Pancreatitis

[Guest lovingreys]

One of my greys has had pancreatitis attacks over the past six years. The last two attacks have been within a year. I first had her on Hills I/D but changed her to Innova Low Fat Adult. She's now had attacks on both of these foods and I'm wondering what to try next. It's upsetting to see her have attacks when she's been on a low fat diet and we don't give her any treats..... Any advice would be appreciated.

[Guest hlpnhounds]

How was the pancreatitis diagnosed ?

[grey14me]

I would suggest giving your dog a regular pepcid tablet (I think it's 10mg of famotidine) 1/2 hour before each meal to see if that helps. It's the same medicine that your vet most likely gave her if she was hospitalized.

[Guest lovingreys]

How was the pancreatitis diagnosed ?

The original diagnosis was the result of blood work and ultrasound.

[krissn333]

My old guy with chronic pancreatitis eats Solid Gold Wolf King. Low in fat but still has a good protein level, which he needs to keep his muscles up. Since he has no kidney issues, that's what we use.

 

When he was ill and getting better he did not eat kibble. Kibble is really hard for their tummies to digest. If you have to feed kibble and are still having a hard time, try soaking it in some water or broth so it's soft before serving it. I would also consider adding digestive enzymes to the food. Those will help the pancreas chill out a bit because it won't have to work as hard to produce the enzymes needed to digest the kibble.

 

Meat is also difficult for them to digest...Sutra ate all mushy food for a long time before I decided to give kibble a try. He ate oatmeal, mashed potatoes, macaroni, cottage cheese, yogurt, turkey baby food. When he was feeling better I would give him raw low fat ground beef or ground turkey (ground turkey is better IMO).

 

Give the Solid Gold a shot...if you also need a lower protein food, the Solid Gold Holistique Blendz is great too. If she continues to have attacks, I would suggest going to entirely homecooked food

Edited February 18, 2010 by krissn333

[Guest lovingreys]

My old guy with chronic pancreatitis eats Solid Gold Wolf King. Low in fat but still has a good protein level, which he needs to keep his muscles up. Since he has no kidney issues, that's what we use.

 

When he was ill and getting better he did not eat kibble. Kibble is really hard for their tummies to digest. If you have to feed kibble and are still having a hard time, try soaking it in some water or broth so it's soft before serving it. I would also consider adding digestive enzymes to the food. Those will help the pancreas chill out a bit because it won't have to work as hard to produce the enzymes needed to digest the kibble.

 

Meat is also difficult for them to digest...Sutra ate all mushy food for a long time before I decided to give kibble a try. He ate oatmeal, mashed potatoes, macaroni, cottage cheese, yogurt, turkey baby food. When he was feeling better I would give him raw low fat ground beef or ground turkey (ground turkey is better IMO).

 

Give the Solid Gold a shot...if you also need a lower protein food, the Solid Gold Holistique Blendz is great too. If she continues to have attacks, I would suggest going to entirely homecooked food

Thanks for your help Kriss. I have been using Prozyme for years and will continue that. I never thought about wetting the kibble; I'll try that as well. I'll also look into the Solid Gold foods.... The good news is Pumpkin is recovering well. We've fasted her for a couple days, had her on subcue fluids, pepcid and antibiotics. I think she'll be okay, but I sure would like to prevent these attacks if possible.

[krissn333]

There have been a couple of times where I can tell that Sutra is just a little bit off. Nothing would jump out at you if you saw him, but, I can tell. When I get those feelings, we go to the vet for bloodwork. Usually his CPL is positive and his bloodwork confirms that his pancreas is working too hard again. A good course of Clavamox usually knocks it out and it's all taken care of before it gets too bad.

 

Sounds like her attacks come on pretty quickly, so, I don't know if you'd be able to sense anything before she really flares up.

 

Yeah, give those foods a shot and like I said, the mushier, the better. Then the digestive system doesn't have to do much in terms of breaking up the food.

 

Some dogs don't really like the kibble soaked...but if you can soak it and then run it through a food processor, sometimes they're more interested, for whatever reason.

[Guest mcsheltie]

Contact Monica Segal - link She is one of the top canine nutritionists and specializes in diets for medical conditions. She would easily be able to help you out. She would be able to suggest processed food, home cooked or raw diets. Which ever route you would prefer. Her philosophy is what works best for the individual dog.

[Guest lovingreys]

Contact Monica Segal - link She is one of the top canine nutritionists and specializes in diets for medical conditions. She would easily be able to help you out. She would be able to suggest processed food, home cooked or raw diets. Which ever route you would prefer. Her philosophy is what works best for the individual dog.

This is perfect - thanks so much for your help.

 

There have been a couple of times where I can tell that Sutra is just a little bit off. Nothing would jump out at you if you saw him, but, I can tell. When I get those feelings, we go to the vet for bloodwork. Usually his CPL is positive and his bloodwork confirms that his pancreas is working too hard again. A good course of Clavamox usually knocks it out and it's all taken care of before it gets too bad.

 

Sounds like her attacks come on pretty quickly, so, I don't know if you'd be able to sense anything before she really flares up.

 

Yeah, give those foods a shot and like I said, the mushier, the better. Then the digestive system doesn't have to do much in terms of breaking up the food.

 

Some dogs don't really like the kibble soaked...but if you can soak it and then run it through a food processor, sometimes they're more interested, for whatever reason.

The only thing I noticed a couple days before was that she seemed to be walking more slowly on our daily walk. Other than that she was fine. She went to bed the night before acting normally and when we got up in the morning she was stretching a lot and moving very slowly.... Thanks again for all your help. I appreciate it.