New Member/Diabetic/Pancreatitis

[Emmamoo]

Hi everyone!

I have an 11 year old Yorkie called Moo she’s been diabetic for a year and also has had pancreatitis (as a result of the diabetes) and CHF - we nearly lost her this time last year to Ketoacidosis - she has been on a diet of Royal Canin Low Gastro Intestinal & Chicken but I’m not happy with the Royal Canin and I’m looking for members suggestions - the issue I have is she needs low fat (round about 10%) but low carbohydrates (for diabetes) and no grains - I’m having a huge issue finding a good quality food that takes into account all of those parameters! Does anyone have any ideas about food I could use for her or who has been in a similar situation?

Many thanks for your help

[Dottie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. We have a thread on pancreatitis here.  Hopefully it will be of use to you. 

Low fat food is usually high in carbohydrate and I don't know of any products that will meet the criteria that you are requesting.  There are two types of carbohydrate, simple and complex - link. Complex carb is helpful in diabetes control. You say that you are looking for grain free - is there any reason for this? The reason that I ask is that brown rice is one of a group of complex carbohydrates so may be suitable. It is also a good source of fibre.  Grain free foods frequently contain white potato which is classed as a simple carb. Perhaps you should discuss this with the vet because using the right type of carbohydrate could be an important factor in good control of the diabetes.

Have you narrowed down the choice of foods using the filters on the Dog Food Directory? I have just experimented using type of food - dry/wet/raw/fresh. Under 'avoid ingredients', I selected no red ingredients and set the fat slider to 10%. This revealed three pages of products. I cannot give you a link so you need to try this for yourself. I haven't checked each product but they will probably all have higher than average carbohydrate.  Adding the filter ‘Grain free’ under Food properties reduces the list to just four products.

Please check with your veterinary surgeon before making any changes.