Pancreatitis Again...Food & Ideas?

[DENALIGIRL]

cross your fingers for calm stomach, firm stools, no gas, clear eyes, yeast-free paws/ears, and a shiny coat!

--- we will cross our fingers for the both of you!!! Another WOW...Zoey has always had an issue with yeasty paws and only her right ear! She had really goopy eyes when we were feeding her solid, dry, kibble. But that lessened to some degree when going to raw - raw gave her a beautiful coat. Now that I have her on home-cooked (so to speak) her eyes have also lessened to a certain extent. Anyone else have issues with a dog that when they wake up on the morning and right after eating have an itchy face or muzzle? She stopped doing it so much since going to this home-cooked but I have seen it happen with a lot less intensity since switching. Starting to think my dog is allergic to everything!!! From dairy to certain proteins. The more that I think about it the more I can really see her troubles began around 4 mos. of age right after her last round of "puppy" shots and since they combined it with the rabies shots I am almost certain some sort of vaccinosis started. She also has had chronic vaginitis since that time - I know Cami's Mom (Susi) had similar issues with Cami - the vaginitis seems to flare up whenever something else is going on with her digestively. Just wondering if anyone else has seen similar issues and has a dog with digestive/pancreatic/allergy issues? I have always said she is an "allergy" dog but I am really beginning to rethink that.

As for feeding, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas as to what is considered safe to feed to a dog with pancreatitis to keep weight on them? Since going to such a low-fat diet over the last two weeks she seems to have lost weight and seems to be very hungry. But I don't want to over feed her either because it seems like that contributes to the issues. Vet has said no fat...and I have to take her in tomorrow for her 12-hour fast blood test...I will check with them and report back with info if anyone else has the same question.

 

[Loladog]

DENALIGIRL,

The specialized Pancreatic Lipase test that Lola gets is called a Spec cPL. I believe that Texas A & M used to be the only people that did this test but now Idexx has one too. Idexx is who our vet uses and if I remember correctly, it runs us approx. $89.00. Unfortunately, this test is very important as it's the only test to give a real accurate picture of Pancreatitis. It tests for the actual Panceatic Lipase levels rather than just the general Lipase levels. With this test, levels under 200 is ideal. With levels at 200-399, you are supposed to watch for clinical symptoms of Pancreatitis. Lola's last test on 12/23 showed levels of 374 which was an improvement over the 628 test result 9/21.

In terms of keeping weight on Zoey, you may just need to feed her more of a low-fat food. It's recommended that you keep a diet under 10% on a "dry matter basis" for it to be considered low-fat. Here is a good link regarding healthy, low-fat diets:

Low-Fat Diets

 

[a1r1ka]

DENALIGIRL,
In terms of keeping weight on Zoey, you may just need to feed her more of a low-fat food. It's recommended that you keep a diet under 10% on a "dry matter basis" for it to be considered low-fat. Here is a good link regarding healthy, low-fat diets:

Low-Fat Diets

Carlton'sMom: The link DenaliGirl provided has a ton of great info about low-fat treats, like so...

"Carrot, apple and banana pieces or green beans can be used, if your dog likes them. Many people buy or make dried sweet potato slices for dogs prone to pancreatitis....some chews, such as bully sticks (also called pizzles), are low in fat, while others, such as dried trachea and pig ears, are quite a bit higher."

 

[DENALIGIRL]

Calculating protein/fat/carb (and everything else) content on dry matter basis is pretty simple: It is the nutrient percentage divided by the reciprocal of the moisture percent. Or put another way, the reciprocal of the moisture content is simply the percent of the food that isn't water.

Now that I understand this I can begin to transisition Zoey to a better food that will keep some weight on her but hopefully be low enough in fat (10% or under from what I have read on these posts). The problem is finding a low fat diet that is high in calories that is still a good choice. I don't think I would have an issue with home-cooking as it seems to be something that could be done a couple of times a month and frozen. I just want to make sure she is getting what she needs from a nutritional and supplemental standpoint. Any suggestions or personal experience with this?

Vet said today that she lost 3-4 lbs in the last two weeks on this low-fat diet. Looks to me like she lost more. She has never been overweight so any amount lost looks like quite a bit on her. Just a very worried Mom I guess... Guess we will find out from this Texas GI panel, doctor was in surgery so didn't have an OV to discuss nutrition but hope to be able to get some ideas once the results are back. Keeping our fingers crossed that it was an acute episode but her littermate was also diagnosed with pancreatitis just yesterday so not so certain...

 

[DENALIGIRL]

Carlton'sMom: The link DenaliGirl provided has a ton of great info about low-fat treats, like so...

Don't like to take credit where credit is not due...looks like Loladog gave the link to the low-fat diets... I am going to read this article. I used to subscribe to Whole Dog Journal. Think I might need to get back online with them. WDJ is a wonderful source of information!!!

Many thanks to Loladog for this link...I do hope that Lola is doing much better. Her picture is sooooo adorable.

 

[a1r1ka]

Don't like to take credit where credit is not due...looks like Loladog gave the link to the low-fat diets. I am going to read this article. I used to subscribe to Whole Dog Journal. Think I might need to get back online with them. WDJ is a wonderful source of information!!!

Many thanks to Loladog for this link...I do hope that Lola is doing much better. Her picture is sooooo adorable.

Oopsie, true...got the names mixed up--thanks Lola!
Low-Fat Diets

 

[Loladog]

Thanks for the kind words Denaligirl and a1r1ka. Since Lola was diagnosed with Cushing's Disease she is going to have to be on a low-fat diet for the rest of her life as well as a medication for the Cushing's. Apparently, with Cushing's Disease, they can't metabolize fat as well and that's why they are prone to Pancreatits. Also, Cushing's is hard on the Liver and so is fat. Despite all of this scarey stuff, we seem to have things under control right now. Lola will be 10 next month but she has good energy and seems to be feeling well. It's just been very hard trying to learn as much as possible about both Cushing's and Pancreatitis. Plus, you guys know how hard it is to find the right diet!!!

a1r1ka,
I really hope that the Wellness Core Reduced Fat and Spots Stew mixture works out for Papi. Please keep us posted.

Denaligirl,
Once you're able to find a low-fat food that you're comfortable with and that agrees with Zoey, you can up her portions until she's getting enough calories to maintain a good weight. Feeding more is ok as long as it's a low-fat food. Just remember that two or more smaller meals throughout the day is better than one big one. Please let us know what you find out about her test results.

Yes, home prepared would most definitely be the best option for all of our babies but so far I just haven't been able to motivate myself to actually jump in and do it. I despise cooking! I want nothing but the very best for Lola so I'm not sure why I can't get myself to do this for her.

 

[DENALIGIRL]

Denaligirl,
Once you're able to find a low-fat food that you're comfortable with and that agrees with Zoey, you can up her portions until she's getting enough calories to maintain a good weight. Feeding more is ok as long as it's a low-fat food. Just remember that two or more smaller meals throughout the day is better than one big one. Please let us know what you find out about her test results..

No results yet...still waiting on those...even DH was concerned enough to ask yesterday...

Zoey's appetite is continuing to improve daily. I just can't feed her too much at one time because she will vomit if I over feed her. Don't know if that's related to the pancreatitis or if it's IBD or Reflux or what...? Any ideas? I have also heard that sometimes even overeating can lead to other issues...I have worked her back up to about 1-1/4 cup of food at one feeding which starts at between 5:30-6:30 in the morning. Then she gets pepcid around 7:30-8:00am, I will then feed her another 1/2 to 3/4 cup about 9:00am and then off to work. She will get about 1-1/4 cups throughout the day in her Kongs (in total). We have a Kongtime machine that dispenses her kongs through the day. LOVE THAT MACHINE!!! What a great investment - originally purchased it to keep her occupied and now it's a life saver knowing that I can feed her during the day without having to come home. She will then eat again around 6:30pm (usually a smaller meal about 3/4 cup) and then she gets her pepcid again between 8-8:30pm and then eats a small snack around 9:30-10:00. She is only eating either boiled chicken or burger mixed with either quinoa or rice (I prefer brown rice but if I run out then white rice), smashed green beans, and either a TBSP canned pumpkin or butternut squash that I have cooked. In her Kongs I am only putting in boiled burger mixed with squash or pumpkin to get a paste like consistency so it will stay in the kong and more "portable".

 

[Loladog]

Denaligirl,

The vomiting after large meals could be related to any of the issues you mentioned (Pancreatitis, reflux or IBD). It sounds to me like what you're doing right now is great. Multiple small meals throughout the day is much better for dogs with these issues. Plus, the nice diet you're feeding Zoey is probably perfect for her right now. Do you think you'll home cook for her permanently? I'm sorry if I missed the answer to this in a previous post. I really would like to home cook for Lola since I haven't found a low-fat commercial diet that really agrees with her. I'm just not sure where to begin. I've thought about hiring someone to create a diet for me (I'm so pathetic). Also, with being a vegetarian, I need to get more comfortable with handling uncooked meat. What you're doing for Zoey is fantastic. You are a very good Boxer mommy!

 

[Loladog]

a1r1ka,

I'm just wondering how it's going for Papi so far with the Wellness Core Reduced fat and Spot's Stew mixture? I was thinking I would really like to add Spot's Stew to Lola's kibble to make her meals more enjoyable. In the past, I fed Spot's Stew for a while and it agreed with her. This was back when they only produced canned food and Before Ellen became a co-owner of the company. The ingredients of the original Chicken stew hasn't changed but I'm just concerned because they don't seem to make the nutritional analysis available. Their website lists the fat content of the stew at 1.5% min but the don't list the kcal/kg or kcal/can. I e-mailed them in order to try and find out what the max or "as fed" fat % is along with the calorie content. It definitely seems like it is a low-fat food but you never know. I e-mailed them on Thursday and so far I haven't received a response.

I would love to hear how the food is agreeing with Papi. Thanks!