Anyone with experience of Pancreatitis?

[fortifiedwithtea]

Young female 18 months old. Many allergies all grains, chicken, turkey And all grasses are the worst but its along list. Had allergy testing and will be going for allergy therapy for the environmental allergens.

New problem . Dog trying to eat grass in order to vomit, this is not good because she is extremely allergic to grass. Had blood test at vets and told to mix her food with mashed potato to calm the pancreas. All fine for a week and then she did a huge vomit.

Back at the vets today for a fasting blood test. Confirmed pancreatitis.

Given the option of in stay on fluids or stay at home and a course of antibiotics just in case there is an infection going on, we opted for the later.

Vet said its a 50/50 split between dogs who have a one off episode and those who have repeated flare ups. I am thinking what in the world can this dog eat?

We are already paying £175 a month in insurance before we even think of her food.

I have been resisting raw feeding upto now because I don’t like the idea and we are not an organised family, we often leave ordering her canned food to the last minute. By that I mean we pay for next day delivery when if we were organised we could order it for 3-5 days delivery and save money. I can see us forgetting to get the food out the freezer in time to be flawed in time. A freezer we would have to buy and put in the garage because we have a tiny kitchen. Now thinking raw feeding is the only way.

Any one got advise or experience of pancreatitis?

[PollyRoulson]

This article may help you feeding a dog with pacnreatitis

Initially (although not a great fan of prescription diet) it may be the way to control an acute attack. If not there are complete foods that will help your dog. Raw food is not the only answer for this in anyway.

Many food suitable will contain chicken as it is low fat but look for fish as an alternative.

Hope he feels better soon.

What insurance company are you with that is a huge amount?

[Darklane]

Yes, one of mine had it. He was very ill & hospitalised on intravenous antibiotics & fluids for three days . After that I used to buy a special food from the vet for the rest of his life. It was this one that I used.
Food
Our vet had a scheme whereby you earned a free bag after buying so many, or a free tray if you chose the tinned version.
If you choose to prepare your own you need to keep it as low fat as possible.
He liked it & did very well on it for several years, no recurrence of the pancreatitis, till he died of cancer last year.

[PerhapsInchyraBlue]

Our story is exactly as PP. Ddog was fine for 6 years before dying of a massive stroke. The food was expensive but kept him very well.

[fortifiedwithtea]

@PollyRoulson thanks for the link , encouraging that there are a variety of foods available.

When tested for food allergies a score of 1-5 was given (5 being the highest) our dog scores 2 for white fish and 3 for salmon.

Her usual diet is 3 cans a day of Millie’s Wolfheart the gamey one.

@Darklane Our vet suggested an hospitalisation for upto 3 days to calm her pancreas with IV fluids and antibiotics. However we explained she has separation anxiety and would not do well overnight on her own. Because we are a household of 5 with 2 working shifts and me being a stay at home mum she has never been on her own.

As she doesn’t have diarrhoea vet said we could treat at home with antibiotics and do another fasting bleed test when the course is finished.

[PollyRoulson]

The gamey one has salmon in it. If she is ok with that one?

I would contact Millies I am sure they will help. Millies is generally high protein which might mean high fat but they do havve low fat food and should be able to advise.

For example Highland may work (but I have no idea so do check!) as it is low fat with duck and vension and no grains.

[fortifiedwithtea]

@PollyRoulson she loves the gamekeeper flavour. Something in it she is tolerably allergic to. Her claws are discoloured frol saliva where she constantly gnaws and licks them. The wrinkles under her chin you can see her skin because She has scratched her fur off.

Yesterday I cooked her white rice, poached haddock and scrambled egg made with water and no butter. Also had plain mashed potato..
Medication is antibiotics, a probiotic paste and a tablet I think is an antacid.

By yesterday evening she was less sleepy and more playful. Still need to address what to feed long term. I always have too much to think about, having an adult daugher with complex additional needs.

[DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat]

Yes, but mine is a nearly 14 year old greyhound. She developed pancreatitis about a year ago. Appalling diarrhoea, vomiting and general unwell demeanour when and attach occurs. She’s been in overnight on IV fluids twice (it’s incredibly expensive), luckily insured though. Then antibiotics and paste until she’s back to normal. I feel like we’re constantly on the verge of an attack though. Being an ex racer has complicated the fist issue in general - they often have issues with tolerating different foods due to their racing diet - and after spending a few years happily on fresh cooked chicken she can no longer tolerate it so now I get up at six every morning to prepare a huge batch of fresh steamed rice and extra lean beef mince - so less than 5% fat. There’s no way she can tolerate anything else at all and I’m forever scouring the garden for any discarded bits of food dropped by seagulls or the foxes because otherwise she will find it and she will eat it! She’s also a bugger for grass and sticky weed eating, she’s not allergic to that but obviously I want any instances of vomiting kept to a minimum so it doesn’t get mistaken for another flare up. Hope you can find something that works for you and your girl.

[fortifiedwithtea]

Thank you @DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat For sharing your experience of pancreatitis.

Today has been another day of poached fish and rice and one raw carrot as a snack.

Do you give your greyhound any veggies?

Our girl has only done one poo and lots of gagging. She is hungry. About half way through antibiotics. Another blood test in 2 weeks time. The cost is mounting up and I doubt this will be her only bout.

[LoveFall]

The vet thought our dog had pancreatitis when he had horrible diarrhea and vomiting. Turns out his blood work did not show it. But she did recommend frequent (every hour) meals of a tablespoon of the Royal Canin low fat gastrointestinal food. It was expensive but the dog loves it. It settled his stomach very quickly.

We now use that approach whenever sensitive stomach issues come up. I don't know why it works really but it does.

[LoveFall]

We got the wet food version. I now keep a can on hand just in case.

[DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat]

Do you give your greyhound any veggies?
No because, frankly, now we’ve finally found a diet that works (fingers crossed) I am petrified of deviating from it at all in any way. However, my girl is already a bloody good age for an ex racer so it’s a balance. As long as she doesn’t drop too much weight (which given the amount she’s eating, she’s not so far) then this is not the best nutritional diet but it’s perfectly good enough for her given the time she has left. I would not/could not settle for this diet in such a young dog and would be looking for other solutions.

[fortifiedwithtea]

@DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat I am a great advocate of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And your girl is a great age.

Our girl is a boxer, their life expectancy is from 8-12 years.

[Sitdowncupoftea]

One of my dogs had pancreatis. He had a few flare ups. He had to have treatment. I was advised no tid bits and a very low fat diet. I was advised hills prescription diet. You can buy it yourself online. Once he was on hills tinned food he never had a flare up again. Personally I would ask your vet regard food. I have also recently been told chappie. Its very low fat and thats the key. Ask your vet regarding feeding as its the low fat element.

[BearFoxBear]

My 3 year old dog had it last year - he was a rescue and was never quite right no matter what he ate. After he came home from the vet we put him straight onto raw and he's transformed.

I know what you mean about it being a hassle, but honestly its not for us. We buy a mixed mince and bone, plus offal, all frozen. It takes up one drawer in the freezer (we have a small kitchen too). Take out enough at night for the next day, keep it in an airtight box in the fridge. He prefers it quite frozen, so it's never difficult even if we forget. And he gets tinned mackerel and eggs, so he'll eat that as a snack! And honestly, it's been the best thing for him.

[QuiltingFlower]

I am so sorry to hear your wee lassie has been suffering. It’s a difficult time, and very painful.

Our last female had this but it was hard to control, but generally meds kept it under control. Listen to the vet’s advice and tune in to her pain levels.

Good luck.

[fortifiedwithtea]

Hi all, been away for a few days and am just cat hing up with replies. Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

Antibiotics finished. Fasting blood test booked for tomorrow. Will update when we have results. Our girl has been cold this evening. Curled up on the sofa with a blanket, very subdued.

[fortifiedwithtea]

Last blood test back to normal. Vet advised we should try asap to get the weight that she lost back on. Slowly reintroduce her wet food. Had a roast sunday. Gave our girl a small bit of left over beef and she vomited in her bed several hours later. Guess all treats are out.

Now reading freezer reviews and will go down the raw feeding route.

[pigsDOfly]

Just a little point about buying vet prescribed foods from your vet.

My dog is on Royal Canin sensitivity control wet food, which keeps her sensitive stomach at bay.

I buy it online from Pets at Home and it works out nearly £1 a tin cheaper than buying from my vet; my previous vet was also £1 more expensive a tin than online.

I would be very careful about giving your dog anything other than her prescribed food to eat; I've found this to my cost with my dog, even a tiny bit of chicken or carrot can set her off with a bad tummy. As a consequence she has no treats or extras at all.

Now she just has her food and that's it, with an added probiotic prescribed by the vet.

I also find feeding her three times a day works out well for her as I think it's easier on her stomach than two larger meals.

[fortifiedwithtea]

@pigsDOfly thanks for your observations. Yes we feed 3 times a day, our dog sicks up froth if she is hungry.

We do not have a prescribed vet diet as Royal Canin does not suit her. She can not eat any grain as she is highly allergic to all grains. Our vet was thinking of Royal Canin until she read the ingredients and realised it would be bad for our dog.

Continuing on Millie’s Woofheart until we can start raw feeding. And if that fails I honestly do know what she can eat .

[Percivalthebabyspider]

Yes and we use the Hills low fat I/D dry food. I also give raw carrots for the teeth but that’s it really. It works well for him and he’s so much better now.

[pigsDOfly]

@fortifiedwithtea Sorry, I wasn't suggesting your dog should be on Royal Canin, just pointing out that all pet food is so much more expensive if bought from the vet.

It's so hard to see a dog in pain like that. I hope you manage to get her onto something that can help her.

[ImAncient]

@fortifiedwithtea hi sorry hadn’t seen this before.

Our dog is a rescue & has always had a dodgy tummy since we got her.

After several bouts of runs & vomiting she was diagnosed with pancreatitis. She was initially on hills.

She’s now on Tails & you can exclude allergens. I was worried she’d flare but so far ok.

We feed twice a day. She also has one small hills biscuit after a walk, a carrot in the evening. Small pieces of boiled Chicken which I keep in freezer & use on walks for recall.

Everyone has to be really strict & no extra treats at all. Good luck. My insurers paid for her dog food as well when on the prescription diet.

[fortifiedwithtea]

@ImAncient thank you for your reply. I have just made another thread because our dog has developed a new pancreas problem. Seems she is not making enzymes to digest her food. Blood test booked for tomorrow.