Pacreas attack in dog

[phlebasconsidered]

Hi all,

My 10 year old lab x was ill on monday and the vets took him in- he had pacreaitus. He was in for two nights but we have him home now. It is likely it was due to organophosphates ingestion as he's very healthy and not at all overweight. However, he's on Purin low fat food for life and also Lypex for at least 6 months.

Does anyone have any experience of older dogs recovering from this? Or any like for like for the food and Lypex? It is prohibitively expensive and his insurance is almost maxed out. Can dogs go on to live good lives with it?

I really, really want to keep him well. He is so loved.

Sending best wishes to you and the poorly pup, hopefully he’s feeling much better now and glad to be home.

Pancreatitis can be quite variable - some dogs will have a one off ‘attack’, some of them will have a more chronic condition with repeated flare ups. It can be hard to predict how an individual dog will do, but in many cases it’s possible to get them stabilised and them lead a fairly normal life.

In terms of management, a low fat diet is very helpful in reducing/preventing flare ups. Have you looked at ordering the diet online, as this might be cheaper (ditto the Lypex)? If the cost is still prohibitive then my preferred low cost pancreatitis-appropriate diet is Chappie cans. It’s also really important to be really strict in avoiding high fat treats or scavenging.

In terms of your insurance, with some policies the amount will renew each year (ie so if maxed out this year, next insurance year you should get another allowance) so it’s worth checking your small print as you might be covered if he needs further treatment in the future.

My dog developed pancreatitis at about 9, we thought it was a one off as he was healthy weight etc. He was put on a low fat diet, Hills, and we were careful not to give him any fatty snacks or treats. He still had 2 more flare ups before he died last year at 14 1/2 but in between times was fine. The vet said the flare ups showed the pancreatitis was chronic.

Hills was prescription food so quite expensive but may be worth looking at. Apart from the flare ups which necessitated one or two nights at the vets on each occasion, he lived a completely normal life and had no other issues and no ongoing medication.