Feeding Dogs with Pancreatitis

August 18, 2020   |   By David Jackson, AllAboutDogFood.co.uk

Feeding dogs with pancreatitis

What is Pancreatitis

The pancreas is an organ that fulfils two very important roles in dogs - firstly, it secretes hormones like insulin and glucagon to help control blood sugar level and, secondly, it produces enzymes to help in the breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins and, especially, fats.

Any time the pancreas becomes inflamed, it is called pancreatitis and when that occurs, the flow of enzymes into the digestive tract can become disrupted, forcing the enzymes out of the pancreas and into the abdominal area. These enzymes can then begin to break down the fat and proteins in the other organs, as well as in the pancreas itself and the results can be very severe.

@allaboutdogfood Replying to @leahann For everyone who has asked for advice when feeding their dogs with pancreatitis. #allaboutdogfood #dognutrition #dogfood #dogpancreatitis ? original sound - AllAboutDogFood

Acute vs Chronic

Pancreatitis is generally described as being either acute and chronic. Acute pancreatitis is an isolated episode of usually severe pancreatic inflammation while chronic pancreatitis is a longer standing inflammation which can continue for months or even years.

It's important to note, though, that acute and chronic pancreatitis are not mutually exclusive - acute pancreatitis, for example, may lead to chronic pancreatitis and it is possible for dogs with chronic pancreatitis to experience episodes of acute pancreatitis.

Symptoms

Canine pancreatitis symptomsIn both cases, the most common signs of pancreatitis are fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, weight loss, dehydration, lethargy and abdominal pain (especially after eating).

If you suspect your dog is suffering from pancreatitis, it is very important that you first seek the advice of your vet in order to confirm the diagnosis and ensure that all necessary medical steps are taken before moving on to the dietary measures suggested below.

Causes

There are several possible causes of inflammation to the pancreas. High levels of fat in the blood (lipemia) is the most common cause but trauma to the pancreas, hypercalcemia (excessive calcium in the blood), and some drugs and toxins can also result in pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis is most common around the christmas break as millions of dogs are treated to large amounts of very fatty leftovers which their bodies simply can't handle.

Although pancreatitis can occur in any dog, it is more common in females than males and older, overweight and relatively inactive dogs are particularly at risk. Some breeds are also more prone to pancreatitis than others with Miniature Schnauzers, Miniature Poodles and Cocker Spaniels having the highest incidence.

Treatment

Whether your dog is suffering from a bout of acute pancreatitis or a long-running chronic episode, your first step should always be to consult your vet. For acute cases, vets will usually withhold food and fluids for a day or two to give the pancreas time to rest and to slow the production of digestive enzymes. Your vet may administer drugs for pain and/or to help ease nausea and vomiting. In some cases, IV fluids may also have to be given.

Once back home, it is important to follow your vet's instructions until your dog is back on his feet.

Following an acute episode, your vet will likely recommend a prescription diet specifically designed for dogs recovering from pancreatitis. Although we at All About Dog Food are not the biggest fans of prescription diets (find out why here), we would recommend sticking with their recommended food at least until the episode has subsided, after which we can start to look at a more nutritious, long term solution.

Don't forget to provide plenty of fresh, clean water to avoid dehydration.

Dietary management and prevention

Getting the diet right is absolutely crucial for both managing chronic pancreatitis and preventing future acute episodes. The primary aim should always be to minimise the workload on the pancreas by only giving it nutrients that it can easily process and avoiding anything that could put it under unnecessary strain.

Please note that these guidelines are meant for adult maintenance only. For puppies, nursing females or for dogs with other concurrent health conditions, it is best to consult your vet.

So what are the options?

Option 1: Prescription diets

There are plenty of prescription diets out there specifically designed to manage pancreatitis and for many dogs they undeniably work well. Most vets will, of course, recommend this option but what they probably won't tell you is that many over-the-counter foods fulfil essentially the same nutritional criteria as the prescription diets and can be used to effectively manage pancreatitis at a fraction of the price.

Option 2: Over-the-counter dog foods

As we mentioned above, the main dietary aim is to make life easy for the pancreas and although the specialist prescription diets can do that admirably, so can many regular pet foods.

Fat

Since one of the pancreas' main roles is the breakdown of fats, the easiest way to reduce its workload is to feed a low fat diet. High quality named animal fats are also better than lower grade vegetable fats or fats from unknown sources.

Digestibility

A food that is easy to digest is good for all dogs but for dogs with pancreatitis, it's really essential. Look for foods with good, bio-appropriate ingredients and try to avoid any of the nasties (the ingredients we highlight in red and yellow) that can put excessive strain on the digestive system.

Protein

The pancreas also helps to digest proteins so you will want to avoid foods with very high protein levels. With protein, though, quality is always much more important than quantity. The best protein for dogs comes from high end, named meat ingredients. If the food contains too many plant protein supplements (like pea protein, maize protein, soya etc) that's generally not a great sign.

Carbs

Less carbs also means less work for the pancreas so avoid foods with high percentages of NFE carbs or too many starchy 'fillers' like white rice, white potato, maize, tapioca, pea starch etc.

Sugar

Added sugars in dog foods are never a good thing but for dog's with pancreatitis they are certainly worth avoiding.

To summarise, you're looking for a food that is...

    Pancreatitis diet checklist

  • Low in fat (between 5% and 10% dry matter)
  • Highly digestible (hypoallergenic & clearly labelled)
  • Moderate protein (between 20% and 30% dry matter)
  • Low to moderate NFE carbs (no more than 60% dry matter)
  • No added sugars
  • Get suitable foods

The button above will take you to a list of foods that tick these boxes but the list is not exhaustive so you may also want to ask your favourite dog food manufacturers if they have something that would also fit the bill.

Canine pancreatitis

Home-prepared food

A suitable home prepared diet, be it cooked or raw, can work wonders for dogs with digestive problems like pancreatitis but careful planning is crucial. The points above are a good place to start but to fully cover recipe formulation for pancreatitic dogs is, frankly, an article in itself which will have to go on to the to-do list for now. In the meantime, though, this page provides a fairly comprehensive guide on the subject.

treats for dogs with pancreatitisTreats, leftovers and tidbits

Be sure to avoid any treats, tidbits and table scraps that are high in fat or of a low quality - the Treat Directory will help you to find suitable alternatives. Make sure other family members and friends are also onboard with this as even a slight indiscretion cold result in another bout of pancreatitis.

It is also important to make sure your bins and pet food storage containers are well and truly dog-proof.

Supplements

Certain supplements may also help reduce the risk of acute pancreatitis or control the effects of chronic pancreatitis. You might be able to find them included in complete foods or you can add them to your dog's diet yourself.

Pancreatic digestive enzyme supplements have been reported to help some dogs with pancreatitis while fish body oils (such as salmon oil or EPA oil but not cod liver oil), can help to lower blood lipid levels which may reduce the workload on the pancreas.

Probiotics and prebiotics can help with digestion and may aid in the management of pancreatitis. The most common prebiotics in pet food include Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), inulin and chicory extract.

Changing diets healthily

Whatever food you decide to go with, be sure to introduce it gradually (over the course of at least a week or two) to give the system plenty of time to adjust and to make it easier for you to spot and rectify any potential issues early on. You can find our guide to changing diets here.

Your experiences

If your dog has suffered with pancreatitis, we would love to hear from you in the comments section below. What worked and what didn't? How would you do things differently in the future? Please do let us know as your tips could make all the difference to other dog owners out there.


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Cecil3 2 days ago

I have another update on Cecil's diet. We are moving away from a diet for a healthy dog with pancreatitis and into a diet for a dog with severe pancreatitis and imminent liver failure. Cecil had another blood test taken about 2 weeks ago, and he has gotten much worse since his last blood test taken 2 months earlier. 10 months ago his ALP was at 500+, and 2 months ago his ALP was at 1100+ (off the chart). The Vet had recommended trying a higher protein diet for 2 months to see if it would help his liver regenerate, but that idea was a failure. His ALP is still 1100+ (off the chart), and now his GPT is 1000+ (off the chart), and he now also has elevated total proteins in his blood. Cecil lost some weight from being on the higher protein diet too. His weight dropped to 8.2 kg so I am now waking up in the middle of the night to give him a forth meal (4 meals daily at 6 hours apart), and I am giving him some banana as a snack between meals in an effort to help him slowly gain back 0.75 kg of body weight.

The Vet has run out of recommendations and is no longer helpful, she said she is looking into other medications but has not recommended anything. Cecil is 15 years old so surgery is not an option either. But Cecil still looks ok, and he jumps in and out of bed and on good weather days we can still walk 1-2kms on the beach. He was unwilling to walk for more than 0.5kms most days when he was on on the higher protein diet, but he is doing better again. His bowel movements are always very good and he is not vomiting more than once a month. He is still a happy and comfortable dog.

I have made some fairly substantial changes to Cecil's diet last week. This is more of an end of life diet which I am hoping will extend Cecil's life somewhat and make his remaining time happier. I have completely removed the peas, beans, and cauliflower from his previous diet to reduce the amount of plant based protein, and I have reduced the amount of boiled chicken to 80-90g per day (originally he was getting 100-120g per day, and over the past 2 months I tried 130-150g per day). I am still giving him carrots, and I increased the amount of broccoli. I also now only cook with bottled water (instead of using tap water), and I only give him bottled water to drink. I am trying to find distilled water however it does not appear to be available locally. I am still giving him Legalon liver medication once per day. I am also still giving him milk thistle, but instead of mixing it into his food I am making custom size 165mg capsules which I give him twice a day. The milk thistle does not taste good and has a strong odor and it appears to decrease his appetite when it is mixed in with his food. I am also going to try giving Cecil 600mg of Omega 3 (1000mg fish oil) starting next week.

Cecil's new daily diet is:

80-90g boiled chicken

300g orange sweet potatoes

50g rice (precooked weight)

100g broccoli

40g carrots

1 banana (snack to help him gain weight)

distilled or purified water

330mg milk thistle

140mg Legalon (liver medication)

150 micrograms Eutirox (thyroid medication)

1000mg fish oil (if he can handle the fat)

I am not recommending this new diet for anyone with a healthy dog with pancreatitis. I have come up with this new diet out of desperation to keep my dog with a failing liver alive. I do not know if it will work, and nutritional value has become somewhat meaningless now. Just 2 more months until summer, and then we can ride the motorcycle until the wheels fall off. That OneRepublic song is stuck in my head, time is running out so spend it like it's gold.

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JayneMM 24 days ago

Hi Cecils dad thanks for all your helpful advice .i just wanted to ask about probiotics and prebiotics and why you don’t put any in your mix

I have been cooking my dogs food for a few years and pancreatitis has shown up and forced a recipe change

I have always put a probiotic in their food and it seems suggested in the article on this site but I’m very interested in your thoughts and why you don’t use it , unless I’ve missed it!

This is by no means a criticism but a genuine enquiry

Thanks a lot

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Cecil3 JayneMM 24 days ago

Hi, I do not know much about the probiotics, etc. I designed Cecil's meals over time and from doing my own research, but the medication/supplements are given to him from the advice of my veterinarian. I never gave him the probiotics, enzymes, etc because I had the pancreatitis under control for many years. I think at one time I did try yogurt but for whatever reason I did not continue. Cecil's biggest problem now is his liver, and attempting to give him increased protein in his diet appears to be causing issues with his pancreas.

Cecil does great on 100-120g boiled chicken breast per day fed in 3 meals 6 hours apart (Cecil's is 19lbs and lean). When eating this precise amount of chicken or turkey mixed in with rice, sweet potatoes, and pureed beans and vegetables he has perfect bowel movements every time and he only vomits maybe once every 4-6 weeks (which is normal). His problems occur when he eats something that I do not feed him. Thus I never felt the need to try anything else.

But now his vet wants to try more protein in his diet to see if his liver will regenerate since the Legalon and milk thistle are not working. I tried giving him 200g of chicken per day (spread out over 3 meals each 6 hours apart), but that causes a pancreas attack the following day. 150g per day (or 120g of chicken and 2 large egg whites) appears to sometimes cause some minor issues and some discomfort, as well as reduces his appetite.

I have been trying something else since last week, and the results so far are encouraging. I am now feeding Cecil about 150g of chicken per day (and no egg whites), but now it is over 4 meals per day (instead of 3), with each meal still 6 hours apart. This requires me to wake up in the middle of the night to feed him the 4th meal. His exercise levels and appetite levels so far appear to be the same as when I feed him 100-120g of chicken over 3 meals.

From my experience it is best to remove as much fat from the diet as possible, fat is the main enemy. The next most important thing to do is treat protein like it is medication, and feed the correct precise amount as evenly spaced throughout the day as possible. Most research I have read suggests a dog requires a minimum of 1g of protein per pound of ideal body weight. I believe a good target is about 1.5g of animal protein per pound of body weight. After this, you want to add vegetables for vitamins, minerals, fiber, calcium, etc. And then lastly you want to add something like rice and sweet potatoes to get the meal up to the required calories (maybe 30-40 calories per pound body weight to start).

If this does not fix the problem then try other things, like enzymes.

Meal presentation is important too. Cecil regulates his own weight so I give him about 1.5 servings of his meal (minus the chicken) and I heat it up in the microwave and then add some water and mash/stir until it has the consistency of baby food. I then take precisely 35-40g of preboiled chicken breast and I chop it up fine on a small plate. I then take a handful of water and pour it onto the chicken and microwave it for 1 minute. I then pour the liquid and chopped chicken onto the top of his meal, and I spread it around but I do not mix it in so the chicken remains near the top. This way Cecil gets all his chicken and he can eat as much underneath until he is full.

I cannot stress enough that protein needs to be treated like it is medication. Under 1g per pound is not healthy, and over 2g per pound can cause discomfort (or worse), and even if it is fed in 3 meals at 6 hours apart.

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Jaynemm Cecil3 23 days ago

Hi

This last paragraph suggesting no more than 2g protein per lb body weight per day is different yo your suggestion of 5g per day per body weight

I’m following your recipe and would like to know if it’s based on 2 g or 5 g

THANKYOU

Jayne

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Jaynemm Jaynemm 23 days ago

so just to clarify

I have two dogs 12 and 13 years old 70lbs and 50 lbs

So that’s a 2.5 x and a 3.5x the recipe

Would you just increase the chicken and not the veg/rice

THANKYOU 🙏🙏

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Cecil3 Jaynemm 22 days ago

Hi Jayne, I believe you are confusing protein weight with chicken weight. 100g of chicken breast contains about 30g of protein according to online nutritional information.

Cecil weighs about 20lbs, so a 50lb dog would probably require about 2-2.5 times Cecil's recipe, and a 70 lb dog would probably require about 3-3.5 times the recipe, so that is correct.

Let us do the math for your 50lb dog.

A 50lb dog requires a minimum of 50g of protein which would be a minimum of about 175g of boiled chicken or turkey breast. So 200-250g of chicken breast would probably be a good amount to try per day. This is assuming your dogs are lean and not overweight. And if they are overweight you eventually want them to be lean and trim.

The calorie calculation is not so precise, online information on dog calorie needs is all over the place. I believe an older 20lb dog requires 500-700 calories depending on activity levels. I am not sure if larger dogs require less, more, or the same calories per pound of body weight. I would start with maybe 1500 calories per day and monitor their weight, unless you know how many calories your dogs actually require. You can also ask your vet to help with the calorie and nutrition requirements.

Perhaps something like this for a 50lb dog:

200-250g boiled chicken breast - 330-400 kcal & 60-75g protein

400g yams - 450 kcal

175g peas - 140 kcal

175g beans (not dry weight, I use beans from a can or jar) - 140 kcal

125g string beans - 40 kcal

125g carrots - 50 kcal

125g broccoli - 40 kcal

125g cauliflower - 35 kcal

175g rice (dry weight) - 600 kcal

This recipe would be 1.2 - 1.5g of protein per pound for a 50lb dog, and about 1800-1900 calories. So perhaps start off giving your 50lb dog about 20% less of everything (except for the chicken). If you need to reduce or increase calories do so by adjusting the rice, sweet potatoes, or everything / anything except for the chicken breast. Also you can replace the 450 calories of yams with 450 calories of rice if you wish to reduce the recipe cost. You can probably also replace the 140 calories from beans with rice too, if you wish. Your dogs are large and it will be expensive to feed them! And you are going to need a REALLY large pot too.

Also all my weights are precooked weights, I do not have a kitchen scale and I do not actually weigh anything. I have become really good at judging the weight of chopped chicken breast by eye.

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Rhonda Weiss 26 days ago

Good Morning everyone,

I have an 8 year old American Bully who is the apple of my eye. 4 Days ago we almost lost her to pancreatitis with acute kidney injury. Our pup is on phenobarbital for seizures that started 4 years ago. So we were concerned that maybe the medication was to much with her not eating. The signs were a dragging back legs, tremors, lethargy, loss of appetite. We took her to the vet and they did an xray on her spine and diagnosed her osteo arthritis. They didn't check her blood so we took her home with some medication. We were back the next day in crisis. She had bloody stools and was shaking badly. The new doctor immediately ran the blood tests and let us know she had pancreatitis with acute kidney injury. She was hospitalized with an IV for 4 days. She is now recovering slowly but we must change her diet drastically. She is now on a low fat, novel protein diet and we've taken her off the phenobarbital since we think this contributed to the pancreatitis. (she hasn't had a seizure in over two years so the Dr. feels we should be ok). This was such a stressful time and my pup was in so much pain. Does anyone else have information about low fat dog food that are novel proteins, but not too high in protein that it makes the pancreas work hard? We are trying Just Food for Dogs (venison and sweet potato) and she seems to be handling it well. But sheeesshsh...its expensive.

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Nancy Kerr one month ago

Hi, I have a cavapoo who had a bad flare up of pancreatitis and he’s currently on the Royal Canin gastrointestinal kibble but according to this website its not the best. Is it worth me looking into getting him on a different one? I would appreciate if anyone who is informed could give me any advice he’s 2 years old and weighs around 6kg. Thanks

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Cecil3 Nancy Kerr 22 days ago

I did look at that food and also Advance for my other dog who has severe diarrhea issues, but it was expensive and when reading the ingredients list it appears to be garbage. I cannot recommend a kibble as I have become very discouraged with dog food over the past few years.

I have been experimenting with another fresh food recipe that is a bit lower in cost which is should be both pancreatitis and gastrointestinal friendly. I recently rescued a 2 year old homeless dog who was living on the street and starving to death. He weighs 22lbs and he is healthy now and he does NOT have pancreatitis. But I cannot feed him kibble as every brand I have tried gives him chronic diarrhea. The vet recommended that I try gastrointestinal kibble, but it costs 50 euros a month and the ingredients are absolute garbage (contains corn and meat byproducts).

For the past week I have been feeding him a very limited ingredient diet to test if the diarrhea is food related. I am feeding him 100-120g boiled chicken breast, 125g rice, 125g peas, and 100g beans. He is doing very well so far on this diet, and his diarrhea is completely gone. His poop used to smell really foul too, but now I don't smell it at all (not that I try to smell it, but the smell of kibble poop is really hard to avoid!). When dogs eat a fresh food diet their poop is nowhere near as disgusting. Next week I will be adding 40g carrots, 40g broccoli, and 40g cauliflower to his daily recipe. If the diarrhea does not return then I will leave him on this diet long term.

This fresh meal made from only human grade ingredients will cost about 40 euros a month to feed him, so it is actually cheaper than the gastrointestinal kibble. This meal is easy to prepare too, I cook enough rice for a week in a large pot, and then I add the peas, beans, and veggies to the pot and I let it sit on the stovetop for an hour to cook the previously frozen veggies. I then puree it with a hand blender and then I put it into daily containers and store them in the refrigerator. I feed him 3 times a day, and at each meal I just put the correct amount of puree into his bowl and then I mix in 35-40g of preboiled chicken and I serve it to him cold. He eats it all and licks the bowl clean at every meal. I am monitoring his weight and I will adjust the calories of the meal as necessary by adjusting the amount of rice in the recipe. I am hopeful that Rodney will do very well on his new diet!

Good luck with your dog!

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Sarah S one month ago

Unfortunately all the 'Suitable Foods' are all dry food. I'm looking after a 3.6kg senior dog that won't eat dry food, so there are no suitable foods :-(

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Cecil3 Sarah S one month ago

Hi, I am sorry you cannot find suitable wet food for your dog. You always have the option to make fresh food with human grade ingredients. Your dog is quite small so it would not be very expensive. Considering the weight and age of your dog he/she probably requires a minimum of 8-10g of animal derived protein per day, and perhaps about 300 calories per day (if not very active). I would try 40-50g of boiled chicken or turkey breast per day, plus add some pureed vegetables for vitamins, and also add some rice and/or sweet potatoes to raise the calories and fiber. If you need help please ask and I can try to help you come up with a recipe. I have been fighting this disease for many years now. Fat is the enemy, as well as the incorrect amount of protein (either too little or too much). Cecil is a 8.5-9kg 15yo senior and he seems to do best on 100-120g of chicken breast per day and about 700 calories. Over 150g of chicken and he does not walk as far as he normally would, and if I feed him 200g per day he gets ill.

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Taters Mom one month ago

Hi Cecil's Mom,

Your information is greatly appreciated. I'm new to Tater's recent Pancreatitis issue, confirmed and well loved by my vet. She's down to 33.6 lbs Feb 2, from 48 lbs in Nov. Tater loves brocolli and pea soup(broth based), so I'm going to slowly introduce your diet ideas to her. She loves most of the items - DEFINITELY the sweet potato, but definitely needs some fiber. She's on Hill's wet and kibble now, and isn't crazy about it unless smushed up into pumpkin puree.

Her bouts of poop soup are clearly uncomfortable for her, and pretty gross for us, so wish me luck! She's recently started her thyroid meds, on an anti-barf, and a food stimulant as she thinks any food is now medicine. She hates the probiotic powder sprinkled on her food. I'm adding milk thistle per your idea, the vet has told me on our weekly discussions that most veggies that you listed are safe, so I'm not just taking 'anyone's' info for my lil babe.

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Cecil3 Taters Mom one month ago

Actually I am Cecil's dad. I research everything I give Cecil. He is like my son, we ride together and he has 160,000+ kms riding motorcycles with me already.

Cecil's bowel movements are nearly perfect just about all the time on his diet. I stopped blending the sweet potatoes into the mixture, it makes it easier to freeze it without them. The beans really help with the fiber too. I now only puree the rice, beans, and vegetables. I then add some of that to some pre-microwaved orange sweet potatoes and then I microwave it until warm, and then I add a little water and mash it together (with a little milk thistle sprinkled in). I then chop up the pre-boiled chicken very fine and add several spoons of water, and then I heat that in the microwave for a minute and then I pour the meat and liquid on top of the vegetable mixture. This makes it much more appealing. Lately I have also been adding some chopped up precooked egg whites to see if the extra protein will help with his liver blood test numbers.

Cecil is on Eutirox for his thyroid, 75mg twice a day. I usually give it to him at 8am and 8pm, and I feed him at 9am, 3pm, and 9pm. He also gets 140mg Legalon at 6pm for his liver. All his medication is human grade. He does not eat much in the morning, and it requires some coaxing to get him to eat, but he eats much better in the middle of the day and evening.

Cecil is very good at taking capsules, I am not sure if you can give the probiotic that way. I squeeze a capsule to make it thinner and then I complete cover it with low fat bread compacted completely around it (but small enough to swallow whole). I then give him that and before he has a chance to try to chew it I give him another piece of bread to force him to swallow the first. I also wrap the tiny Eutirox tablet in a little bread and he swallows that down without issue. I do not give him probiotics or anything like that. If he eats only his meals with the correct amount of protein then he does not have any problems. But if he eats some kibble or something he finds on the sidewalk then we have problems.

I believe protein amounts are very important. Cecil's lean body weight is about 19lbs and 120g of boiled chicken per day seems to be the ideal amount for his pancreatitis. You want to keep your dog lean too, but not to the point where they have protruding bones through the skin. Less weight means less food and protein is needed, which is less work for the pancreas.

Good luck, it may take some time to get Tater weaned onto a fresh food diet. There is no going back though, kibble is like poison now for Cecil. I rescued a dog off the street and I got him kibble with only 8% fat content, and even that makes Cecil sick if he eats any of it.

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Cecil3 one month ago

I have been doing a lot of experimenting with protein over the past month, hopefully my research will be helpful to someone. Cecil's liver problems are getting worse. he has been on legalon and also milk thistle for about 8 months but his liver does not appear to be healing and his numbers are climbing. The vet suggested that Cecil may need more protein to help heal his liver, but excess protein is not good for his pancreas. Cecil was getting 100-120g of boiled chicken breast per day, which is enough protein for a 9kg dog. I was able to raise his protein to about 150g of chicken per day and he seemed ok, but by the appearance of his bowel movements I believe the 100-120g per day was a little better. After a couple of weeks of 150g of chicken per day I attempted to raise that to 200g of chicken per day. The next day Cecil was not walking as far and letting me know he wanted to go back home early, and in the morning his stomach was making gurgling noises and he started refusing to eat and his bowel movements were not good. I attributed the problem to too much protein, so I went back to 120g of chicken per day and when he refused to eat I gave him some egg white french toast (he seldom refuses that, even when he is feeling sick). Cecil is back to normal after a few days, so now I am trying 120g of chicken and 3 cooked egg whites per day. In another week I will probably try 150g of chicken and 3 egg whites, I am curious to see if egg whites put let strain on his pancreas. If it were not for his liver problems 100-120g of protein would be perfect for him.

If you are fighting pancreatitis I suggest remaining vigilant with watching your dog's liver as well, as the 2 appear to be linked. And when feeding your dog with pancreatitis the amount of animal derived protein needs to be precise for your dog's needs, too much protein can cause problems. I am now walking a tightrope and trying to keep his protein low enough to not cause issues with the pancreas, but also keep his protein high enough so hopefully his liver will heal.

Cecil has had severe pancreatitis for many years. It has been 4 years since his body inflated and I thought he was going to die, and probably 6+ years since I first noticed symptoms of pancreatitis.

If you are feeding your dog a fresh food diet I have some more suggestions. After I warm up the puree mixture of yams, rice, beans, and vegetables, I then take about 40g of preboiled chicken or turkey (on days when he gets 3 meals a day) and chop it up very fine, and then I put a few spoonful's of water on it and microwave it for up to 60 seconds. This brings out the smell and flavor of the meat, and then I pour the water and the chopped chicken directly on the top of the pureed vegetable mixture. I push the meat in just a little bit so all the meat is in the upper layer of the meal, and so the meal smells like meat. He is much more likely to eat it when I prepare it this way.

Cecil is also on thyroid medication, and in the morning he just does not want to eat. I often must take some chicken out of his bowl with my fingers and hand feed him a little, all while I coax him to walk closer to the bowl. After several small tastes I can usually get him to eat directly from his bowl. Occasionally when he is extra fussy, or when he needs a break from chicken or turkey, I then take about 30g of chicken and I add about 12g (half of a thin slice) of low fat ham. I also chop up the ham and chicken and put some water on it and heat it up. The ham has a very strong odor and it makes the meal much more enticing.

But sometimes he refuses to even take the meat off my fingers, and when that happens the only thing I can sometimes get him to eat is egg white french toast. It is simply an egg white and a spoon of fat free milk which is whisked and then soaked into a slice of low fat white bread, and then cooked in a non stick pan with no oil. If Cecil refuses french toast then I know he is extremely ill. If that happens I will usually give him a little pepcid or I consider taking him to the vet.

I am not sure how long Cecil has left. We are fighting but the illnesses are stacking up against us. I may not be posting updates on Cecil's meals any longer. Any future changes to Cecil's diet will probably be due to his liver problem and not due to his pancreatitis. Good luck with your dogs! Hopefully my experiences with Cecil will help extend the lives of other dogs.

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Cecil2 3 months ago

In case anyone is interested, I did change the recipe again. I stopped giving Cecil the egg white french toast most of the time because I cannot get egg whites here, and he was getting about about 90-100g of chicken per day (Cecil weighs 20lbs). But lately Cecil lost a small patch of fur on his back, perhaps 1 square inch. The vet believes it may be from his hypothyroidism but to be safe I now give him about 120g of boiled chicken per day.

The modified recipe is:

1kg bag of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (333g of each)

400g bag of string beans

500g bag of peas

400g jar of beans (feijao manteiga) - rinsed well

2kg of orange sweet potatoes (yams) - microwaved and then peeled (peels are bad for dogs)

500g white rice (dry weight)

These are all cooked and then I use a hand mixer to puree them together.

This recipe will last Cecil about a week. I add 120g of skinless chicken or turkey breast per day (boiled, chopped fine, added to each meal individually to ensure he gets precisely 120g of chicken per day). So that would be 840g of chicken per week, to go along with the above recipe.

If your dog gets fussy you can mash in some more orange sweet potatoes, Cecil really likes the sweet potatoes. Cecil has been on a recipe similar to this for almost 3 years now. He is about 15 years old and he also has thyroid and liver problems. Liver problems are common with pancreatitis so remain alert. He is currently on liver and thyroid medication and he also takes 300mg of milk thistle per day. His vet recommended the milk thistle as it is known to regenerate the liver. I have been trying to research it and it is also possible that it may be helpful to the pancreas too, but there is very little information about it. The MAXIMUM recommended dose is about 15mg per pound of body weight. Hopefully his next blood test will be better!

Good luck.

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Cecil3 Cecil2 3 months ago

Also, occasionally I substitute the boiled chicken or turkey with low fat ham lunch meat (<2g fat per 100g). The ham has a lot of flavor and when Cecil gets finicky the ham can make all the difference! Cecil has had zero issues eating the ham.

Sometimes when we take a day trip and we must eat lunch on the road I buy some ham, a baguette, a tomato, and a couple of bananas and make a sandwich for me and I will feed Cecil 40g of ham and some bread broken into small pieces, and then we share the bananas for dessert (Cecil likes bananas). He never had a problem after eating this. You can also buy a small can of peas and carrots and rinse well and add that to the ham too.

Another occasional substitute for the chicken, rice, yams, beans, and veggie meal is egg white french toast. I take 2 egg whites, whisk with fat free milk, and then soak that into 2 slices of low fat white bread and fry in a non stick pan with no oil. Cecil loves egg white french toast.

If Cecil finds and eats something fatty and it gives him a pancreatitis attack, sometimes the only food that I can get him to eat is the egg white french toast. I usually try to hand feed him just one slice and then I let him rest. An attack can last from several days to a week.

Good luck!

PS - All the Cecils here are likely to be me, for some reason whenever this forum forces me to log in to post (using same email and password) it forces me to choose a new unique username...

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hedgehog 4 months ago

I've been reading your posts and the evolving recipe and will be trying my Scotty/Yorkie cross with it, but can you tell me how you store a week's worth of the food once cooked and blended. Do you portion it out and store in separate bags in the fridge?

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Cecil hedgehog 4 months ago

I assume you are talking to me. :) I did change the recipe a little again, now I put in 1.5kg of orange sweet potatoes (instead of 1kg). I am still using 0.5kg of rice. I may try increasing to 2kg of sweet potatoes in the future. More sweet potatoes makes it taste better. I keep the meat separate from the mixture and then chop some up and add at each meal time. It is important to give them the precise amount of meat in each meal, you want to regulate the amount of protein - not too little and not too much. Also, I found a place that sells meat at 30% off when it is approaching the expiration date, so I use that to cut costs.

How you store it will depend on the quality of your refrigerator! I had a really good fridge with digital temp control in my last residence and I could keep it just above freezing and thus it could go the entire week and it would not spoil. I would just leave the entire pot in the fridge and dish out a serving at each meal.

The fridge I am using now is horrible and it does not get very cold and food spoils after only 3-4 days, it is old but I am renting so I am stuck with it for now. So I freeze some of the mixture in plastic containers (maybe 4 - 5 meals per container), and I leave a pot in the fridge with about 3 days worth too. It does not freeze very well though, the quality degrades and the water separates and it no longer has a pudding like consistency. Cecil will still eat it though.

You can also adjust the recipe to match the quality of your refrigerator. Figure out when it spoils and then choose a size so it gets close to but does not spoil.

Also if you are just starting him on it you may want to start off with 1 meal a day (along with his current food, if it is safe for him to eat) and give it some time. This recipe is very high in fiber and very different from store bought dog food and it may take some time for his stomach to adjust to it. Cecil has been on it for about 4 years and he has very good bowel movements all the time. But I was giving some to my other rescue dog (he gets jealous) and I think it gave him diarrhea as he is used to eating kibble.

Cecil had this illness for almost 4 years now, and he has other problems (liver, thyroid, etc) and he is also on medication. Sometimes, especially in the morning, he does not want to eat it. When that happens I hand feed him a half slice of low fat white bread and then see if I can coax him to eat the mixture, which he often will do after eating some bread to settle his stomach. The white bread, egg white, and fat free milk french toast fried with no oil is also very good when they have an upset stomach.

If you have questions let me know, I am always willing to help. It is difficult disease. It may take a week or more for me to respond though, I do not get notifications from this website so I only see responses when I check the webpage on occasion. Good luck!

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Cecil 5 months ago

A warning for folks looking to feed their dogs with pancreatitis low fat kibble.

I recently took in a homeless dog who I have been feeding low fat kibble. My dog Cecil has pancreatitis and has been on a home cooked meal plan for over 3 years, and he is not allowed to eat the kibble (or any dog food for that matter). However yesterday he ate some of the kibble (maybe 1/3 cup or so, I am unsure) and then later he was drinking large quantities of water all night and he refused to eat his dinner. He looked fat so I measured his waist and it was enlarged by about 1.5-2". Thankfully today he is doing better and his waist size has decreased and he is eating again and doing better. The kibble he ate has 20% protein and only 6% fat. I bought the lowest fat kibble I could find for the homeless dog in case Cecil ate some of his food accidentally. However even one meal of the kibble with 6% fat has enflamed Cecil's pancreas. It is a very difficult situation as the homeless dog will not eat at specific times and he requires me to leave the bowl of kibble out for him all day.

Anyway if you are new to this disease and looking for options, I would avoid the low priced low fat kibble. 2 years ago Cecil was hospitalized because I was forced to feed him low fat kibble while we were moving and I could not cook for him. The kibble is horrible, and especially the cheap kibble. Now when we travel if I cannot cook for him I buy a can of peas and carrots, rinse them well, and mix them in with chopped low fat lunch meat (ham or turkey breast) and small pieces of low fat bread.

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Chance 6 months ago

My dog has pancreatitis but is losing his coat from his low fat diet, is there any good fat i can give him? And the amounts he's about 100lbs

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Cecil Chance 6 months ago

Are you sure it is from fat and not something else, like too little protein maybe? A 100lb dog requires at least 100g of animal derived protein per day (1 pound of skinless boneless chicken breast per day has about 100g protein). If it is from fat perhaps you might try reducing the fat content of the food even lower (like giving a quart of egg whites daily instead of a pound of chicken, which also adds up to 100g protein), and then adding only a very beneficial high quality fat to the recipe? Sorry but I have no experience with this issue, at least not yet. Hopefully someone else will be able to respond with some experience with your issue. Good luck!

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Shiba 7 months ago

My dog was recently hospitalized for pancreatitis. We are under the care of several veterinarians. I feel very discouraged about what to feed her safely. Most advice has been lean, meats, rice, low fat. She has been picky, her whole life she totally stopped eating with her attack of pancreatitis. One of the veterinarians told me dogs are lactose intolerant, and I should no longer feed her yogurt, which was a Favorites treat for her. I am not sure who to believe as far as treats and advice would be appreciated.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

Hi, I typed a long response to you yesterday but somehow it got lost. Unfortunately you cannot send me messages through this forum either as there is no option. I will try to remember what I wrote and condense it.

I have been fighting this condition in Cecil for several years. Fat is the enemy. You want to give you dog a high quality protein (like boiled skinless chicken or turkey breast) with all the fat removed, and you want to give the correct amount of animal protein (about 5g of chicken or turkey daily per pound of dog weight). Cecil weighs 19lbs and he gets 100g of chicken daily. After that you need to add healthy dog friendly ingredients, and the total calories should meet your dog's daily energy requirements. You want to keep your dog slim and trim too, no excess fat on the body either. Fat is the enemy.

Your dog may not want to eat certain foods, and he/she may not be able to digest certain foods well either. I recommend using an electric hand blender to puree the dog food until it resembles baby food. Also, to relieve stress on the pancreas it is best to feed several meals per day. I feed Cecil 4 times a day and 5-8 hours apart. I also add a little milk thistle to each meal (about 80mg) as Cecil also has liver problems.

Right now Cecil is fed this daily. He weighs 19lbs, he is about 14 years old with low to moderate exercise. It takes about 700 calories daily for him to maintain his weight. All the vegetables are frozen and cooked, the beans are from a jar and rinsed very, very well. The yams are fresh and microwaved until soft and then peeled (the skin is very bad for dogs). The chicken is boiled then the fat is washed and picked off, and then it is chopped up and the precise amount is added to each meal. The veggies, rice, beans, and sweet potatoes are all pureed (I make enough for a week at a time). Here is Cecil's diet:

100g boiled chicken breast - 115 kcal 22g protein 1.3g fat

128g (microwaved then peeled) yams - 114 kcal 2.6g protein 0.2g fat 2.8g fiber

71g peas - 60 kcal 3.9g protein 0.2g fat 3.9g fiber

57g beans - 45 kcal 3.6g protein 0.4g fat 4.4g fiber

57g string beans - 18 kcal 1.1g protein 0.1g fat 1.9g fiber

47g carrots - 20 kcal 0.4g protein 0.1g fat 1.3g fiber

47g broccoli - 16 kcal 0.9g protein 0.1g fat 1.2g fiber

47g cauliflower - 14 kcal 1.3g protein 0.2g fat 0.9g fiber

72g rice (dry weight) - 264 kcal 3.5g protein 0.3g fat

Most important is not throwing up and good solid bowel movements, so keep watch. With this recipe Cecil has good bm's every time, unless he eats something that I did not give him.

He also gets snacks of bananas, apples, pears, or blueberries and sometimes something to chew on to clean his teeth.

As for pancreatitis attacks, they can last a long time. Your dog may not want to eat for a week or longer. I have found that when Cecil refuses to eat I can still get him to take small pieces of egg white french toast when fed by hand. After he eats a half slice I can sometimes can coax him to eat some of his chicken and veggie dinner. If not then I hand feed home some more french toast and then I try again a few hours later. The french toast is simply 1 slice of low fat white bread, 1 egg white, and a couple spoons of fat free milk, and fried with no oil in a dry nonstick pan.

If Cecil does not want to eat the french toast either then I usually give him a little famotidine Pepcid, etc). I usually try 5mg at first but if that does not work then next time I try 10mg, up to twice per day. I really try to avoid giving him Pepcid though, usually I can get a couple slices of french toast in him and then I try again later. I am very happy if he can get half his daily calories when he suffers from an attack. You should ask you veterinarian before giving your dog Pepcid though.

Anyway hopefully this helps you. I am not a vet nor do I have any education in medicine (other than spending many long and stressful nights reading information online. I hope your dog does well, every day is a blessing. If you need someone to write to perhaps we can find a way to send emails. Good luck!

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

I'm sorry. I posted a response 2 weeks ago (Aug 15), but the moderators of the forum have yet to approve the response so it can be seen. Hopefully your dog is doing ok. If you are on another forum please let me know and I can send you a private message there.

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Cecil Cecil 7 months ago

Here is my response from August 15th again:

Hi, I typed a long response to you yesterday but somehow it got lost. Unfortunately you cannot send me messages through this forum either as there is no option. I will try to remember what I wrote and condense it.

I have been fighting this condition in Cecil for several years. Fat is the enemy. You want to give you dog a high quality protein (like boiled skinless chicken or turkey breast) with all the fat removed, and you want to give the correct amount of animal protein (about 5g of chicken or turkey daily per pound of dog weight). Cecil weighs 19lbs and he gets 100g of chicken daily. After that you need to add healthy dog friendly ingredients, and the total calories should meet your dog's daily energy requirements. You want to keep your dog slim and trim too, no excess fat on the body either. Fat is the enemy.

Your dog may not want to eat certain foods, and he/she may not be able to digest certain foods well either. I recommend using an electric hand blender to puree the dog food until it resembles baby food. Also, to relieve stress on the pancreas it is best to feed several meals per day. I feed Cecil 4 times a day and 5-8 hours apart. I also add a little milk thistle to each meal (about 80mg) as Cecil also has liver problems.

Right now Cecil is fed this daily. He weighs 19lbs, he is about 14 years old with low to moderate exercise. It takes about 700 calories daily for him to maintain his weight. All the vegetables are frozen and cooked, the beans are from a jar and rinsed very, very well. The yams are fresh and microwaved until soft and then peeled (the skin is very bad for dogs). The chicken is boiled then the fat is washed and picked off, and then it is chopped up and the precise amount is added to each meal. The veggies, rice, beans, and sweet potatoes are all pureed (I make enough for a week at a time). Here is Cecil's diet:

100g boiled chicken breast - 115 kcal 22g protein 1.3g fat

128g (microwaved then peeled) yams - 114 kcal 2.6g protein 0.2g fat 2.8g fiber

71g peas - 60 kcal 3.9g protein 0.2g fat 3.9g fiber

57g beans - 45 kcal 3.6g protein 0.4g fat 4.4g fiber

57g string beans - 18 kcal 1.1g protein 0.1g fat 1.9g fiber

47g carrots - 20 kcal 0.4g protein 0.1g fat 1.3g fiber

47g broccoli - 16 kcal 0.9g protein 0.1g fat 1.2g fiber

47g cauliflower - 14 kcal 1.3g protein 0.2g fat 0.9g fiber

72g rice (dry weight) - 264 kcal 3.5g protein 0.3g fat

Most important is not throwing up and good solid bowel movements, so keep watch. With this recipe Cecil has good bm's every time, unless he eats something that I did not give him.

He also gets snacks of bananas, apples, pears, or blueberries and sometimes something to chew on to clean his teeth.

As for pancreatitis attacks, they can last a long time. Your dog may not want to eat for a week or longer. I have found that when Cecil refuses to eat I can still get him to take small pieces of egg white french toast when fed by hand. After he eats a half slice I can sometimes can coax him to eat some of his chicken and veggie dinner. If not then I hand feed home some more french toast and then I try again a few hours later. The french toast is simply 1 slice of low fat white bread, 1 egg white, and a couple spoons of fat free milk, and fried with no oil in a dry nonstick pan.

If Cecil does not want to eat the french toast either then I usually give him a little famotidine Pepcid, etc). I usually try 5mg at first but if that does not work then next time I try 10mg, up to twice per day. I really try to avoid giving him Pepcid though, usually I can get a couple slices of french toast in him and then I try again later. I am very happy if he can get half his daily calories when he suffers from an attack. You should ask you veterinarian before giving your dog Pepcid though.

Anyway hopefully this helps you. I am not a vet nor do I have any education in medicine (other than spending many long and stressful nights reading information online. I hope your dog does well, every day is a blessing. If you need someone to write to perhaps we can find a way to send emails. Good luck!

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Margaret Saunders Cecil 5 months ago

How many days meals is this for please?

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

They seem to be allowing my short responses to be posted without needing approval. I posted a recipe here about 2 months ago, if you read through the responses you will see it. I am still feeding Cecil the same recipe, except that I increased the amount of orange sweet potatoes by 50% (to improve taste) and the amount of rice by 50% (to increase calories), and now I don't need to feed him any egg white french toast except as an occasional treat.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

I have been fighting this condition in Cecil for several years. You want to give you dog a high quality protein (like boiled skinless chicken or turkey breast) with all the fat removed, and you want to give the correct amount of animal protein (about 5g of chicken or turkey daily per pound of dog weight). Cecil weighs 19lbs and he gets 100g of chicken daily. After that you need to add healthy dog friendly ingredients, and the total calories should meet your dog's daily energy requirements. You want to keep your dog slim and trim too, no excess fat on the body either.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

Most important is not throwing up and good solid bowel movements, so keep watch. With this recipe Cecil has good bm's every time, unless he eats something that I did not give him.

He also gets snacks of bananas, apples, pears, or blueberries and sometimes something to chew on to clean his teeth.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

As for pancreatitis attacks, they can last a long time. Your dog may not want to eat for a week or longer. I have found that when Cecil refuses to eat I can still get him to take small pieces of egg white french toast when fed by hand. After he eats a half slice I can sometimes can coax him to eat some of his chicken and veggie dinner. If not then I hand feed home some more french toast and then I try again a few hours later. The french toast is simply 1 slice of low fat white bread, 1 egg white, and a couple spoons of fat free milk, and fried with no oil in a dry nonstick pan.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

As for the episodes, they can last a long time (many days). I have found that when Cecil refuses to eat I can still get him to take small pieces of egg white french toast when fed by hand. After he eats a half slice I can sometimes can coax him to eat his food. If not then I hand feed home some more french toast and then I try again a few hours later. The french toast is 1 slice of low fat white bread, 1 egg white, and a couple spoons of fat free milk, and fried with no oil in a dry nonstick pan.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

Sorry, it seems anything else I try to add to your thread needs moderator approval (even though it should not). Unfortunately it appears the moderators here only check on it once or twice a month. :( If you find a way for us to communicate I can try to help you.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

When your dog is sick and does not want to eat you can try giving a little egg white french toast, I posted that info a couple months ago.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

Also, you can ask your vet about giving your dog a little Pepcid occasionally when he/she refuses to eat for a long time. Between this and the fat free french toast I can usually get Cecil to eat something even when he is sick after eating something fatty that I did not feed him.

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Cecil Shiba 7 months ago

I just signed up on Petforums,co.uk with the username Cecil2. You can message me there if you wish, although my account there still needs to be approved by moderators. I hope your dog is feeling better!

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YorkieJack 8 months ago

Forgot to mention his appetite is off the charts!

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YorkieJack 8 months ago

I also feed him small meals 4 to 5 times a day.

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YorkieJack 8 months ago

Jack gets major bouts of diarrhea and not much is working I’ve tried everything. He’s on boiled chicken with rice peas white potato. Also a probiotic plus FortiFlora (just started) and RX Clay. No pancreatitis symptoms other than diarrhea. He refuses all dog food canned or kibble. He’s only 5lbs. Can’t seem to gain. All bloodwork is good except for the pancreatic panel.

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Cecil YorkieJack 8 months ago

Have you tried swapping the white potato with sweet potato / yams? Or maybe add some more fiber (like beans) to his diet?

I also give Cecil 4 meals a day, and he only gets diarrhea when he eats something he finds on the ground. I have been mixing in a little milk thistle in each meal too, since his last blood test shows possible liver problems. Milk thistle repairs liver damage, and it may also help the pancreas too.

I also had issues with Cecil gaining weight too. When he starts getting too thin I give him a slice of egg white french toast (1 slice low fat white bread, 1 egg white, and a couple spoons of fat free milk) per day in addition to his 4 meals to put some weight back on him. I try to keep Cecil between 18 and 20lbs. I am also adding more rice to his diet now to increase the calories a bit.

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Cecil 9 months ago

Cecil had another pancreatitis episode about 2 weeks ago, but before that the previous one was about 1.5 years ago. I was walking him at a fair and he ate one mouthful of something off the ground and the next morning he threw up. He was sick for 10 days and he did not want to eat his meals. He would take one mouthful and then walk away as if he was sick or in pain, and most of the time he would not come to eat at all. He did not have diarrhea though, and he only threw up the one time.

I tried giving him small doses of Pepcid (5mg) but that was only marginally helpful. But I found that if I hand fed him a half slice of egg white french toast in small pieces (slice of low fat bread, 1 egg white, 2 spoons of fat free milk, and then fried with no oil in a dry pan) I could sometimes also get him to eat half of his regular meal afterward. We had to do this for 10 days until the pancreatitis attack subsided and he went back to normal.

Just one mouthful of the wrong food made him sick for 10 days. But I think the french toast is easy on a sick stomach, and after eating some he regains some of his appetite back. Perhaps my experience will help someone else.

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Cecil 9 months ago

Hi, I changed the recipe again, this one is much better. Cecil is around 19lbs and he gets about 700 calories a day. I reduced the amount of chicken and added rice to my previous recipe (for more calories and to reduce the cost). I also added 1 slice of egg white french toast per day (1 slice white bread, 1 large egg white, a couple spoonful's of fat free milk, then fried with no oil.

The new recipe per week is:

1kg bag of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (333g of each)

400g bag of string beans

500g bag of peas

400g jar of beans (feijao manteiga) - rinsed well

1kg of orange sweet potatoes (yams)

333g white rice (dry weight. 1/3 of a kg package)

These are all cooked and then I use a hand mixer to puree them together.

700g skinless chicken breast per week (boiled, chopped fine, added to each meal individually to ensure he gets precisely 100g of chicken per day).

Plus 1 slice of egg white french toast per day, which is 1 slice of low fat white bread, 1 large egg white, and 2 spoonful's of fat free milk.

NEW meal nutrition (daily):

100g boiled chicken breast - 115 kcal 22g protein 1.3g fat

128g yams - 114 kcal 2.6g protein 0.2g fat 2.8g fiber

71g peas - 60 kcal 3.9g protein 0.2g fat 3.9g fiber

57g beans - 45 kcal 3.6g protein 0.4g fat 4.4g fiber

57g string beans - 18 kcal 1.1g protein 0.1g fat 1.9g fiber

47g carrots - 20 kcal 0.4g protein 0.1g fat 1.3g fiber

47g broccoli - 16 kcal 0.9g protein 0.1g fat 1.2g fiber

47g cauliflower - 14 kcal 1.3g protein 0.2g fat 0.9g fiber

48g rice (dry weight) - 176 kcal 3.5g protein 0.3g fat

1 egg white - 17 kcal 3.6g protein 0.1g fat

1 slice bread - 59 kcal 2.2g protein 0.8g fat 0.7g fiber

2 spoons fat free milk -

Total per day: 664 kcal, 45g protein, 3.8g fat, 17.1g fiber

Analysis:

5.2% of kcal from fat

27.1% of kcal from protein

5.2% of kcal from fiber

Plenty of vitamins (including calcium) from all the vegetables.

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Cecil Cecil 7 months ago

I have since increased the rice in the recipe from 333g per week to 500g (precooked weight) and Cecil is doing very well. With the added calories from the extra rice I don't need to give him the egg white french toast anymore. 100g of chicken per day (and no other egg or meat protein) seems to be enough for him at 19lbs weight. I suspect I can increase the rice a little more (possibly 2/3 or 3/4 of a kg of rice total per week) but I don't think I would be able to fit everything in my 10L pot.

Cecil seems to be doing well on the milk thistle too. It was vet recommended due to his liver issues but I also read that it might be helpful with the pancreas too. Cecil gets 4 meals per day and I sprinkle about 75-100mg of milk thistle onto each meal.

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Cecil Cecil 6 months ago

I tried changing the recipe again, this time I increased the white rice to 2/3 kg per week. Cecil did not like it very much and I had to add more sweet potato to get him to eat it. So I changed the amount of white rice back down to 1/2 kg per week, but I also increased the sweet potato to 1.5 kg per week for better taste. If you are feeding your dog a similar recipe and he/she is not very enthusiastic about eating it then try adding more orange sweet potato to the recipe. :)

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Scheryl Levelheaded 10 months ago

Henry my 11 yr old deer legged Chihuahua has been dealing with chronic pancreatitis. He never has had nausea or thrown up. He def turns his head at the new menu. He is super picky and we always joke Henry had better taste in food than we humans so we jokingly call him filet mingon Henry! I couldn't get fruits in him even if they were delivered by a man named jeeves on a silver plate. Which im sure he would enjoy. But. I am having some luck with the rice, peas,beans,yams,boiled chicken( i was told Absolutely no pork) I am worried if he's getting enough vitamins though. He won't eat cottage cheese or yogurt. Of course he loves a 3 yr aged gouda. And cheese is fat right? I haven't let him have any.. carrots are good for vit c i believe as well as beta caroteen. What other important vitamens should we not forget?

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Cecil Scheryl Levelheaded 9 months ago

Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and string beans are all good along with the peas for vitamins, calcium, etc. You might need to use a hand blender though. I found that Cecil does not digest peas and carrots well, so everything gets pureed like baby food. Also I cook the yams in the microwave so they are extra sweet, which makes the puree vegetable mixture taste better. Boiled yams do not taste the same as microwaved yams.

Yes, I do not give Cecil any cheese. Even low fat cheese seems to have too much fat. Fat free milk though has very little fat and maybe that could be an option. I cook a weeks worth of meals at once so I did not try adding milk to the recipe, but it could be pureed into the mixture and it would probably make it a little creamy. :) But Cecil is only 19lbs and he eats more than 4 lbs of veggies every week so he gets enough calcium.

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Hamilton House 10 months ago

Hi my 8yr old rescue staffy Rodney has just been diagnosed with pancreatitis, spent 2 days at vets and became so anxious we had to bring him home. I have read as much as I can and I have started cooking meals no store bought foods I have also made treats, and he likes them.

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Aniston Forster 10 months ago

GASTROELM PLUS IS LITERALLY A LIFESAVER!! IT CAN STOP A FLARE IN IT'S TRACKS. STOPS VOMITING DIARRHEA ETC. AND IS ALSO TO BE USED DAILY FOR MAINTENANCE. A SMALL BAG IS SUPER CHEAP AND WILL LAST EVEN BIG DOGS, CATS AND HORSES A YEAR PLUS. I CAN'T BELIEVE NO ONE HAS MENTIONED IT HERE.

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Aniston Forster Aniston Forster 10 months ago

GASTROELM PLUS ALSO STOPS BLOODY DIARRHEA IN A DAY OR TWO AT MOST.

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Chang Aniston Forster 3 months ago

Hi Anniston,

I can see your comments were 7 months ago so I hope you will still see this. My Labrador has just this week been diagnosed with pancreatitis, he was vomiting extremely badly 10 times in a day/ evening. I took him to the vets the morning after, she did tests, and has given him a course of lypex & a course of Omeprazole. He is not himself but can now eat boiled chicken & brown rice, white of an egg, and a few nuggets of his chappie dried chick which I soak first.

My concern is what will happen when his tablets finish, I can see you are advising Gastroelm Plus? I do not know anything about it but will research it, in the meantime, please can you enlighten me with any information that you think would help me please. The vet fees are ridiculously high, so if I can try something that first of all could work and is cheaper it will benefit both my dog and myself.

I hope you receive this message.

Many thanks

Chang ( this is not my name just the user name)

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Button one year ago

The one thing my vet advised me to stop giving my dog with pancreatitis is dentsticks,. He said they are not good for the digestive system and he recommended plaque off on the food. I did this and am already seeing better gums and whiter teeth on my dog after only one week

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Button one year ago

After just having my boy diagnosed with a pancreatic flare up. I have started to introduce wet food to his normal dry dog food and he shows less signs of nausea by doing this. This makes me believe that dry food causes problems for the pancreas even though it is only 8% fat content.

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Thomasina one year ago

What to feed a dog with auto immune

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Miamate one year ago

Hi all

Thanks for all the comments - ye answered a lot of my concerns.

I’ve a 3 year old border collie with EPI, which is like her having pancreatitis full time. At 10kg, she hasn’t regained much weight with her current regime (going on 18 months now) but is just about acceptably healthy. I’ve learned a lot from reading all of your comments so lots of new stuff to try to enhance her regime.

My big problem is the cost. She eats the daily prescribed amount of Hills I/D low fat twice a day (€108 per 12kg bag) and has a Lypex (€70 per month) tablet with each meal and a cobalamin injection monthly. Effectively she costa us €200 per month.

For me, and I know you won’t all agree, but for me, it’s unacceptable money to be spent on a dog and if I’m honest because of this, there are many days when I wish the vet hadn’t saved her but we do love the little rogue that she is.

So looking for

1. simple cheap home made meal ideas (thinking brown rice based as I buy it by the sack anyway) and

2. a source of a cheaper dog enzyme capsule/powder provider.

I got raw pancreas once but of course it was the one thing in the world that she wouldn’t eat. I will try again.

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Amy Pagnozzi Miamate one year ago

Look at the can ingredients. My dog has extremely severe pancreatitis but doesn't like the Hills.

The vet told me if he refused it he could have lean meats (white chicken or turkey, wildcaught frozen whitefish comes in 2 lb bags in walmart, pork loin when it is on sale).

With white, not brown rice because fiber is less digestible. They can have sweet potato, white potato, canned pumpkin. If your dog will eat it, the frozen salmon in bags is wild caught. Less fat. About $6 a pound. (whitefish is cheaper).

They can also have some cooked carrots and green beans.

Also ask the vet if your dog can have chicken hearts & gizzards which are super cheap like $2 a lb (but definitely ask because I know they can't have liver even though it is low fat). The hearts are very tasty if you only cook them a little bit in chicken broth. Mix in white rice and safe veg (never corn which is too hard to digest).

Given the portion size for dogs, even if you buy best quality meat it works out cheaper than prescription food.

Cooking dog-food like stews can be done in big batches and frozen for convenience.

i understand the need for frugality. We are dealing with all manner of costly health issues at our house so

If I had the money I wouldn't begrudge my dog truffles if that would save him -- but the truth is, all of the prescription foods are low quality ingredients for a high price.

You can make much better food at home for a fraction of that money

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Cecil Miamate 9 months ago

I am sorry about the cost of your dog food. I think it costs me about 50 euros per month to feed Cecil a fresh food diet, and he weighs about 8.7 kg.

Your dog probably needs quality low fat meat, but perhaps not too much. At 10kg I think she probably only needs about 125g per day of skinless chicken breast. White rice is inexpensive and will add calories to her diet. Also beans (kidney, etc) are inexpensive and will add fiber to her diet. Sweet potatoes can be inexpensive (yellow or orange), and they are also wonderful to add to her diet. You can also add some cheap vegetables for nutrition (I think peas, carrots, and string beans are the cheapest frozen veggies). I also give Cecil broccoli and cauliflower, but those are more expensive than peas, etc. I would think if you cut costs and bought in bulk you could still make her a fairly healthy meals for about 50e a month.

You also want to use a hand blender or something to puree the meals, this way she will digest it better (especially the peas and carrots). I cannot help you with the other things, Cecil does not have EPI yet. Good luck.

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Cecil Miamate 9 months ago

I tried to come up with the cheapest recipe I could think of that might work for you.

1kg frozen peas 830kcal 1.5 euros

1kg fresh carrots 410kcal 1 euro

500g frozen broccoli

1kg fresh sweet potatoes 860 kcals 1.5 euros

700g white rice (dry weight) 2485 kcal 0.5 euros

875g skinless chicken breast 1000 kcal 5.5 euros

Per week: 5755 kcal, 11 euros

Per day: 822 kcal, 1.6 euros

I suggest alternating meals between Hills and whatever fresh diet you create, that should cut your food expenses and you can see how she reacts to the diet change. Personally I will never give Cecil dog food or treats again. Unless the dog food is ridiculously expensive it is usually garbage. Cecil is doing so much better on his fresh diet and with less trips to the veterinarian.

Hopefully you can find a way to reduce your medical expenses, perhaps you can switch her to human medications? Is there a human medication substitute for what she is taking now? My vet prescribes human medications for Cecil (he has hypothyroidism and possible liver problems along with the serious issues with his pancreas), and his medications are only about 10 euros a month total. My vet understands that dog medications are extremely overpriced.

I also buy Cecil's flea meds, etc. in the largest dog size possible and then I break it up into several doses. Take Nexgard for example, a 3 pack of 20lb dog doses is about the same price as a 3 pack of 100lb dog doses, but I can make 12 small dog doses from the larger dog size so it is actually 1/4 of the price.

Good luck, I absolutely love Border Collies!

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Cecil one year ago

I have been fighting this disease for 3+ years now. Cecil blew up like a balloon about 3 years ago and then I switched him to a 50% dry dog food and 50% human food ingredients. But I had to move last year and I could not cook for him and then he got very sick again with high pancreas numbers. Since then (14 months ago) he is now on an all human food diet and doing very well. The vet just checked him and his pancreas numbers are in the low to normal range now. Cecil is an 8.5kg rat terrier / beagle mix who is now 13-14 years old. I use a hand blender to puree everything but the meat (some of the veggies like peas and carrots are difficult for him to digest). Cecil will eat the following ingredients every 5 days (divide the recipe by 5 for his daily consumption). I also feed him 5 small meals a day (about 3-4 hours apart) to put less strain on the pancreas. I add the chopped meat to each meal individually, and then I microwave the meal until it is warm. I have been adjusting and making changes to this recipe over the past 3 years but I think I will be keeping it the same from now on. It has high protein and very low fat, as well as many vitamins and minerals and a lot of fiber.

These are boiled together:

1kg bag of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots (333g of each)

400g bag of string beans

500g bag of peas

+250ml water

This is added after the veggies are cooked:

400g jar of beans (feijao manteiga) - rinsed well

1kg of orange sweet potatoes - microwaved until soft, peeled, and then added to the veggies.

Then all the veggies are pureed with an electric hand blender.

1kg of skinless and boneless chicken breast - trimmed, boiled, and rinsed by hand to remove all fat.

I also give him occasional snacks of bananas, apples, pears, or blueberries. He gets no dog food or dog treats anymore, and he will never eat anything not fit for human consumption again.

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Miamate Cecil one year ago

Hi, this is very helpful. Interesting to note that it’s all veg and no rice or grains. Are the bags of veg frozen veg? My shep also likes apples & pears & melon. I’ve never thought to give her bananas.

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Cecil Miamate 9 months ago

Hi, yes all the veggies are frozen (it is easier for me), but the sweet potatoes are fresh. I used to give him all fresh veggies but it was a lot more work. I did change the recipe and added rice and a slice of egg white french toast, and I reduced the amount of chicken as he was getting too much protein.

Cecil loves bananas, and also blueberries :)

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Beanie Cecil one year ago

Do you know the calories per cup of your recipe?

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Cecil Beanie 9 months ago

Hi, I am sorry but I do not know the per cup calories. I did just change the recipe again, the new one is less expensive and has more calories from rice and less chicken, plus I added an egg white and slice of bread (egg white french toast). The new recipe was posted today. It is about 700 calories per day, and Cecil weighs 19lbs.

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WENDY “WendyMae22 one year ago

Our Jett was diagnosed with pancreatitis 4 months ago. Initially vet recommended a presciption diet but he did not do well on this. After trying many different low fat kibbles and after extensive research he is now doing well on his current food.

He has Pero super sensitive kibble , ocean fish with tapioca but only 60g this is mixed with 60g fresh chicken and also Burns Wild Fish Carrots and Organic Brown Rice Wet Dog Food Trays, 200g each meal.

We use protextin digestive enzyme half a capsule per meal sprinkled on his food. He also has protexin pro fibre 1 scoop a day. His poos are now solid and its such a relief. He lost almost 5kg in weight. He is now at amost 19kg and is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier aged just over 10 years. In my opinion the presciption diets are not always the best option

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Renee Obrock one year ago

My dog has chronic pancreatitis. She's allergic to chicken and the fishes we tried didn't suit her. I use Dr. Harvey's. This stuff is great. I mix in the appropriate amount of lean ground beef. The ground beef is boiled and rinsed the portioned out. She loves it! It's very expensive to do a home diet for a dog weighing 67 lbs, but she is loved, so the cost is meaningless. It was very scary when she was first diagnosed, we almost lost, the vet was very worried. After a few days and being vigilant with her diet she's doing well.

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Cecil Renee Obrock one year ago

Cecil weighs 19 lbs and it costs me $3 a day to feed him his home cooked meals and fruit snacks. It must be very expensive to feed a dog that is 3.5 times larger. But the love we receive in return is priceless. I hope your dog is still doing well.

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Colm Dunne one year ago

Do you think the odd Bonio is OK for a Lab that has gotten over pancreatic?

They are low in fat, at 4.5%

Thanks

Colm.

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WENDY “WendyMae22 Colm Dunne one year ago

Hi i do not give my Jett any treats even the odd biscuit like bonio as it can set them back

Regards

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shovana Samal one year ago

Hi! Can dogs with pancreatitis and kidney issues drink rice water?

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Camolin one year ago

Our cockerpoo Lilly had a very serious bout of pancreatitis. She was hospitalised for four days. I believ it was 100% caused by ourselves over indulging her with unhealthy treats and scraps. Since, we have kept to a low diet and cut all snacks snd treats out. Even people in our local now know not to give her any. She isn’t happy but her body is . She’s very much healthier all round since managing her diet more strictly. Your article was really helpful and informative. I want to move from prescription food now, so having a ready made list of which brands to use was so helpful. Thank you

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YelyaH Camolin one year ago

Hi, thank you for sharing your experience. How much do you feed your dog now? How often and what kind of food?

Thank you

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WENDY “WendyMae22 YelyaH one year ago

Hi i have posted a new comment above just waiting for moderator approval.it shows what i feed Our Jett who was very poorly with pancreatitis. Different dogs suit different foods. I have kept a diary for the past 4 months showing what amounts he is fed and take photos of his poos. This is how i could adjust his diet and the amount given. Its all trial and error

Hope this helps

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Bear Harley one year ago

Please do not give your dog aspartame or artificial sweeteners. It can kill your dog. Very irresponsible of someone to post about their own experience with diet coke in relation to dogs with pancreatitis.

I find a very small amount of psyllium husk helps soothe and aid digestion. This herb acts as fibre and has anti-inflammatory properties. Don't add too much.

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Susan Carlson one year ago

My Bailey age almost 14, has suffered from pancreatitis. We just have been made aware of this, so now we make his food from scratch hes better but still has issues.

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Hanli Grobler 2 years ago

Why not cod liver oil?

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Cheese Hanli Grobler 2 years ago

Any Oil is High in Fat. this is a definite No. Instead, you should use Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Tashana Howard Cheese one year ago

Is there a specific brand name that you can suggest? I am not seeing anything with the specifid name of pancreatic enzyme. Instead I am seeing various enzyme powders and pills. I want to purchase the best one.

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Peggy McGowan Tashana Howard one year ago

PancreVed has helped my Henry (28# basset/terrier mix). Highly recommend. Ask vet if tablets or powder would be best. I use powder ordered from Allivet.Help tremendously! Good luck

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Kevin J. Kennedy 2 years ago

PUMA 14 yr Bichon has it and I have her (12 lbs) on a white skinless roasted Chicken diet and she is doing better. Is watermelon AOK? plz advise. Thx KeKe

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Cheese Kevin J. Kennedy 2 years ago

Watermelon is mostly water, should be ok. Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Sue 2 years ago

Hi,
My vet has recommended beef stips and rice for my dog with pancreatitis. Here states rice may not be suitable. I am confused has the vet informed me incorrectly? I want my best for my dog and do not wish him to suffer. He has had two bouts last month and I worry for him. I have had to be stricter with him when he demands more food. He is 11 years old.

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Cheese Sue 2 years ago

Lean Meat is best.. easy to digest. If the beef is difficult to digest, avoid it. One MAJOR HELP for my dog is Pancreatic Digestive Support Enzymes. It is raw pig pancrease that is freezed dried into a powder. The Raw Pancreas of Pig, beef and lamb have the enzymes needed to digest foods. Google pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and you will get some options. All the Best

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Jess Harrison-Johnso Cheese one year ago

Cheese, would buy raw pig pancreas be ok and helpful to feed?

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YorkieJack Cheese 8 months ago

My 14 year old yorkie has diarrhea at least once a week. He refuses canned food will eat kibble as a treat but not much. He’s on boiled chicken rice peas white potato. Also a probiotic and I just stated forti flora and I give him clay powder. He does have pancreatitis. No symptoms just the diarrhea and occasional bile spit up. Appetite is off the charts!! What to do about the diarrhea it’s awful.

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June Gee 2 years ago

Hi, my jack Russell was diagnosed with lymphoma and pancreatitis, I have her on a home cooked diet of chicken breast, sweet potato, green beans and rice, blended, her treats are cooked sweet potato bites home made. She has nothing else in her diet but every now and then the pancreatitis flares up. What else can I do for her, thanks

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Cheese June Gee 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Gayle lee 2 years ago

So my daughters 110 lb Blue Tick Coonhound was diagnosed with pancritis, today. The vets want her on $100 dog food. She is not rich and can’t afford that so can anyone help us here??
Using lower price brands or home cooking?? I’m praying very hard that some angel can help us
Gayle Lee
gillybird57@gmail.com

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Sue Gayle lee 2 years ago

Cooking her the food might be cheaper. My vet suggested beef stripes and rice. I have read vegetables like sweet potato, cabbage, caulifower, broccoli are good for them. I buy skinless chicken and boil it or fry it without adding oil. I have just read that apple treats are also fine for the dog that demands his treats.

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Lynn Tearse 2 years ago

I'm posting this again. Please read it if your dog has pancreatitis.Last year I developed acute pancreatitis myself after surgery to remove gallstones. A friend of mine who is a research scientist advised me to drink Diet Coke before every meal because it contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. Phenylalaline is a component of aspartame which causes the pancreas temporarily to shut down enzyme production. Shutting down enzyme production allows the pancreas to rest and recover until the inflammation settles, while you may continue to eat and drink normally. Not only does appetite return, it is stimulated. The effect on me was almost immediate: the nausea and pain disappeared I stopped vomiting and I had a very healthy appetite. I was in hospital at the time, and the drop in pancreatic enzyme production was tracked in my blood tests. I continued with the aspartame for a couple of months until my pancreas healed. When our Westie Heidi developed pancreatitis we consulted with the vet and the Veterinary Poisons Advice Service to check for an y possible adverse effects, and we worked out a safe dose of Canderel for her (1 qtr teaspoon Canderel dissolved in 20ml of water. Administer orally with a syringe before every meal.) It worked its magic on her too. Take care to supplement the dog's diet with pancreatic enzymes (given that you are deliberately shutting the pancreas down). Preferably feed a fresh food diet of low fat protein (chicken, turkey, white fish), leafy greens and legumes, blitzed in the food processor to aid digestion. Once the pancreatitis has settled down, Include a small amount of high quality fat such as fish oil or coconut oil to stimulate the gallbladder. Continue with this regime for 2 months, then wean off gradually. We've talked about this to human and animal doctors but apart from the docs on the ward when I was in hospital who witnessed my transformation, they remain skeptical.

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paul snyder Lynn Tearse 2 years ago

Hi Lynn, thanks for your experience. How much does your dog weigh? I have a 90 pound pit/rot mix think I should up the canderel?

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Lynn Tearse paul snyder 2 years ago

Hi Paul, our dog is a westie and weighs only 8kg. We gave her a quarter teaspoon of canderel, so, yes, increase accordingly. 8kg is I think just under 18 pounds, so perhaps try multiplying fourfold to one teaspoon initially, and increase to one and a half teaspoons if you need to. You can either sprinkle over food, or, dissolve in water. You don't need to be super accurate about the amount of water. I usually didn't give Heidi all of the solution anyway. However delivering in solution ensures that the pancreas is shut down before your dog begins to eat. Once the pancrease shuts down the effects are obvious: your dog will stop feeling nauseous, and appetite will return. Please do let me know how things go. All the best

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L Smith Lynn Tearse 2 years ago

What pancreatic enzymes did you give your dog?

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Lynn Tearse L Smith 2 years ago

Lypex capsules

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Amberleigh Lynn Tearse one year ago

SInce using Lypex my border terrier has not had an attack.

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WENDY “WendyMae22 Lynn Tearse one year ago

No Dog should be given any form of artificial sweetener it can kill them

I hope no one follows your advice !!

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Shel Roth 2 years ago

My dog started vomiting while we were getting into a moved(forced out of a rental so house could be sold). I thought it was just nerves, but he kept getting worse. The day after we got into the new place he was consistently vomiting, moaning and shaking, plus he was showing signs of shock(I thought he had been poisoned. Took him to emergency vet, they took him in and administer fluids, and antibiotics. Well, turns out he's allergic to antibiotics, which NO ONE there noticed he was going into Anaphylactic shock. In fact they brought him out to the car, gave me MORE antibiotics to give him and I was told his swollen and googlied eyes, swollen face, his struggles for breath, and the stream of drool was part of the 'pancreatitis'. $1030.oo paid; I got him home and he SUFFERED most of the evening while I got online and did a load of research. I gave him some Benadryl to ease the shock and stayed up with him to make sure he got enough moisture. Next morning called another regular vet and took him in. Explained all that had happened and they took him in and put him AGAIN on fluids and AGAIN gave him antibiotics! I was livid when the doctor called me and told me what he had done. I went and got my pup and tried to nicely tell the vet he was hideous. Got Jasper home did a ton more research(5 days worth) as I cooked down chicken thighs for broth, found and bought a pack of herbs and enzymes and tried to force them into him through a feeding syringe. I'm at 7 days without sleep at this point. His swelling went down, his eyes became less conjunctivitis, he started recognizing me again, and even held down the broth. He was still hurting, so a friend suggested CBD for dogs to help calm the pain and let him sleep( he hadn't slept for 7 days either). it helped; he finally fell asleep. He slept most of the day and when he woke up I gave him the herbs and some broth. This continued for the next 5 days. FINALLY he was able to get up and walk about a bit, so I tried feeding him cooked chicken(carefully trimmed of all fat and ground up), he immediately threw it up! So back to broth. I again got back on the internet to research and came across some studies done in China on dogs with pancreatitis and how a certain blend of herbs stopped the pancreatitis from overreacting and balanced out the effects on the other organs, including the diabetes caused from severe chronic pancreatitis. The study showed the combination worked in settling the pancreatitis and the resulting diabetes and at 12 weeks showed significate improvement and healing of the pancreatitis. So I ordered all the herbs used and started him on a small amount of the tea 3x's a day 1.4 ounces each time. Plus continued the herbs and enzymes just before feeding. I also put him on a raw diet. In 3 days he was jumping about and back to his brat self. So you know, he's an Australian Shepherd-St. Bernard mix, he weighed 130 pounds(he was overweight) when this all started, he now weighs 93 pounds. He's had a couple more bouts of the pancreatitis thanks to a roommate giving him fatty foods, but after a major discussion with said roommate Jasper is back up and doing very well. I have to be extremely careful of what he eats, but he's in much better condition now. This began in February 2021.

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Cheryl Martindale Shel Roth 2 years ago

Could you tell me what kind of herbs you used my Yorker has had pancreatitis for about 5 years I feed her a homemade diet but she still occasionally has an attack.

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Shel Roth Cheryl Martindale 2 years ago

Hi Cheryl- The basic mix I give him is Pancreatic glandular(as the digestive aid, Bilberry (which regulates the interaction of the pancreas-spleen-liver-and gall bladder), Dandelion root( which helps release insulin), Burdock root(helps level and control insulin to balance sugars), Cinnamon(light use- helps with inflammation) and gastric juices), Oregano Oil(fights infection/inflammation), Chinese Skullcap(an anti emetic- stops the vomiting), Milk Thistle( removes toxins- heals liver damage due to insulin and bile imbalances- helps restore natural function to pancreas). There are many more. I also found studies that show Melatonin/L-Tryptophan actually heal pancreatic cells and restore function. I'm still learning- all I have done is based on research and experimentation. My pup is allergic to antibiotics, so that has added more dimensional exacerbation to my attempts to help him.
There are several formulas I mix and adjust depending on what is happening each day. If links are allowed I will share some information resources I have found. https://www.herbal-suppleme...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih...
https://laboklin.com/enint/...
Not sure how much this helps. Just a word of warning to read up on all herbs and how much to give due to some being toxic in too much/too often use(to be used minutely or temporary). If you have more questions I will try to help. Presently it is late and I haven't gotten much sleep in the last few month in attending to my pup's situation & other life circumstances, plus doing research...
Jasper is acutely reactive to even minute amounts of fat, so feeding him has been based on an enzyme mix given 5 minutes before he eats his meat mix of trimmed and finely cut chicken, elk, and turkey and some sweet potato/green beans/kale pureed and mixed into his meat. He cannot tolerate lentils, beans, white potatoes, wheat or even oats. It's been harsh time trying to find what works for him. I even give him a CBD blended with L-Tryptophan and ginger to help with pain, stress, and appetite. Wish you the best with your babe.

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Cheryl Martindale Shel Roth 2 years ago

Thank you so much for all the info I will do my research and let you know how things turn out and sending prayers for your pup.

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Cheese Cheryl Martindale 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Chauntelle A Russell Shel Roth one year ago

When yr dog is having an episode DO NOT FORCE FEED THEM! The pancreas Needs to heal. In order to do so there can't be anything in the digestive tract. U will severely prolong yr dogs pain & suffering.

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Jennifer Shel Roth one year ago

You said you order the mix from China, will you please share the exact mix, maker/brand. My baby, my Yorkie has it and I am trying everything I can;(

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Mindy 2 years ago

My fur baby has been in the hospital for 2 days now (2 year old French Bulldog), she started vomiting and was throwing up everything she ate. Long story short, vet is now treating her for pancreatitis. I am beyond a mess, this is my baby and I’m scared to death for her. How long can I expect her to stay and be treated? Will she be ok? I’m just sick! Any advice is very much appreciated.

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Lori Mindy 2 years ago

I had same problem
Started my dog on Raw Pancreas
And raw diet
Call me and I will share
Very lengthy..
Just started in March
Have had great results..🙏🙏
714-803-7804
Lori..

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Kelly Lori one year ago

Hello.

I’m having a very hard time with diet for my dog. I’ve don’t toms of research and I’m just mentally tired. I don’t know how much longer she has because I can’t get dietary help. She’s my word and I need help. Please someone help me

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Kelly Kelly one year ago

She eats like she’s never ate before. She doesn’t chew at all.

Diet

Rice (which I hate)

Chicken

Green beans

Carrot

Oatmeal

Milk thistle (for liver damage)

Boiled egg

Probiotic

Plant based Enzyme

I really want her on a raw diet and I can get the meat it’s just how do I know it’s safe for her (liver & pancreas because of protein)

She threw up bile this morning and has had soldo stool for almost a month now it’s soft again.

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Amberleigh Kelly one year ago

Royal Canine Gastro Intestinal Low FAt food (tinned)

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Cheese Mindy 2 years ago

If it is too difficult to find Raw Pancreas.. you can use the powder form, it helped my Yorkie Tremendously! Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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sheila 2 years ago

Great ARticle!!
My doggie has had it twice and is better now. One thing I did learn was. Check your environment for the pesticides and other toxic chemicals. if they are on your dogs feet after walk. wash your dogs feet. Those chemicals can aid in pancreatitis.

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Cheese sheila 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Kathy 2 years ago

My Carli is now almost 14 years old (Maltese) she got pancreatitis in December of 2017, spent a week in the hospital for over fluids, lost 2 of her 6lb body weight. I’ve kept her in a baked chicken and barley diet as any alterations cause a flare. She’s been receiving minced chicken and barley at about 4:1 with a commercial vitamin supplement. Everything is finely chopped because she’s been without teeth for the last 2 years and doing very well. Still full of energy and still runs the big dogs off. 😄

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Carol K Bloom Kathy 2 years ago

What vitamin supplement do you use?

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Cheese Kathy 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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pauline hubman 2 years ago

MY PENNY HAS PANCREATISIS SINCE LAST MONTH, I FED HER RICE AND BOILED BEEF, AND MY VET RECCOMENDED PERCRIPTION DOG FOOD, AND SHE CANT HANDLE IT,, SHE STOPPED VOMITING AND BOWELS ARE BETTER NOW, SHE STOPPED EATING GRASS, AND I WANT MORE FOR HER AND WAS READING DIANA CHAMBERLAIN COMMENTS AND WILL TRY MORE OF VEGGIES , AND CHICKEN AND SALMON, AND THE YEAST, THANK YOU DIANA CHAMBERLOAIN.. IT GIVES ME A START.

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Cheese pauline hubman 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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pauline hubman 2 years ago

my furbaBY DEVELOPED PANCREATITIS THIS PAST MONTH, I GOTTEN A LOW FAT PERCRIPTION DOG FOOD, AND IT DIDNT AGREE WITH HER, I HAVE HER ON RICE AND BOILED BEEF, JUST BEEN READING DIANA CHAMBERLAIN COMMENTS OF FEEDING HER DOG, THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT ON YOUR DOG. DIANA. MY BABY IS 13 YRS OLD..

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Diana Chamberlain 3 years ago

My Beagle developed Pancreatitis over Christmas. It appears to have been caused by too much peanut butter. He gave me such a fright. He was definitely overweight. Since the illness I have cut out all excess fat and have been preparing him fresh vegetables, butternut squash, peas, carrots, broccoli etc and mixing it with whole grain bulgar wheat. I add a vegan product called nutritional yeast which has protein, fibre and B vitamins. I also add taurine and some lentils from time to time. Since he’s on this strict diet he has lost almost all excess weight, his bowels are regular and his coat is shining and soft. He’s 12 with plenty of energy and a great appetite. He used to eat grass and vomit regularly before I started feeding him like this. He never eats grass anymore and hasn’t been sick once. He doesn’t have gas and seems really happy. Treats are strictly grated organic carrots and chopped cucumber and fresh salad greens.

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Judy Diana Chamberlain 2 years ago

Hi Diana
Just wondering about the yeast. I’ve recently read that yeast isn’t good for dogs. I’ve never heard of nutritional yeast and I’m wondering if it’s ok for dogs and what the difference is between normal and nutritional yeast?
My dog has pancreatitis. I make up similar to you, no meats, all veg and egg whites which has always made him better. Every time he slowly goes back to meat he gets sick again so I stick to the veg recipe for him.

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Karen Judy 2 years ago

Just, what type of veggies are you feeding your dog? And do the calories come from the eggs? How is your dog doing?

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Cheese Judy 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Lynn Tearse 3 years ago

Last year I developed acute pancreatitis myself after surgery to remove gallstones. A friend of mine who is a research scientist advised me to drink Diet Coke before every meal because it contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. Phenylalaline is a component of aspartame which causes the pancreas temporarily to shut down enzyme production. Shutting down enzyme production allows the pancreas to rest and recover until the inflammation settles, while you may continue to eat and drink normally. Not only does appetite return, it is stimulated. The effect on me was almost immediate: the nausea and pain disappeared I stopped vomiting and I had a very healthy appetite. I was in hospital at the time, and the drop in pancreatic enzyme production was tracked in my blood tests. I continued with the aspartame for a couple of months until my pancreas healed. When our Westie Heidi developed pancreatitis we consulted with the vet and the Veterinary Poisons Advice Service to check for an y possible adverse effects, and we worked out a safe dose of Canderel for her (1 qtr teaspoon Canderel dissolved in 20ml of water. Administer orally with a syringe before every meal.) It worked its magic on her too. Take care to supplement the dog's diet with pancreatic enzymes (given that you are deliberately shutting the pancreas down). Preferably feed a fresh food diet of low fat protein (chicken, turkey, white fish), leafy greens and legumes, blitzed in the food processor to aid digestion. Include a small amount of high quality fat such as fish oil or coconut oil to stimulate the gallbladder. We've talked about this to human and animal doctors but apart from the docs on the ward when I was in hospital who witnessed my transformation, they remain skeptical. There are scientific studies which describe this effect of phenylalaline, so the evidence is there.

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Lynn Tearse Lynn Tearse 3 years ago

I posted this a couple of years ago. Our westie Heidi is still fit and well.

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Glenna Lynn Tearse 2 years ago

Hi Lynn, I am going to try my dog on the aspartame for his chronic pancreatitis. He has improved with enzymes so I will continue those also like you said. He doesn’t always eat his food right away so I heard you mention sprinkling it on the food. I was wondering if you feel like that would give it time to be absorbed before the food is affected by the pancreas? Or if I gave it before eating how long does it keep the pancreas “shutdown”? Thank you for your help.

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Lynn Tearse Glenna 2 years ago

Hi Gemma I'm so sorry about this late reply: I haven't checked in on the forum for a while
If you give the canderel to your dog dissolved in water and via an oral syringe, your dog will stop feeling nauseous very quickly (10 mins or so). Then they will be interested in food. Simple scrambled egg ( ie with nothing else added) is very easy to digest so perhaps start your dog on this first.The effect of shutting down the pancreas does not last long. I took aspartame every time I ate
or drank absolutely anything.

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Wanda J. Glenna 2 years ago

I have heard that aspartame is toxic in dogs.

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Judy Flowers 3 years ago

Our. “Baby” dog has pancreatitis. She was diagnosed with it about a year and 1/2 ago. She’s been doing very well, but last week, it hit her pretty hard. Her kidney functions were high, 95, and the next day her doctor got them down to 60, which I know they like for them to be around 30. We brought her home today, and I’m trying to get her to eat, as she hasn’t eat in several days. She drinks a ton of water, and has since we got her home. I’ve gave her the hills kidney care wet food, her Fresh Pet in beef, instead of her chicken, boiled her some chicken, and she still won’t eat. I’m wondering if there is ANYTHING that I could maybe sprinkle on her food to draw her closer to at least, smell it !!!??? She is shaking a lot, but I think that may be some of the steroids her vet gave her. Over the last 5 days that she was there, she got a lot. It’s killing me, NOT seeing her eat. Any suggestions???!!!!!

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Lyn Harvey Judy Flowers 3 years ago

I've been boling 5% fat turkey mince along with boiled brown rice, both dogs wolf it down, the older of which suffers from pancreas issues. Make sure the rice is boiled so its very soft

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Jane Judy Flowers 3 years ago

So sorry for your dog I hope she started eating however when my dogs gets that way I force feed her a bite or two which gets her to start eating on her own

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Cheese Judy Flowers 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Mel04 Judy Flowers 10 months ago

Baby food via syringe if needed. That is what I give to my dog. Gerber chicken or Turkey (not the beef as it has lemon juice concentrate on it), or beechnut brand chicken, beef or turkey.

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Will2030 3 years ago

Thank you for hte article! It's really good

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Philippa Adshead 4 years ago

I rescued a 8 year Cavelier King Charles spaniel 2 years ago. He had a malignant tumour removed and now has terminal adrenal cancer. He had an operation to remove it last July but the operation was abandoned because his blood pressure went sky high so he is now on Phenoxybenzamine. In March he developed congenital heart failure so he is also on 40mg Furosemide twice daily.
3 months ago is started with diarrhoea so the vet put him on Royal Canine gastrointestinal food. After many visits the vet finally took blood and poo samples. Alfie has now been diagnosed with Chroic Pancreatitis, campylobacter and cryptspiridium for which he has been prescribed the antibiotic Erythromycin. I am following vet advice and feeding him Royal Canin low fat gastrointestinal canned food which he ate with gusto at first. However he is now refusing to eat it and hasn't had a proper feed since Sunday. I am at my wits end and ould welcome any advice about I can feed him which wont affect his Pancreatitis.
Thank you

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Cheese Philippa Adshead 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Cathy Fitzpatrick 4 years ago

Thank you just waiting on Blood results taken today
Bria is a field Labrador aged 10 and half years old ( birthday in October )
she has had Gastro, (*Gastro Enteritis* 2 weeks ago,) Colitis, in the past Vets are now re checking again for any other symptoms. Great information for dog lovers....

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Lynn Tearse 5 years ago

Last year I developed acute pancreatitis myself after surgery to remove gallstones. A friend of mine who is a research scientist advised me to drink Diet Coke before every meal because it contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. Phenylalaline is a component of aspartame which causes the pancreas temporarily to shut down enzyme production. Shutting down enzyme production allows the pancreas to rest and recover until the inflammation settles, while you may continue to eat and drink normally. Not only does appetite return, it is stimulated. The effect on me was almost immediate: the nausea and pain disappeared I stopped vomiting and I had a very healthy appetite. I was in hospital at the time, and the drop in pancreatic enzyme production was tracked in my blood tests. I continued with the aspartame for a couple of months until my pancreas healed. When our Westie Heidi developed pancreatitis we consulted with the vet and the Veterinary Poisons Advice Service to check for any possible adverse effects, and we worked out a safe dose of Canderel for her (1 qtr teaspoon Canderel dissolved in 20ml of water. Administer orally with a syringe before every meal.) It worked its magic on her too. Take care to supplement the dog's diet with pancreatic enzymes (given that you are deliberately shutting the pancreas down). Preferably feed a fresh food diet of low fat protein (chicken, turkey, white fish), leafy greens and legumes, blitzed in the food processor to aid digestion. Include a small amount of high quality fat such as fish oil or coconut oil to stimulate the gallbladder. We've talked about this to human and animal doctors but apart from the docs on the ward when I was in hospital who witnessed my transformation, they remain skeptical. There are scientific studies which describe this effect of phenylalaline, so the evidence is there.

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Chinmayi Mehta Lynn Tearse 3 years ago

Hi Lynn, I just read your account of how you treated your dog with pancreatitis with Canderel (aspartame). I live in India, and have a senior dog (30 kgs or 66 lbs) who suffered from acute pancreatitis 2 weeks ago. She was on the drip every day for 8 days. Then we started her on prescription GI food (increased incrementally every day). After 4 days of eating well, she suddenly relapsed yesterday and we've had to begin the IV drip again. I am now concerned that once we re-start her on food, she should not get another relapse. Is there any more information you can give me on how you went about it? We don't get Canderel in India, but we get Equal which also has aspartame. You have mentioned that you gave 1/4 of a teaspoon to your Westie; however my dog is about 3 times the weight of a Westie. So how did you go about working on the dosage? Any info that you can give me on this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Lynn Tearse Chinmayi Mehta 3 years ago

Hi ChinmayiAn adult person takes 1-2 teaspoons of canderel with a cup of tea or coffee, and this amount is more than enough to shut down the pancreas. We gave Heidi one eighth of this amount. I would try your dog with a half teaspoon sprinkled over food if appetite is ok. If not eating, dissolve in 20ml of water and administer with an oral syringe. Feed your dog two small meals of very low fat eg boiled chicken per day. Gradually introduce small amounts of fat such as coconut oil after a couple of weeks if she is responding well. Continue the sweetener for at least two months. Don't be tempted to stop the sweetener too soon even if all symptoms of pancreatitis have gone. The pancreas takes a long time to heal. Buy a pancreatic enzyme supplement as soon as you can, to support nutrition until you stop the sweetener. It's probably a good idea to continue with the enzymes even after stopping the sweetener, to continue to support digestion, especially given that your dog is senior.Let me know how it goesVery best wishesLynn

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Chinmayi Mehta Lynn Tearse 3 years ago

Hi Lynn,Thanks for your prompt reply. We fed my Molly (that’s my dog) just 25 grams of canned GI food today, but she could not sustain it. So her pancreas definitely are going to take a long time to heal. You had mentioned in your article that there are scientific studies which describe the effect of phenylalaline. Do you have any links to any of these scientific studies? If you do, could you please send it on to me (so I can show my vet). That would be much appreciated.
Warm Regards,
Chinmayi

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Lynn Tearse Chinmayi Mehta 3 years ago

Hi I will forward some studies but don't hesitate to give Molly the aspartame in the meantime. It worksKind regardsLynn

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Lynn Tearse Chinmayi Mehta 3 years ago

Hi ChinmayiHow is Molly?My scientist friend read a study on the effects of aspartame carried out for Coca Cola in the 1980s which referred to this side effect. This study does not appear to have been uploaded onto the web. Any references you might Google are all negative, but bear in mind that these studies measure the effects of massive amounts of aspartame administered in animal studies. There is only one caveat to giving your dog or anyone aspartame: a rare condition called phenylketonuria (PKU), an inability to metabolise phenylalanine. You would know if your dog had this condition.Ever since my experience in hospital, and then subsequently with my dog Heidi, I have wanted to share my friend's discovery. I became very disheartened and disillusioned at the skepticism I met. My friend's endocrinologist friends keep asking him to write about the people he has helped, but no one is interested in conducting clinical trials, presumably because aspartame is widely available so there is no money to be gained by repurposing it as a drug to treat pancreatitis. Like my friend, I only have anecdotal evidence.It's such a simple solution to an awful illness. It is up to you but you really have nothing to lose in trying this with your dog.Very best wishesLynn

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Chinmayi Mehta Lynn Tearse 3 years ago

Hello Lynn,Thanks for asking about Molly. 2 days ago a feeding tube was inserted into her, since her pancreas (and other corelated stomach issues) need more time to heal. So she is getting nutrition through the feeding tube and through IV and nothing orally as of yet. I also couldn't really find any studies on the subject of the effect of aspartame on regulating the pancreas. As of now, I will wait till Molly is able to have food orally.Warm regards,
Chinmayi

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Lynn Tearse Chinmayi Mehta 3 years ago

I wish you and Molly the very best. Give her the Equal as soon as you can, dissolved in water.Kindest regardsLynn

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Sarah Black 5 years ago

My dog a miniature Poodle was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis in Spain a week ago. Amazing service. Saw his own vet immediately on return home.They decided not to treat him but carry on with his non fat diet. I am feeding him Hills prescription digestive and also chicken with rice and sweet potato.
I just have no idea how much he should be eating? Originally it was a can of dried food over six meals per day. He is much better and have him down to slightly larger portions 4 meals daily. What weight of food should he have daily?

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Cheese Sarah Black 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Pam 5 years ago

Hi. My dog has just been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. Can she have barbecued chicken with the skin removed and tinned tuna?

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Jo P 5 years ago

Hi, I have a 5 year old male cocker spaniel who was diagnosed with pancreatitis earlier this month. Not sure what caused it as he was on a raw diet (which was very low fat) never scavenged and was a fit and healthy dog. Not overweight and weighing 11.5kg so just under what a cocker should be, but he’s so active he never sits still.
After diagnosis one of the vets didn’t recommend that I give raw food (I won’t go into that argument) and suggested Chappie instead. I have worried myself that I may have introduced something in his raw diet that caused this and so am very wary about going back onto raw & have gone with the vets advice to get him back on track.
He’s not had another attack (touch wood) and I have been feeding him 3-4 times a day a tin and a half of chappie. He has carrots, fish sticks or cooked chicken as a treat (mainly if I go out and leave him - was always a raw treat before) but am Conscious that he has to have low fat now. When he came
Out of the vets after stopping in & being on fluids he had understandably lost weight and weighed 11.1kg.
I have been back today as I’m so worried about him as he is losing more weight and is skin and bone. It actually looks like I’m starving him. He was weighed and is now 10.8kg. The
Vet didn’t seem overly concerned however it can’t be right that he is this thin. Any recommendations for a food that I can give him that would also put some weight on (just to get him back to where he was before all this and so he doesn’t feel like he will break) would be appreciated. I must add he is happy in himself and wagging his tail like a crazy cocker and doesn’t seem down or depressed or anything like that. So food suggestions are welcome.
Thanks

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Nancy Jo P 2 years ago

Hi, Our vet, too, advised Chappie and so far our 3 year old miniature labradoodle is recovering well from pancreatitis. It's cheap and, most importantly, does the job so we will be sticking to that. Many years ago I had a golden retriever who, due to a genetic condition, had to have an enzyme supplement and was also prescribed Chappie. This combination also managed her condition. It's been recommended by vets for years and, in my experience, for good reason. If it ain't broke... Good luck!

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Cheese Jo P 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Sola Scriptura 5 years ago

THE BACKSTORY: My 13-year old dog -- a 35 lb. Jack Russell and Beagle mix ("Jack-A-Bee") had pancreatitis two years ago when I ran out of his home-cooked boiled white chicken meat that I've always made him, exclusively. In a pinch, fed him leftover pot roast with too much of the gravy. He had a bad bout of vomiting, but quickly recovered after being administered antibiotics and IV hydration. From then on, he was vulnerable to a relapse so I made sure to never give him anything too fatty. He got a lot of treats (Pupperoni and Milk Bone) and a few scraps here and there, as well as yogurt on occasion. Then, in November, he had ended up with advanced, undetected pancreatitis that became so infected that the infection broke off from the site and traveled to his brain, causing a stroke. He lost control of his body, spun around a few times, vomited, and was in shock. He had "doll eyes". Long story short, the vet put him on antibiotics, hydrated him, and gave him anti-nausea meds, including antacid. He bounced back in two days by and large, but it took a good month before he could come down the staircase, so we had it blocked for weeks. He had a noticeable head tilt for a few months that I do not notice any longer. But, as strong as he is he is a bit unstable. His entire life I gave him boiled plain white chicken.THE DIET CHANGE: Now I cook low-fat Ground Turkey for one hour in some water. Before serving, I strain it in a small plastic strainer with very hot tap water until it is very dry. I then mix it with freshly cooked sweet potato and cooked oatmeal. I nuke both. I used to feed him only at night. Now I break it up between a late-morning breakfast and early evening dinner. He loves it and is doing well. I do not give him snacks any longer. I was eating an orange the other day and he really wanted it, so I have him one sliver of a clementine (after Googling it and getting the okay). Well, at 5:30 am he vomited violently, spun around a few times (as if he was chasing his tail) and collapsed into the furniture. I thought he was having another stroke. I noticed that the vomit has a lot of orange ;pulp in it and that the vomit was very acidic. He was miserable and heaving. I gave him an ant acid that I had left over from November (Fomodidine - which is for humans and is not FDA approved, but vets prescribe it anyway). He was 100% better in ten minutes and went straight to sleep. That was almost 3 days ago and he is completely fine. I ran to Target to pick up more Fomodidine (10 mg. - $4) just to have on hand. I called the vet first and the tech said it was safe to give him.I feel bad that he missed getting snacks, but I need to speak to the vet to get some ideas. I also do not want to get him wanting snacks all the time. His weight is good, but he's not extremely active, so I do not want him to put weight on. I'm just glad that he is fine now. He has an amazing ability to recover quickly, which tells me that he is very healthy aside from his pancreatitis flair ups that I hope will never happen again.Good luck everyone with your sweeties!

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Kate Plumb 5 years ago

I have a 3 1/2 year old sprocker who as we speak is at the vets on various iv meds to try and get under control the pancreatitis. I am sure now he has had a few minor flair ups previously but we managed to control with pain killers and swapping normal food for chicken and rice. I am really concerned as he is so young that this condition will just get worse and worse. Any advise or anyone with a young dog being affected? Thank you.

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Kathy Mcbride 6 years ago

Please help my 13 year old dog has been diagnosed with pancreatis. Not typical presentation but has been treated with iv antibiotics, iv fluids iv anti emetics, enzymes + an anti acid. We are home to see if we can try + get him to eat. He is skeletal, very lethargic + just wanders around. Vet's said if no better by tomorrow it might be kinder to put him to sleep. I am heart broken. We have tried all kinds of food but refuses. Has anyone any ideas. I'm just heart broken. Heard that baby food rub into his lips might help xx

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Julie Johnson Kathy Mcbride 6 years ago

Hi, my girl was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis at aged 10. She was off her food, but my vet explained that the condition is extremely painful for them when they are having a flair up! As soon as I see signs of her air gulping or lip licking, then I have been told to give her tramadol. I have had to do this on 3 occasions and each time I find if I rub her tummy until the tablets kick in then it all helps! Once the pain meds have done their thing she is much brighter and will then happily eat. She has been fed Burns all her life, but was trained in obedience with cheese, sausage and other high fat meats. I believe its the Burns diet that has prevented her from having an acute attack thankfully!

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Janine Hatcher 6 years ago

Hi All. I have a 12 year old Chocolate Labrador who has been diagnosed recently (last week) with pancreatitis. The vet has given me the prescription diet food but she wont eat this so I changed her over to chappie (wet) and she was fine for a few days. Now she is not really eating anything, have even tried rice and chicken. I went back to the vets yesterday and he didn't seem too bothered about lack of eating and has made me another appointment for a weeks time. I am personally really worried as all Labs owners will know they are usually not fussy and will eat anything. Along with lack of food, she is tired all the time and refuses to take her medication. Any advice would be appreciated

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Susan Molyneux Janine Hatcher 6 years ago

Hi my 12yr old male staffie is suffering with pancreatitis at present. Not very nice at all as you know. He's been on drips at vets over 4 days and home at nights. On pain relief anti sickness and antibiotics. Sickness has stopped thank goodness. sleeping lots but I've managed to get him eating again. Bone broth homemade with oxtail (every bit of fat removed) with veg. Let it cool and hopefully your dog will lap it up has mine does. No more tinned foods for us. Good luck. Hope this helps a little. Also use chicken for bone broth. He as white fish too. 3 small meals a day. He's so much more lively now

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Kathy Mcbride Janine Hatcher 6 years ago

How is your wee dog. Did you get him to eat x

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Jason 6 years ago

I have a border terrier who has suffered from reoccurring colitis for years, (due to a colon deformity and being highly strung), and in the last few months has had pancreatitis around four times, (finally broke the cycle of one triggering the other just before Christmas!). Anyway, a fussy eater at the best of times, (if you discount fox poo and grass! Has to be watched), after numerous attempts with some very costly low fat foods, I managed to get him on Chappie dry by adding a desert spoon of Weight Watchers chicken soup whilst he was ill, and now he's well, he'll now eat it dry. I'm greatly relieved that A. He's back to his stroppy self, and B. This budget manageable solution works out. We all love our hounds, but some of us don't have the means to continuously sustain the specialised foods, and even though he's on a Premier insurance, unless it's prescription, they won't pay for it.

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Cheese Jason 2 years ago

Pancreatic Enzymes in powder form can help tremendously. Google it, pancreatic enzyme powder for dogs and it will give you some options to choose. All the Best.

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Clare Boitelle 6 years ago

Help. My Bedlington Terrier Iris had an acute pancreanitis and has made a good recovery on homecooked smaller frequent meals. I think she's ready to go back to her usual food but I'm really anxious. She has Forthglade meals and I'll be giving her the lowest fat one ie chicken or turkey around 7% Fat. Do you think there are better choices. She won't eat kibble.

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Sabina Clare Boitelle 5 years ago

Hi Clare, my dog is 3 now and diagnosed with pancreatitis last year. Interestingly enough she was also on Forthglade at the time. Having looked into it more I discovered that the levels of fat and protein are too great for smaller dogs despite their feeding guidelines. I now home cook her food. So she’ll either have boiled chicken breast, white fish or turkey breast (better than brown meat) with swede/greens. She has a small handful of her Hills I/D prescription biscuits before bed. I learnt it’s good not to keep their bellies too empty for too long (little and often). She also has a tablespoon of goat natural yoghurt every day before bed and during the day. So far, fingers crossed so good. I’m still convince the Forthglade tipped her over the edge but as a dog parent it’s hard to know that the ingredients are actually accurate and sure that like us, all dogs are different and react to ingredients differently. I hope you’ve found something that works for your little girl :)

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Samlilo 6 years ago

Hello, I am new in this web site, I want to share my experience. I own a frenchie, she’s now 14th and she soffred from chronic pancreatitis since two years now. I change her the food and she have no problems since. I leave in France and I find , only at the vet, this food brand: Hills prescription diet- digestive care, i/d low fat.
They have dry treats and can of meat, I give her twice a day , but the second time I don’t add the meat. She don’t vomite anymore ans she are in good healt and shape. I don’t know, but I think this brand can be easily find in internet. Its a little bit expensive ; at my vet 12kg cost me 81€ , but my little furry princess she’s ok now, and that what matter to me.

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lady4donna Samlilo 6 years ago

I have a 16 year old miniature poodle. They are prone to getting pancreatitis. She had her 1st bout when 9 years old. She is on the Hills prescription - I/D low fat (chicken & stew wet food) and low fat kibbles (dry food) for older dogs. As long as I refrain from giving her any fatty foods - she stays in remission.

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Rebecca Taylor 6 years ago

My poor dog has suffered this condition in the last 24 hours as a result of having been on prescribed veterinary diet for too long. She's had chronic psoriasis and was therefore put on a diet to help that but it is so high in fats that she now has pancreatic problems. I'd like to know if there is a wheat free food that is good for both conditions.

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Suzanne Cardiff 6 years ago

My senior boy was just diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis after a year of episodes and no answers. He is vegetarian and now on a homemade diet. (The dry kibble was too hard to digest and now his teeth are ruined from vomiting over the past year) the no/low fat diet is a challenge. I'm trying to learn about foods and what to offer him. Sweet potatoes and green beans seem to really agree with him. I'm working on the protein. Beans seem to be a challenge to process for him in the past. We might try lentils next. Egg whites have gone over well. Starting to notice a trend of processed foods being the worst triggers.
He has to be constantly watched. One stolen mouthful of cat food and he crashes. Hopefully I can get him on track so he can enjoy his senior years again and get back to being active.

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Mel Stepney Suzanne Cardiff 6 years ago

Why is he vegetarian? Is there a medical reason as dogs are meant to be carnivores.

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Suzanne Cardiff Mel Stepney 6 years ago

That's not true. They are omnivores. There's are so many dogs in the world thriving on veg (vegetarian or vegan) diets. He does very well. Both my dogs do. And it's probably what has saved him. This was written a while back. Since then we've consulted with a pet nutritionist and balanced his diet with supplements bc he can not eat any fats.
Also discovered the f
Digestive enzymes he was in was slowly killing him. He's doing great since stopping them. 😁

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Cathy Fitzpatrick Suzanne Cardiff 4 years ago

interesting I never knew so many foods were bad for our 4 legged friends

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Helen Luis Cathy Fitzpatrick 4 years ago

Strange how all those canines in the wild eat meat and thrive. Actually omivore means they eat everything including meat - Vegetarian means plant matter only - this deprives the dog of much of what it needs. Why have an omnivore pet when you won't feed meat. Get a tortoise - they'll thrive on a vegetable based diet.

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Maggie Vicaire Suzanne Cardiff 2 years ago

hi suzanne, i know this was a long time ago but if by chance you get this, what digestive enzymes was your dog on? my dog has chronic pancreatitis as well and was given probiotics by my vet. thanks!

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Janet Alston 6 years ago

Ozzy had it once after having some left over brisket one Sunday. It was too greasy for him. Vet have him an injection and advised Gaviscon until he was better! I am now very careful what I give him!

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lovebobbi 6 years ago

what about just feeding meat? Liver, Chicken, beef, etc? Is that healthy? What if I add coconut oil and salmon oil. Should I still add sweet potatos, pumpkin and some veggies?

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Vicki Wolf 7 years ago

We have seen a marked improvement in customer's dogs with pancreatitis on Gentle, and it now comes in a small bite formula. Ring them for a sample or try your local independent pet shop.

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Frankthe Cat 7 years ago

some of the basic information written by the author is plain wrong. don't trust what is written here

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All About Dog Food Frankthe Cat 7 years ago

Hi Frankthe Cat and thanks for posting. We're always looking for ways to improve so if you highlight what you are unhappy with, I will gladly look into it. Feel free to email me directly at info@allaboutdogfood.co.uk

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lovebobbi Frankthe Cat 6 years ago

Why would you just say they are wrong without following up on what they are wrong about and correcting them for ALL the people you are aiming at when you warn us they are "plain wrong"? That does me and all the other readers absolutely ZERO good.

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Frankthe Cat lovebobbi 6 years ago

as with most of this site there is no science behind most of it, at least not real science, and encouraging people to withhold food is merely the worst of the culprits in this article. the amount of potentially dangerous advice in each article and the extra information which can be read the wrong way is extensive. the entire site seems written by somebody with a soapbox to stand on.

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lovebobbi Frankthe Cat 6 years ago

okay but get this.....My own vet had me withhold food from my Yorkie when he just got sick recently. She gave him a bolus. Then we went home with anti nausea and anti diarrhea pills and withholding food but not withholding water. When I was to start refeeding it was supposed to be chicken breast with rice. So considering my own vet orders that when I read that in some article it doesn't raise any red flags. And anyway, all I know it is worked and my Yorkie is back up and running. What I'm looking to learn is a good homemade diet plan to avoid another acute pancreatitis attack altogether.

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Jay Bow Frankthe Cat 6 years ago

Frankie, I wholeheartedly disagree with you. Everything I read here is what my Vet has told me.
My 13 yo Jack Russell is now recovering from a severe bout of pancreatitis. I still don't know what caused it as I don't feed any table scraps. My Vet had me withhold food for about 30 hours, she was/still is getting fluids daily, and is being weened back on food by way of chicken breast and rice with Science Diet ID Digestive Care canned food smooshed with water to make a gravy. She is also on Cerenia for vomiting, Famotidine to block stomach acid, Sucralfate for intestinal bleeding, Metronidazole an antibiotic, and Pro-pectalin Tabs for diarrhea. It's been a week since her symptoms began. At one point, I was ready to stop her suffering as she was truly in a lot of pain. My Vet asked me to wait one day, and I'm really glad I did. My dog is certainly much better, but not out of the woods yet. I came to this forum in my research for a good quality food that I can mix with a homemade diet. Anyone with a brain can read this forum and get good info. It's up to them to do the research, talk to their vet before coming to final conclusions. At least this forum is a good place to start and read what others have found in their experiences.

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sandra porter Jay Bow 2 years ago

Hi jay my little boy just spent overnight in vet with a cute pancreatic I'm fluids and antibiotic drip he is slowly improving but also was told by vet science diet for pancreatic disease no fatty foods or dairy or rice just steamed chicken and break his meals into 4 small serves a day ,he's still very lethargic but no vomiting or diahorea I hope your furbaby recovers well

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Barbara Walker 7 years ago

My Lhasa Apso has had all the blood work and scans and investigations done which confirms pancreatitis. Our vet has recommended James Wellbeloved Turkey and rice kibble complete with some of the same wet food mixed. Our dog hates it and sneakes the cat kibble Purina One if you are not quick enough. Can you suggest a suitable food to try him on and whether there are any samples available. I have spent ££ on the recommend food which I will donate to a dog charity. Help, my dog is so fussy and it's worrying me that he is not liking the recommended food. We have persevered with him for nearly three weeks now. I have even tried spoon feeding him the wet product with little success.

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Ruth Barbara Walker 7 years ago

My girl has had pancreatitis for years, and there are quite a few commercial foods that I've found low enough in fat, the best ones being Wainwrights light kibble (from Pets at Home) which is fishy flavour, Chappie complete dry (chicken or beef, but big biscuits), and just about any Burns kibble (££!) - all less than 10% fat. In terms of meat she can have just about any Butchers/Chappie/Winalot as most are only 5ish% fat content. May be worth asking your vet first just in case there was a specific reason he/she suggested JWB.

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Barbara Walker Ruth 7 years ago

Thank you. I have a sample of Gentle dog kibble coming for him to try but if he doesn't like that I will give your suggestions a try. Many thanks for you help.

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webfoot Barbara Walker 7 years ago

Hi Barbara
Please make sure you convert the wet food to dry weight matter first as most 'lower fat' tins actually work out at around 18% fat. My boy loves Denes light tins which I thought were 4% fat but actually it turns out they are equivalent to a whopping 18.1%. I'm having to stick to Applaws tins which are 1.7% fat and natures menu frozen fruit and vegetable nuggets mixed in 1.3% fat. Check the actual fat contents of the tins on this site, it states the actual fat content. Fat content for pancreatitis should be as low as possible. Some vets state 3%!! I try for 5%. This can go up when your baby has recovered. Hope this helps.

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Kate Barbara Walker 6 years ago

My rescue springer has chronic pancreatitis and used to have flare ups regularly. I tried the prescription foods but he hated them and would steal the cats' food. A friend recommended tails.com and I have to say this has changed his life. He still has has one attack in six months - at one point we were at the vets every 3-4 weeks and is much happier in himself. His coat has also improved dramatically. I had tried all sorts of diets including raw food, BARF and prescription diets but the food from tails.com is the only one I've found that works.

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Tiddy Hamilton 7 years ago

my 8 moth old spaniel has high blood sugar levels after being spayed , could be diabetes , can anyone reccomend a good food for her ,she is loosing weight , most dogs with diadetes are older and over weight,??

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LocalNumberFife Tiddy Hamilton 7 years ago

Firstly - check with your VET to ensure that it's not a disease or condition....Try Gentle Dog Food http://www.allaboutdogfood.....
I sell it, I use it, I recommend it. As the name suggests - it's designed to be 'gentle' on the stomach, but unlike many of the 'vet specials' - it still has all the vital nutrients for doggy health. If you do try it - then do NOT overfeed. Weigh the food carefully based on the 'ideal' weight for your dog. If you have any problems then please contact Gentle dog food for a personal reply. www.gentledogfood.co.uk info@gentledogfood.co.ukAlso avoid feeding 'human food' and cheap dodgy treats.

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J Oliver 7 years ago

Great to see Country Kibble Grain Free Senior being suitable, lots of my friends dogs have this issue, at least if I do I can stick with the food my dog likes!

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