Pancreatitis

[Evie&Adam]

Ok, now I'm going off a voice mail from the vet here, but I just can't wait until tomorrow for more info from the vet!!! Adam has been diagnosed with pancreatitis (at this time I DO NOT know the severity) and that it is most likely caused by his poor diet as he's not been eating his kibble and when starving has been getting into the pantry and stealing the kids food. She suggested that we add enzymes. Oh I wish I had more info from her!!!

After searching past threads, I have a couple of questions. Before the vet left me a message, I bought a small bag of Merrick Wilderness Blend (here's the analysis: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=167&cat=all). Adam LOVED IT!!! But I'm afraid it may be too high in fat. All of the threads mentioned a low fat food, but what exactly is considered low fat????

Any other suggestions (other than keeping Adam out of the pantry)??

Thanks so much everyone!!!!

 

[angleheart]

Did she say for sure that poor diet is the cause? Has she ruled out other causes (i.e. medications, metabolic disorder, infection) as of yet?

 

[BXR RYD]

With pancreatitis you are going to want a low fat diet for sure, 15% is still pretty high and I would reccommend Solid Gold Holistique Blend as it only has 6% fat and that is lowest possible fat that I have found in a kibble so far to date. Your other option is that Science Diet and Royal have formulas specific for pancreatitis if nothing else works for your baby.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[ROROSHELTON]

Pancreatitis experience

I've had experience with pancreatitis in my 4 year old boxer Brutus. His was caused by too many treats and table food. Even though he wasn't getting much table food, a little something once a day, it was all too much for him. He spent 2 days at the vets getting IV fluids only, and they slowly reintroduced food to him. Yes, he needs a low fat diet. I've been feeding Dick VanPatten's duck and potato which is 10% fat. For treats he gets baby carrots, and is down to 2 or 3 biscuits per day. After he recovered, I was instructed to give him a Pepcid or a similar product every day. AND ABSOLUTELY NO TABLE/HUMAN FOOD! He was 75# and I was instructed to give him 20mg of Pepcid every day. It helped alot! He is fed twice per day, with few treats, and about 1/2C of food in the middle of the day. The vet told me after a month to try weaning him off the Pepcid. But I noticed when I did he stopped eating and started moping around again after 3 days without. As soon as I started the Pepcid again he was back to normal with eating and activity. So by that reaction I know he is still overproducing stomach acid. The food in the middle of the day is in case he's getting too hungry. He was spitting up during the day and it may have been from hunger. There are several causes of pancreatitis. All of them except the too many treats & human food were ruled out for Brutus. And I learned a valuable as well as expensive lesson. Brutus and I send healing vibes your way!!

 

[gmacleod]

Mmm. Better that Evie inherits the Merrick, I think

At least you've probably got an explanation now for Adam's disinterest in food over the past while. That's about the only upside. The downside is that, regardless of cause, he's probably going to be on a restricted diet for the rest of his life. I say 'probably' because pancreatitis can be a one-off acute problem - but more often it's a life long chronic condition that requires careful management. Fatty food is one possible cause and even if other factors are more often the cause, fat in the diet is something very difficult for pancreatic dogs to tolerate.

Anyway, there are a few foods out there with low enough fat levels to suit him (better to choose a food using oil, btw, than animal fat however low the dose). You'd be looking for things below about 10% fat. One of the best quality I can think of is Wellness Core Reduced fat (that's at 9%, with the fat content coming from salmon oil). It's a pretty new food, so haven't heard any results from those using it yet - but on ingredients, it's about the best option available. Info here: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1292&cat=8
Other good quality possibilities include:
Canidae Platinum (though this one still has fat rather than oil): http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=513&cat=3
Artemis Fresh Mix weight management (also chicken fat, but low %): http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=970&cat=4
California Natural fish (11%, uses oils): http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=527&cat=4
Innova reduced fat: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1606&cat=4
Performatrin Ultra salmon/olive oil: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1440&cat=4
Premium edge weight control: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1183&cat=4
Solid Gold Wolfking: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=307&cat=4
Any of the Natural Balance allergy formulas, each of which has about 10% fat from oils: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1494&cat=4
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1083&cat=4
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1493&cat=4

Those are a few options out there, anyway.

 

[Evie&Adam]

Fingers crossed.....

ok, we have a ton of things the vet wants done. First, Adam is now on an antacid once daily and a daily multivitamin. Food is a bit tricky since he is so picky!!! I feed the Innova last night and he just picked at it. So, we are going to try mixing the Innova with the canned Merrick stews. (http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=612&cat=all ) We will also be adding enzymes to his food.

Luckily, Adam hasn't been sick in the past. He just had some diahrea this morning, but hopefully its just from starting a new food.

Here's to keeping our fingers crossed!! I am SO SO open to any other suggestions!!!

P.S. I also put the fear of all the gods into the kids last night!! So I'm pretty sure they are on board for helping with Adam's new diet.

 

[angleheart]

Good Luck!

 

[Evie&Adam]

Update

Good news!!! Adam is eating the Innova and Merrick canned just wonderfully!!! Evie loves it too! He is doing so good. I even baked some pumpkin biscits which they love.

 

[ROROSHELTON]

Update

Glad to hear it!!! It does take some time for them to get over pancreatitis. It's a rough illness for humans too! Go slow and easy with food. The system needs to get used to it again. Happy New Year!!!

 

[Mama_Zookeeper]

How is Adam doing? I have 3 dogs and 2 cats so I know how difficult it can be to have just one on a limited diet. The guilt trips alone are unbearable!

Dora