you and your fur baby the best and to uncover the diet that will keep her/him healthy and happy. Take care.

[pitlove]

Hi Cath-

It is interesting to me when people say they don’t trust prescription foods unless their dog is really sick. I would imagine if the prescription diet can be trusted to help a sick pet, they are trustworthy.

[Bridget R]

I was searching on this topic since last many days. later i found one thing which i would like to share with you. i have done some analysis on dogs where i found to increase the weight of your dog you need to keep your dog at one place which is possible just if you keep your box in a right type of whelping box. whelping box helps to grow our puppies soon and gains weight. Thank you.

[Christine S]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I started her up again on the Royal Canin HP and she’s been on it for over a week. The vet said to try this for 6-8 weeks to know if it’s helping. She’s really become lethargic on walks and I can hear her breathing; it seems different than a pant. It’s finally warm up here in MN, but I walk her in the coolest part of the day and not before or after she’s eaten. I feed her at 7:30 AM, 12:00 noon, and 5:30 PM. Heavy panting seems to occur more in the afternoon when she hasn’t eaten for a few hours. We also tried the Omprezole again and got her on it for 6 days before the diarrhea got bad. Since we took her off it her stool has been mucousy but mostly just soft. I’ve ordered some digestive enzymes and hope they’ll help. I’m going to try boiled sweet potato and baked cod for lunch and see what happens.

[Susan]

Hi Christine S,
have you joined the “Canine Pancreatitis Support group” on Face Book?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1435920120029740/
the lady that runs the group Lisa Hogan has posted 2 of Dr Judy Morgan DVM recipes for Pancreatitis.
It’s hard to know what’s going on, especially with the Lungs & Heart, checking a dog lungs thru Xrays & Ultra Scan might not show up much sometimes, I was having problems breathing, I’m breathless when weather is real humid hot & real cold, I had X Ray & Ultra Scan test came back everything was all good but I knew something wasn’t right then by accident while I was having an MRI for another health problem Gallbladder & Liver they found I have Fibrosis in lungs….
Has your vet prescribe Metronidazole (Flagyl) this will help with the sloppy poos/diarrhea & if there’s any Stomach or Pancreas inflammation, my boy was taking 1x 200mg Metronidazole twice a day for 2 weeks now he’s taking 1 x 200mg Metronidazole with his dinner, vet wants him to stay on a low dose of Metronidazole & see how he goes…
The Royal Canin food which food is she having the wet HP tin food or the dry HP kibble?

[Christine S]

Hi Susan, yes I did join the Canine Pancreatitis Support Group. Lots of good information on that site. I have her on the canned, or wet tin food since she seemed to have difficulty with the kibble. I don’t give her any hard food because her panting was worse. She is still stretching a lot and yawning though it seems like she’s panting less. I read another post on this site where a woman’s dog was diagnosed with fluid in its lungs after she saw her dog panting, yawning and really lethargic. That dog also didn’t want to eat at times, Piper always wants to eat. But I am considering taking her back in to discuss the lethargy because that is worse, and I do not accept that it’s age. She’s 12 but she’s a young 12, has no arthritis and was always a great walker until the pancreatitis attack, and even then she had really good days. But lately she is soo slow, she walks behind me most of the walk and I’m walking very slowly. Beginning of May we had her blood tested and all her values were great. I don’t know if they would have shown an issue with lungs, I’ll have to ask the vet. I’m just frustrated because I want to see improvement with this food and when I don’t, I feel the urge to try something new. When that doesn’t show immediate improvement, I regret trying it and wish I had just been patient because it starts the clock over again. She’s been on the RC HP for about 2 weeks now. I did bake some lovely cod filets and boiled small sweet potato chunks and tried that one day over 2 hour periods. She started yawning after the second meal, 3.5 hours after the first meal. So I quit that and now I have some cod in the fridge that I will end up throwing out. I bought some digestive enzymes, but is that over doing it? I tried probiotics for 2 days and that seemed to make her more uncomfortable so I stopped them. I don’t want to aggravate her situation. Does anyone know if the Royal Canin Hydrolized Protein food has digestive enzymes in it? It doesn’t call them out in the ingredients but says “Helps maintain digestive health.”

[Cath N]

Call the company and inquire. I’d focus on the panting and obtain tests. A food journal is the only way to determine what she can tolerate. I used organic Paul Newman kibble which was the only one they would eat. The scant meat was placed in food processor and mixed with some kibble. No longer use kibble they are 16y.o., teeth are good and blood tests also good. But keep them on home cooked food and observe any ill-signs. Every one seems to have less food tolerance as we age, as well as dogs; have to keep a watchful eye. I’ve purchased 99% fat free chicken breast , however, dogs with allergies can’t tolerate. No fat, if possible. Remember, FOOD JOURNAL. Best of luck.

[Susan]

Hi Christine S,
Hills I/d Restore Low Fat dry & wet tin food has digestive enzymes, a lot of dogs with Pancreatitis are put on the Hills I/d formula’s or Royal Canine Intestinal Low Fat wet or dry but you have to read ingredient list in the wet & dry matching formula’s as they differ…. Patch was eating the Hills I/d Vegetables & Chicken stew wet….
Sound’s like she is having pain, yarning panting are all signs of pain after eating from Pancreatitis… Patch is the same when I feed home cooked some days he seemed OK but then he wasn’t OK & had his pancreas pain after eating his lean pork & sweet potatoes so I stopped feeding the cooked meals & went back feeding a kibble that is easy to digest & the Hills I/d wet tins, I feed 5 meals a day, so his pancreas doesn’t have as much work & he doesn’t have a full stomach & have to much to digest a heap of food all at once, smaller meals seems to work best for him… I never mix dry with wet food he had BAD pain…

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