[Tracy D]

Hi there, I am new to this forum. My dog Patchy has just been diagnosed (sort of) with pancreatitis and my vet told me I would have to take her off her raw beef mince diet. She advised a canned dog food with minimum fat as it is the only way they can monitor her as they “know” how much fat is on the food. Fair enough I can see the wisdom in that but…all I have read is that a raw food diet is the answer to sickness and she been raised on that. I really do not care for canned food and nor does Patchy. Naturally if at the end of the day the vet’s advice is the only answer then i will have to do that but I don’t feel this is good enough. So I have a few questions for the group if you could be good enough to help me with this:
Would raw kangaroo with low fat content be a good choice?
If so and as they are not farmed but eat wild, then how would I know how clean the meat is from parasites and toxoplasmosis, not to mention any other scary things that I don’t know about?
Could a high quality Cod Liver Oil help her general health? Not that she is otherwise unhealthy but quite the opposite.
I read here that animal sourced digestive enzymes can help, does anyone know a good one?
Many thanks to you all

[Annie J]

Pancreatitis can be a pretty severe disease and can ultimately end a dog’s life, so now is not the time to experiment. A dog with panc needs to be restricted to a low-fat diet, at least until the pancreatitis has resolved. If Patchy doesn’t like canned food then try the dry versions of the low-fat diets (Hill’s I/D low-fat, GI low fat Royal Canin, Purina EN, etc). Pancreatitis can be the primary problem from dietary indiscretion (“garbage gut”, table scraps, bacon, etc) or secondary to another disease so if it’s not from her eating weird things then resolve the panc first then have her reassessed. Definitely avoid raw food, at least until her panc is taken care of- there are a plethora of pathogens in raw diets so don’t give her body anything else to fight off at this point in time. If you want to do raw in the future just make sure it is “AAFCO” approved on the label and sear the raw meat for a few secs before giving it (studies show it reduces the infectious bugs considerably). This certainly wouldn’t take care of toxo or parasites, just enteric bacteria. My friend’s dog got incredibly sick while eating raw food and when she was hospitalized they had to keep her in isolation (addtl $$$$$) until her antibiotic treatment was long enough for her to stop shedding salmonella. Cod liver oil in the future is a good source of omega-3s but is fatty so definitely not for a dog trying to overcome pancreatitis. Digestive enzymes are really only needed if they have a different pancreas-related disease (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) so if Patchy can make her own enzymes no need to feed her another animal’s. Sounds like your vet provided good advice and since they assessed Patchy’s overall condition I’m sure they’d be happy to give you guidance about how you want to manage her condition 🙂 hang in there Patchy! lay off the fatty foods

[Tracy D]

Hi Annie J

Thanks heaps for your good advice. I have settled myself down now and have resigned myself to the Hill’s Digestive formula Patchy was prescribed. Yes I am the problem of course not my poor dog. She is somewhat unimpressed but doing well health wise. I am just miserable knowing her species food choices, is something she probably won’t ever be able to eat again. She is such a foodie too.
My vet is the best and you have pretty much told me everything she has told me so I am put in my place and accept.

Thanks so much for your help.
Regards
Tracy

[Annie J]

So glad she’s liking the digestive formula! They can be punks about not getting what they want sometimes. It’s sooo tough because they give you those puppy dog eyes!! I have the same exact problem because I feel guilty eating in front of my girls but vet bills and their health aren’t worth it (as I initially found out the hard way when growing up with garbage gut dogs). Once the panc has chilled out maybe your vet would be ok with Patchy getting a certain amt of unseasoned carrots or green beans for snacks. we ended up getting low-calorie cheddar bite dog treats from the pet store that they LOVE. Since the dogs are sorta treat restricted around here they actually think their nightly fish oil pill is a treat 😉 Also, sometimes adding a touch of warm water to the food makes it more stewy and “delicious”

good luck!

[Tracy D]

Yes I agree, I feel guilty every time I eat anything that I can’t share with Patchy. I always share with her. I read that carrots have too much sugar for pancreatitis and that protein aka roo meat, is also incorrect. I fell literally bereft of snack choices for her. My vet said oh you can try her on anything but the short answer from her will always be that they have no control over “knowing” what will be okay. Except of course if her diet is solely the Hill’s Digestive food. So she has the canned food and I have just bought the kibble in it ($$$) and offer her the kibble as a bit of a snack which makes us both happier 🙂 plus it looks more interesting. I have never given her kibble because I hate the idea of all the sodium. I have always equally turned my nose up at the canned dog food. Brave new world I am afraid. I just want her to live forever and be healthy as possible.
Thanks again

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