[Amber C]

I’m a vet tech and I have a 11 year old poodle named Molly who has Diabetes. Her vet prescribed Purina’s Prescription DCO (Diabetes/Colitis) Dry Formula food for her, and it works great. She loves it. I allow her to free feed and then she gets her insulin twice a day. She is recovering from an exploratory laparotomy to remove an obstruction and her 3rd case of pancreatitis in her life. (The first case damaged her pancreas so severely that it caused the diabetes) The 2nd and 3rd cases of pancreatitis were secondary to an obstruction. The DCO is very high in fiber and low in carbs that would convert to glucose. She is able to maintain a fairly low dose of insulin. She is about 9lbs and normally gets 6.5 units BID. I would definitely recommend it!

[Susan]

Hi Keith are your 100% that there’s nothing wrong with her stomach or pancreas?? & had her check out by a good vet & had all the test done, what about when you are cooking & you give her some of the foods you eat but bland low fat foods like Turkey Breast, Tuna or Salmon, boiled egg all mushed up banana mashed up mixed with some boiled potatoes.. normally when a dog has stomach pain after eating they will stop eating, a lot of dogs with IBD or Pancreatitis will stop eating cause of the pain associated with food…I forgot there is medications they can take to increase their appetite but I cant remember their names …..join this group on Face Book called “Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease” there’s a few dogs on that site that don’t eat, post a post & ask for the names of the medications that increase a dogs appetite that they use, I know a you can buy some of them online..

[Phil L]

I have an eight-year old Welsh Terrier that has a history of both pancreatitis and calcium oxalate bladder stones. He’s been on several Science Diet Prescription Dog foods, like W/D Dry and I/D Low Fat Canned, and neither have prevented either the stones or the pancreatitis. Most experts say the food treatment for one condition is diametrically opposed to the food treatment for the other. One post I read suggested mixing Evangers Chicken and Rice Canned with Wellness Core Low Fat Dry. Evangers food is not the Editors’ Choice List, but Wellness Core Reduced Fat is. Does anyone have a suggestion to replace the Evangers, or does anyone have a completely different suggestion for a food or foods that would be okay for both conditions? Thanks in advance!

[Jane E]

Please hold off on the spay,at this point it’s elective and not at all a priority. I understand your angst about invasive diagnostics but IMO that is the ONLY way to proceed…you have to have a definitive diagnosis to be able to know what to do next…anything less is too much trial and error. I had my Boxer bitch scoped (endoscopy and colonoscopy) a little after 2 and she’ll be to this May (IBS/colitis). It has been helpful to know how and what to feed her. We’ve had other GI issues along the way (hemmoragic gastritis,bowel resections,polyps,pancreatitis flares with the IBS…) but overall she has fared well and you’d never know to look at her she copes with illness. I’ve had success with Hill’s Ultra Z/D,Honest Kitchen Zeal and Force and home cooking….turkey and oatmeal and veggies run through the food processor.

[Elaine]

Susan,
Thanks for the info and link! It would be helpful to me if you or anyone else could tell me what percentages of protein, fat, etc., that I should be looking for with a diagnosis of “gastritis” which is pretty vague. Am I really dealing with a mild pancreatitis? The vet really seems to think his weight is the problem and thinks he’ll do much better when he loses 15 lbs. (I can agree to the 15 lbs but this dog is nowhere close to being fat.) She has recommended a GI diet (Royal Canin low fat GI) but I’d like to find a better low fat GI than RC. Will check out Dogpancreatitis. Thanks again.

[Susan]

Hi Elaine, there’s the Honest kitchen ZEAL http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal the fat is 8.5% a friend is feeding the Zeal & her dog is doing really well now, wet food is better then kibbles, as kibbles are harder to digest & can cause more acid reflux, I use liquid Mylanta 3ml in a syringe when Patch has his episodes, the Mylanta seems to work quicker & better for Patch ..Patch was put on Zantac 1 hour before food every 12 hours…you can always feed the R/C low fat GI for 3 months till he loses his weight then start feeding another food just until his Pancreas settles down….What was he eating last week when he has another episode?? maybe stop feeding it… is it high in protein, sometimes dog cant handle high protein diets, there’s a group on Yahoo called “Dogpancreatitis” they may also help

[Jennifer H]

I would still try it, personally. Do you know what ingredients he was sensitive to perhaps? I would just switch reaaallly slowly at first and watch for any signs that he isn’t tolerating it. Some companies will send samples of their food to you to try, so you don’t have to commit to a bag.

Finding multiple foods for him is a good idea in case there are ever formulation changes or recalls.

Some people switch cold turkey, but with his digestion issues imo a slower transition may be better for him. You could also look at adding probiotics/enymes to ease the transition, especially when you start out.

Ughhh I hate when vets do that! It’s like being sprayed with perfume at the mall. I’m actually in school for veterinary assisting and in our text book it has a chart for various diseases/conditions (ex: kidney failure, pancreatitis) and under recommended diet, every single one has some variation of Hills. Like no guidelines or anything about why to feed certain foods. The chart lasts like 5 pages. It’s insane.

[Elaine]

Hi Everyone,
Don’t know if I’m in the right forum here ’cause my 5 yr old Golden has not been diagnosed with pancreatitis.
The diagnosis is a vague “gastritis.” He has always had occasional bouts of regurgitating a clear slimy liquid sometimes including a little undigested kibble if he had just eaten. Eventually, I switched to a grain free kibble and there was a significantly less regurgitation for about a year. In December, he had an episode of extreme lethargy, listlessness, wasn’t inerested in food or anything else. The vet examined him but couldn’t find anything. The bloodwork came back normal for everything tested. The vet gave us famotidine, an antacid. In 24 hrs he was back to normal. Last week, he had a 2nd episode of the lethargy but this time he did want to eat. His stools were normal. The episode lasted 2 days. Again, the antacid improved things but he is still doing a little burping from time to time.
The vet wants to put him on the Royal Canin low fat GI. He needs to lose 15 lbs. Right now he eats Blue Wilderness Natural Evolutionary Diet – chicken recipe. He gets approx. 3.5 cups a day divided into 4 small meals.
The RC low fat GI gets such a low rating. I need a highly rated low fat diet that is good for dogs with gastritis.
Appreciate any advice.

[theBCnut]

As far as pork body part treats, like pig ears, they are part of the reason that pork got a bad name. If your 5-10 lb dog eats a whole pig ear, it might eat way too much fat and get pancreatitis. I don’t think that makes pork bad, but the owner of the small dog might.

What LM said about all the chemicals in them is very true of the cheap ones. They have some pretty awful stuff in them. There are natural ones. They cost more and you still have to make sure your dog doesn’t eat too much of them.

[Susan]

Hi Rebecca I haven’t read thru the post has anyone suggested the Honest Kitchen ZEAL the fat is 8.50% http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal scroll down a bit & you will see the Fat % Fiber % etc
a few dogs with Pancreatitis are on the Zeal & doing really well, if your on yahoo join a group called “dogpancreatitis” the lady that runs it Ann can help with low fat diets, I know Bella hasn’t got Pancreatitis but sometimes these groups are good for diets, there’s also Canine Cavier Special needs the fat is 9% min so its probably 11% max in fat so not really low…there’s also the “California Natural’ limited ingredient the Brown rice Lamb Meal weight management the fat is 7%min, the fiber is 3% the fiber isn’t high either like some weight management kibbles, their fiber is really high & you will need to feed more, but with the California Natural weight management just feed like you’d normally give & weigh Bella every 2 weeks & just see if Bellas weight is the same or dropping… thats what I do, I weight Patch weekly at Pet Barn.. California Natural also has the Nutrient Analysis & shows max % on everything which is really good.. also do you give one kibble for breakfast then a different kibble for dinner?? that’s what I do, I ask which one do you want & Patch picks what food he wants to eat also with the tin wet foods the fat has to be 2% & under, if it says 5% fat on the wet tin food that’s around 22% fat if it were a kibble…
http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/1131

[Brian S]

Hi there,
I have a 10 year old Staffordshire that was having recurring diarrhea. After her Xray showed up nothing and blood work showed calcium and protein deficiency plus raised white blood cells ,we knew there was a pretty major problem absorbing nutrients in her digestive tract,she had also lost a lot of weight.Without surgery and a biopsy ($1400 +) there was no way to know for certain but the vet thought it could be anything from pancreatitis to cancer.Ultimatelyshe was treated with anti-parasites and antibiotics to rule out those as a cause and then a course of steroids to reduce inflammation. The only food she could eat without getting diarrhea was Royal Canin gastro intestinal which of course is ridiculously expensive and here in Canada at least is only sold by vets. After much research I found that it wasnt because this was so low in fat that she could tolerate it but in fact because of the addition of a naturally occuring compound called Zeolite which Royal Canin add to the food. It is listed on their ingredients as Sodium aluminate silica. It works as a powerful anti-diarrheal and has also been tested with some success as an anti carcinogenic (http://www.researchgate.net/publication/11905741_Natural_zeolite_clinoptilolite_new_adjuvant_in_anticancer_therapy). The only other non-prescription dog foods that I can find that contain it are Royal Canin Sensitive digestion and Derma comfort which are available in pet stores.These are more affordable than the gastrointestinal one and do have higher fat and protein levels. You can also buy Zeolite as a food supplement online and that will be my next step.

[Susan]

Hi Mike, peanut butter TOTW marrow bones these are all HIGH in fat, Now that you know all this, you must keep her fat LOW Dogs can die from Pancreatitis….There’s a really good group on yahoo called “Dogpancreatitis” join the group, you will learn so much & there’s a few boxers in the group…. a few ladies in that group feed “Canine Cavier” Special Needs fat is 9% “Honest Kitchen” Zeal 8.5% fat….
you must stay 10% & under in fat for kibble, if you feed wet tin food stay 2% & under, wet is better for Pancreatitis, I even had to lower the Protein cause of acid reflux, some dogs with Pancreatitis will get Acid Reflux, being on a lower fat diet they will start to lose weight so increase the feed, I use to feed wet food for Breakfast then Kibble for lunch & dinner, to keep the weight on… You’ll work it out, Please read the Fat% in everything you put in Kolbies mouth,…
Love Boxers, I lost my girl 3 years ago to Mast Cell Tumors, so watch those lumps, You see a lump, Please have it tested, I didn’t…..

[Bobby dog]

Mike A:
I would ask your Vet what protein, fat, and fiber %’s to look for in a new food. Each dog with pancreatitis will have a different threshold for what they can tolerate. When you find a brand you like I suggest calling the manufacturer and asking what the maximum percentages of each are in the food; most times they only list minimums.

I feed lower fat kibbles to my dog to help maintain his ideal body condition. I am not sure if these foods would be appropriate for your dog, but here’s a few I feed Annamaet Lean, Nature’s Variety Healthy Weight, Wellness Core Weight Management, and Precise Holistic Complete Senior. For low fat canned foods I feed Wellness Core Reduced Fat, Innova Large Breed Sr., and Weruva’s Marbella Paella, Paw Lickin’ Chicken, and Bed and Breakfast recipes. I have Fromm’s Four Star Shredded Chic or Beef and Petsmart’s Simply Nourish bisque or stew foods on my list to try.

Here’s a few articles about pancreatitis:
http://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/dr-coates/2014/august/new-recommendations-feeding-dogs-pancreatitis-31941#
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2214
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I like Wysong, but my dog that has a sensitive stomach seems to do the best on Nutrisca dry (fish) with a little water added and a bite of cooked chicken or lean meat.
She has never been diagnosed with pancreatitis, however, she has allergies and can’t tolerate frozen beef marrow bones either. Consider what the homeopathic vets have to say too. http://www.vitalanimal.com

[Mike A]

Hi everybody, my name is Mike and Im an owner of a almost 3 year old Boxer. I’ve come here for advise on how to deal with pancreatitis.

So, as I mentioned before I have a Boxer named Kolbie and shes 3 years old and weighs in about 65 pounds. She has had an issue with an upset tummy, arched up back, drueling, and wont eat from time to time the past year or so. It always seemed to clear up by days end so we never thought too much of it and it didnt happen very often. As of late, the instances increased and she has since been diagnosed with pancreatitis. We were feeding her Taste of the Wild, and Mother Hubbard peanut butter flavored treats. We would also put peanut butter in her kong for her as an extra treat also and this was a daily thing. I would also give her marrow bones to chew on and have since learned the marrow is high in fat.
She has been on Purina HA now for almost 6 weeks as prescribed by our vet and we have cut out all the extra stuff and the pancreatitis episodes have stopped. I have been adding boiled chicken and rice to the food to make it more appetizing for her. I have noticed since being on the food she has lost about 3 pounds, her coat has dulled and she seems to be shedding more. I would like to get her off this food and back to a better diet but I have no idea where to start. A raw diet is not possible for me to do on a daily basis so I would like to feed her a high quality kibble and I dont mind adding boiled chicken and rice to it if thats a good thing to do.
I was going to put her back on TOTW and nix all the other fatty stuff but after reading the bad reviews from forum members I am reluctant. So I guess what I am getting at is I need some help to choose a quality food and treat to keep my pup healthy and happy.
Thanks for reading and I’ll be happy for any advise and suggestions.

[Susan]

Hi, the only thing they will find out thru blood work is if she has Pancreatitis, with Pancreatitis they are in a lot of pain, right side, under rib cage & they either lie with their front 2 legs stretched out & their bum in the air or sit in the praying position, if you touch around her Pancreatitis/stomach area they normally flinch & don’t like you touching that area, they vomit up their food, some dogs need to be put on a drip because of the vomiting & vomiting.. There’s no blood test for the stomach acid reflux…..

Ask your vet what would be the best test to do where we’ll get results, some vets don’t have to Endoscope equipment, so they don’t recommend doing it cause you’ll need to see another vet so they do all the other test first.. I went down the same road, started with medications & Patch seem like he was getting better then he started to vomit up his food, eat grass some mornings when he first woke up, burping after eating..then we’d have a few good days, so I thought, Oh he’s getting better…after trying medications things didn’t improve so I asked for fecal test, it came back no parasites…then I asked for CBC & A cpL test (Pancreatitis test) $230 results came back all good… months went by then Patch was ill again pain right side all the symptoms for Pancreatitis so this time I asked for an Ultra Scan $450 came back all good..we were back & forth to vets, I tried probiotic, which now Ive been told to stop & stop any foods with prebiotics (Beet pulp) I tried new diets, I lowered the fat% cause of his burping & acid reflux, I lowered the protein, it seemed to help..
I tried everything that people recommended…then I thought that’s it. I was sick of watching Patch suffer, in the beginning he’d just have 1 off day then after 1 & 1/2 year & after I tried a new diet Patch got worse, waking up burping up acid into his throat & burnt his throat, he couldn’t swallow, he was put on more meds Patches vet Sue wasn’t in so I got Johnathon the vet that loves steroids & Royal Canine vet diets Patches first vet at the Small Animal Hospital..Johnathon prescribed Prednisone Carafate & Losec for 3 weeks..I never gave the Prednisone cause I thought he has bad acid reflux already & prednisone is known to cause acid reflux with some people & animals…
I made a deal with myself if Patch isn’t better by his birthday 20/11/ 2014
I’m putting him to sleep, his birthday was the day I rescued him 20/10/2012

I had him for 2 years & we were always at the vet in the end Sue the vet would just ring me for free & ask hows Patch been doing, if I needed more meds she leave me a script & I’d just get Patches meds from my chemist real cheap cheaper then the vet charged….the only problem was Sue always wanted to open him up & do biopsies saying “its IBD the only way you’ll know is if we open him & do biopsies,” so I joined a IBD group & started asking question & the ladies said you don’t need to open Patch up just have the Endoscope & biopsies done & you will get some answers, so last December I went to my vet & booked Patch in with the best vet there Simon, Patch was diagnosed with Lymphocytic Gastritis & inflammation of the stomach cause the Helicobacter was left for so long vets think he has had the Helicobacter from a pup & caught it from his mom, Oh well he’s getting the treatment final after 6 years cause hes 6 years old now..

I did everything I could think to do, except one test, a Endoscope + biopsies that Johnathon Patches first vet suggested I do in the beginning but I changed vets to Sue & we went around & around in a circle, she just would ask “How’s Patches poo’s” I’d say really good, then she’d say “alright keep him on what your feeding him” I’d say BUT

It’s not that easy, LM just go to a 24hr vet & getting results there & then, the vet would just do a in house blood test, if the tests come back all good the vet normally just sends you home with some meds & a vet diet food probably the Hills I/d Low Fat restore & that’s it, you then have to go to your regular vet for a follow up..

I’m not saying Bella has the Helicobacter or stomach ulcers the 2 normally come together, but you will save money in the long run, going straight to the top & have an Endoscope + Biopsies & you will get results from the Biopsies & you’ll have a answer to all Bellas health problems & its sooooooooo stressful, Patch has become the son I lost years ago he’s my little boy & when he feels well & he’s not feeling sick, he’s a little monster, barks at me to get off the computer & take him for his 9.30 walk, runs up to any dog to say hello, gets bashed up sometimes, some little dogs bite or a cat karate chops him over the head, he just walks off wagging his tail, people say how healthy he looks shinny coat, you’d never know he has IBD…

[Susan]

Hi, I don’t understand WHY your vet put her on a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) “Omeprazole” first, before trying a H2 Blocker first like Zantac or Pepcid….he’s given Carafate that lines the stomach & must be only given on a empty stomach as it will just line any food in the stomach…be CAREFUL on any PPI’s, my vet explained to me how bad PPIs are if taken long term, you are making NO stomach acid & we need Stomach Acid in our stomachs to balance the pH, please read this link my vet told me I can give Patch Losec BUT for only up to 3 days then STOP, never take more then 4 weeks as you can not just stop taking a PPI, you will have awful pain, you feel like your stomach is going to exploded, cause you start making your stomach acid again & he comes back double amount.. I didn’t know all this & have been on Somac for 10years, I’m starting to reduce my 80mg a day dose, I tried just cutting my dose in half but the bad acid reflux was toooooooooo much & very painful, it was awful… http://refluxdefense.com/heartburn_GERD_articles/stomach-acid.html

A lower fat diet is best for Acid Reflux….. I would be booking to have a Endoscope done & Biopsies done, this way you will know what is happening & why this young pup is having all these symptoms, the vet should of recommended this…. I wish I did this first when I rescued my boy but for 1 & 1/2 years, we did blood tests, Ultra scan, test for Pancreatitis tests all came back good, a waste of money…finally Patch had Endoscope & Biopsies done December & he had what I was telling the vet from day 1, he had the Helicobacter infection, vomiting of a morning, always feeling sick, burping acid reflux, sloppy poos, sometimes diarrhea…..poor boy, he was put on triple therapy antibiotics for 3 weeks Metronidazole, Amoxicillin & Zantac to kill the Helicobacter cause my vet does not like using PPI, Losec is normally used but Ranitidine (Zantac) works just aswell without all the side effects from a PPI… I would be using a liquid ant acid like Mylanta or Pepto they work quick… also wet food is better then dry kibble, a low fat diet like turkey breast mince….. in a wet tin food fat must be 2% & under…if you do decide to have a Endoscope done make sure you have the biopsies done as they can tell you so much, when the vets looked down Patches throat & stomach everything look excellent, no scarring from ulcers nothing…

Patch got stomach pain from the Losec, green sloppy poos & his food just sat in his stomach cause he had no stomach acids to digest his food properly & a weird smell came out of his mouth, so I stopped the Losec, put him on Zanatc or use Mylanta when needed only, I changed his diet to a lower fat, Hypoallergenic, Gluten free diet….that just has rice & no grains no lentils or legumes….
you can give slippery elm or Manuka Honey…Slippery Elm is excellent for the stomach…Manuka honey is excellent for acid reflux, u put a little bit of the Manuka honey on small piece of white breed & take 1/2hr before eating…. if you join this F/B group this whole week we have been talking about Acid Reflux in dogs, the F/B group is called “Dogs with Inflammatory Disorders” you will learn so much & everyone is friendly & NICE…..here’s another Link, explaining how Carbohydrates cause GERDs especially if your dog has a intolerance to a carb say Legumes, lentils, barley,oats etc you can get real bad acid reflux…..

[theBCnut]

Your dog’s symptoms do not sound like pancreatitis, they sound like acid reflux and possibly IBS. Your vet is treating for acid reflux. Often this is caused by a food intolerance and a generally unhealthy gut. My dog with these issues can’t eat any grains of any kind or he starts having these problems. He also has issues with other ingredients, but the grains cause the acid reflux for him. Start looking at ingredient lists and try to figure out what ingredients his problem foods have in common. I also had to add a little apple cider vinegar, probiotics, and digestive enzymes to my dog’s food to get him straightened out, but he never has issues at all anymore unless I feed him one of his trigger foods.

[RebeccaRose]

Hello, my Shih Tzu is 2 years old & always had digestive issues. Please bear with me & this long post as I give you some history on her first:

She weighs 15 pounds. She is fed a total of 3/4th cup of food daily broken up into three meals, so about a 1/4 cup of food per meal. She is current on all vaccinations.

She has had vomiting issues and diarrhea issues but not together. About a year ago she was vomiting bile each morning. The Vet suggested I break her meals up into 3 with the last being at bedtime. And that worked great, after that just a random vomit here & there. I will say though if I forget or am late for one of those feedings for whatever reason, within an hour or two she will vomit. So I try to be very good to stay on schedule with her meals.

She was on Wellness Core for puppies, then when she turned 1 yr old I put her on Wellness Complete Health Small Breed and she did great on that for about a year… then she started refusing to eat it. So I switched her to 4Health Small Bites this past January. After a few weeks of success on the 4Health I also added a small spoonful of the 4Health canned Chicken & Vegetable Stew. She has done well on this since then, with a few random vomiting episodes for example: once I was late getting home for her middle feeding a couple weeks ago. And another time I tried giving her a spoonful of a different flavor of 4Health’s canned. She almost immediately threw that up.

The diarrhea she’s had in the past has been what we think was caused by stress as it was almost always after a groomer visit. But it would not resolve on its own I always had to take her into the Vet. She was given metronidazole and Albon but we finally figured out that a spoonful of pumpkin on grooming day & maybe a day or two afterward worked like a charm. She is a very nervous dog at both the vet & groomer & varies noises at home also.

So this morning she threw up while I was preparing her breakfast. I thought it might just be that bile in the morning thing so I went ahead & fed her & she ate, I took my daughter to school & when I got back she had thrown up breakfast in her crate. After that she threw up several more times. Even after drinking water. She refused anything to eat even her favorite thing in the world pumpkin.

So I took her to the Vet. Temp was normal. They did an xray (2 scans) and everything was normal except on area in the upper intestines the Vet said looking like a little “thickening” but she didn’t think it was an obstruction or anything because usually with an obstruction they will see all these other things in the gut that she was Not seeing. She felt like it might be some fluid in the intestines.

She asked bunches of questions & I told her there was no way she had gotten into any garbage or people food, we watch her too close for that, and outside I always take her out myself & pick up her poop so I am always watching & there was no way she ate anything outside either.

So the Vet gave her a shot of Cerenia and some tablets to take home. Sucralfate that I’m to half & make a slurry & give to her. And Omeprazole that I’m to half & give as well. Then she gave me 2 cans of the Hills Prescription Diet i/d Low Fat, GI Restore.

We didn’t do any blood work & she did not mention pancreatitis, but when I got home & was looking online I read a lot about that being a cause.

My questions are… should I switch her to a low fat diet? Something easy to digest? I have been trying to educate myself today on what it is that makes dogs have sensitive issues in the first place and what elements in dog foods are the hard to digest problems. I am reading a lot of “go low fat” but I looked on 4Health’s website and it says for the Dry that I feed – 12% Crude Fat (Min.) and 4% Crude Fiber (Max) and for the wet food I feed it says 5% Crude Fat & 1.5% Crude Fiber.

So isn’t that considered low fat according to the chart here at dogfoodadvisor on the best low fat dog foods page? And 4Health is a 4 & 5 star food. I’m not even sure she will eat the I/d low fat food since they told me to wait till later today to give it to her. I’m not even sure it’s food related that’s wrong with her today but given her history & the fact that I know she did not eat something she shouldn’t have… there must be something going on.

Any advice would be appreciated. If she is not better by Monday I have to take her back.

[Kathy H]

I cannot recommend Vitahound probiotics! I started my dog on these and increased it gradually. In fact I never got past one scoop. She had pancreatitis and recovered but wasn’t really wanting to eat. She finally started eating and I added the Vitahound back into her diet gradually. She began throwing up again. I took her back to the debt and she was tested and he did not have pancreatitis. She was put on prescription canned food. The next three weeks every time she had but a hound in her food she threw up. I hate to say it took me that long to figure it out it took me that long to figure it out but it did. She has been off Vitahound for four days and has not thrown up once. I do believe this is been the cause of her vomiting and as a result, very expensive vet that bills

[Dori]

Susan. I too can read and the OP did not mention IBD with regard to her dog in any way shape or form. She talked about her dog being itchy and oozy. Why would you recommend a food that works for Patch for his IBD be appropriate for her Boston Terrier that is itchy and oozy? I’m just curious as to the correlation of your reply and the OP’s problem.

I’m also wondering about your response to Marie. I’m quite sure Marie has quite an active life. What makes you think she’s checking your posts in particular. I’m sure, like all of us, we see threads in the forums and comments on the comment side and want to offer some help if we can. I’m sure that if you re-read your reply to Marie you will see that it was a bit discourteous. There is also no need for yelling as that is what all caps typically means on line.

I also wanted to mention that IBD, Pancreatitis and Allergies are all inflammatory conditions. No one and that includes animals that has any of these conditions should be eating foods from the night shade plants. Potatoes are night shade plants as are tomatoes, egg plants, and many others that can be googled on line. Night shade plants are pro-inflammatory.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Dori.

[InkedMarie]

I rarely read your posts but the OP mentioned her itchy, oozy boston terrier; I just don’t understand what bringing up IBD/Pancreatitis has to do with itchy dogss.

[Susan]

I can READ MARIE, I’m just saying that the Natural Balance works for IBD & Pancreatitis instead of vet diets, probably not for skin problems, but who knows it may work for some dogs skin problems, you need to get a life, if your always checking my post..

[InkedMarie]

Susan,
The OP said she has an itchy, oozy boston. She didn’t say anything about IBD or pancreatitis.

[Susan]

Laleah if u have a dog with IBD or Pancreatitis its a excellent food, better then the vet prescription diets, a lot of dogs with IBD are on the Duck & Potatoes, Rabbit & Potatoes, Kangaroo & Potatoes, as there’s not many limited ingredient diets with low fat & low protein besides the vet diets…..just use sardines or other meats as a topper if you have a healthy dog..

[jgr789]

When my dog was first diagnosed I used a combination of the prescription food W/D with mostly Wellness Core Reduced Fat and later switched to Royal Canine. After a couple of years she started having appetite and gastro problems caused by pancreatitis and we tried over thirty different high end low fat, low carb foods mostly purchased from Chewy.com because they are so great with customer service but in her final days we used Flint River Senior. They have several different food mixes and you can get samples too. Also very good customer service.

Good luck with the challenges of diabetes and if you aren’t already familiar, you should definitely go to the k9diabetes website and join the forum. Those people are the most amazing group and helped me through a multitude of concerns.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by jgr789. Reason: Added information

[Mieke v]

Our dog is on Honest Kitchen Zeal for pancreatitis and when researching it for that had read of folks who had lots of success on it for diabetes. I think that was maybe on Chewy.com where I read some of those. Maybe do a google search HK Zeal diabetes? I read on one post where one person’s dog was able to go down to half the medication dosage (for diabetes) after going on the HK. I also read that people w/dogs with diabetes will hydrate the food (HK is a dehydrated type) let sit for 10 min., then put it in a blender to break it up even more. Be warned, it is an uber expensive food! Due to its costs, and I am not sure if any food is good to give exclusively, we now have him on a rotation diet between the HK, Wellness Core (can) and Merrick Grain-free Wilderness (can). However, for us it save at least $500 in vet fees. Not to mentioned saved our beloved guy.

[Mieke v]

Hi Carol,

We also had pancreatitis symptoms in our dog and Honest Kitchen Zeal really did the trick. He was symptom-free almost immediately. I would recommend to let the food sit about 10 minutes prior to serving (or make ahead and refrig.). We now do a rotation of HK Zeal, Wellness Core, and Merrick Grain-free Wilderness. Three months in and he still has no symptoms. There is a website that lists many of the dry and canned foods and the fat content. It also explains about the information given by the manufacturers and how to figure fat content. I can’t speak to its validity, but it was helpful in pointing us to low-fat, high protein foods. Here is the link: http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjlowfatdiets.html In addition to the HK, on our vet’s advice, we did 10 mg of Famotidine with each meal (our dog weighs 55 lbs) for 2 weeks. You can pick it up at any grocery or drug store. Of course, you’d want to check with your vet first to make sure there are no contra-indications and for the dosage. As you probably already know, fasting is a thing of the past with treatment for pancreatitis and several small meals a day for the first days is the current approach. Good luck! It is so hard – I did weeks of research and I am a research scientist by trade! I hope you find something that works well for your little one.

[Aspen A]

Hi, Carol, I am with Steve’s Real Food (a raw pet food company, so you have full disclosure). I just looked up the Miracle Dog food, but I am not seeing enough specifics about which grains and minerals are in it to speak to whether they are the best fit for your pet. If you are worried about the nutrition balance you may want to go to a frozen raw food, there are some great ones out there (Steve’s included) that do the math and nutrition for you, including the fat content, etc. Pork and beef are going to be higher in fat, if you are wanting low fat sticking to chicken and turkey is going to be best. What is wrong with your dog’s pancrease? Is it pancreatitis? Natural Dog Health Remedies.com (no affiliation) recommends Milk Thistle, Yarrow Root, Echinacea, dandelion, and probiotics, if that helps. I would not recommend switching them to dry food. It is so much harder on the stomach, and harder to digest, it makes them more thirsty, etc. If you are looking to improve their diet I would definitely recommend going to a more raw diet rather than a dry diet, that is just a step back, in my opinion.

[Susan]

Hi Tom, this is the answer, I got from my vet 4 months ago when I kept trying premium kibbles for my dog Patch & Patch would become ill again with his IBD so I had to go back to the vet diets…
why vets back these vet diets is they have proven to the vets that their diets do work, Hills Science Diet, its in their name SCIENCE…..Hills have proven with science & done so many studies & tests on real animals with certain illnesses, that their vet prescription diet does work, vets are into science & what is proven so they believe in their diets, (Poor dogs that are tested) for Bladder problems, Pancreatitis, or IBD etc, they formulate a special diet that you can not buy over the counter at pet shops, that’s why it has a prescription.. don’t get me wrong I’m not for Vet Diet foods, I’m always arguing with vets until John my old vet said all this to me…. Sometimes when your dog is so ill you need these vet diets just to get them thru until your dog is strong & healthy enough to start on a different diet, people seem to think, OH the dog has IBD just feed him more fiber, wrong, dogs with IBD normally need less fiber & there’s no premium dog food out there that has real low fiber 1% as a vet diet has…. some illness do require a vet diet like EPI or SIBO these illness need real low fiber diets & some dogs need a low fat diet & low fiber diet…. Premium dog foods are made for healthy dogs not sick dogs…some people see a weight loss kibble that is low in fat & buy it cause its low in fat, then wonder why their dog was up all night with diarrhea ….normal premium weight loss diets normally have very high soluble fiber to keep the dog full so they aren’t hungry…where a vet prescription diets will be low fat & have the proper fiber in their diets…

Maybe in 10-20year these vet diet companies will start to improve their diets & add better ingredients…I asked a Hills rep about their crappy ingredients, he said they have already started improving their foods with their new Ideal Balance range, I said, yeh but the whole Ideal Balance range is Chicken for protein or potatoes & I said, why you use chicken & potatoes is cause they’re cheap & your still into making profit over the animals health, I said what about the animals that cant eat chicken or potatoes ?? he had no answer… I said why didn’t Hills use sweet potatoes & duck or turkey cause it’s toooo dear & there will be no profit..

[lovemypuppy]

I was scolded by the vet tech for giving my 11 week old boston terrier puppy a catfish skin chew (Beam, by The Honest Kitchen).

Initially the tech called it salmon and told me my puppy didn’t need fish oil. I corrected her, letting her know it was catfish skin chews and that I thought they were a good choice because they were more digestible than other chews out there (I ignored her comment on fish oil because I didn’t want to get into an argument with her). She said the fat content of the catfish skin chews was too high and would put my puppy at risk of developing pancreatitis. She also said to only give Nylabones.

I later discussed with a different tech at a different vet office hoping to get some clarification, but unfortunately they too were leery of the high fat content for the same reason. They added that small dog breeds, and BT in particular, were at increased risk of pancreatitis.

Has anyone else heard this in regards to Beams being too rich in fat for a puppy or dogs at risk of pancreatitis?

Do Beams actually have a high fat content? Looking at their packaging it doesn’t appear so (min protein 88%, min fat 4%, moisture 8%). The freeze dried Orijen treats we were giving for house training have quite a bit more fat. So now, I’m really confused on how much fat is OK.

• This topic was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by lovemypuppy.
• This topic was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by lovemypuppy.

[Rick S]

My 11 year old wheaten terrier recently contracted pancreatitis and was put on a special low fat diet.My vet said that all treats henceforth should be low fat meaning under 5% or lower preferably 3% or lower of crude fat. The misleading statement on most packages is”not less than” a certain percentile which tells me nothing as opposed to “not more than” which would be a much better guide.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Laura-
I have tried Seacure for my dogs. I do think it helped a bit with digestion. Another poster, (I belive Shawna) recommended it, but not to use long term. It’s been a while since I used. I might just need to order it again. A word of warning, however, it is EXTREMELY stinky! I don’t know if it is good for pancreatitis. I was using it for leaky gut. I’d check with your vet. (Or Shawna, lol!) good luck!

[neezerfan]

Whole Dog Journal reviewed that a while back and they liked it but I don’t know if it would be beneficial for pancreatitis.

[Laura L]

Has anyone tried Seacure for pets, reviews indicate improved digestion, and improvement in allergy symptoms. I have a girl with pancreatitis and was wondering if this would be beneficial for her.

[Susan]

Hi Karra, my boy eats the Hills I/D Low Fat GI Restore wet BUT I can not feed the Hills I/d Low Fat GI Restore kibble it has Wheat, Barley & Oats, which gives him real itchy skin, I have him on the Vet diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” the fat is only 10% the Eukanuba has corn but it doesn’t seem to affected his skin, the I/D Low fat GI Restore kibble has 7.4% fat you could probably go to 10% fat & under in a kibble, try & find a kibble that is either grainfree & low in fat or a kibble without the Wheat Barley & Oats, maybe rice, I emailed Hills & asked them why is the I/D Low Fat GI Restore wet tin food have different ingredients to the I/d Low Fat GI Restore kibble a man rung me back & said they need to bind the kibble, I said but 3 grains why not just use rice instead of grains that make dogs itch…then he said try the Z/D Ultra kibble but the fat is 13.3% my boy cant have higher then 10% fat…someone might know of low fat kibbles, 10% & under, I know that a lot of senior kibbles are normally around 10% in fat but that’s min 10% fat so you have to email the company & ask what the max % of fat they are, where the vet diets are the max% in fat, Oh have you joined the Dogpancreatitis yahoo group, a few ladies use the “Canine Caviar Special Needs” dog food here’s their site the fat is 9% just slowley introduce the new kibble with the old, I do it over 1-2 weeks, but as soon as u stop the Hills I/d Restore kibble you watch the difference NO MORE SCRATCHING….. http://www.thecaninecaviar.com/product/special-needs/

[Karra L]

I have an 11 year old Lhasa that I believe is suffering from food allergies. She was on Eukenuba Adult dry food until a year ago when she had pancreatitis. She spent the weekend at the vet, and came home with Science Diet Low Fat GI Restore. We use the dry formula. She has terrible allergies, and seems to always have a yeasty ear infection. We have taken her the vet more times than I can count, and he said she has environmental allergies ( we live in Florida), and pretty much told me to try Benedryl. We took her to a specialist and had a consult, the treatment and testing was going to be over 6,000.
Lately, her mouth area has become swollen and red and has the smell of yeast as well. She has crusty material in her beard that is coming from her swollen mouth area. She is always scratching and licking her paws.
My gut is telling me that she has a food allergy. I want to switch her food, but am scared since she has had pancreatitis a year ago, and we almost lost her.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it! Thank you in advance!!

[Dori]

Hi weezerweeks. Thought I’d jump on in the conversation since all three of my girls of teeny tiny also. Lola 5 lbs., Katie 6 lbs. and Hannah 7 lbs. Have you ever given thought to feeding commercial raw foods to your yorkie. I know that commercial raw foods are way more expensive than kibble but you don’t feed kibble at all. You feed canned foods which aren’t typically cheap. Since you’re only feeding a 7 lb. yorkie the frozen food would last you a good long while in the freezer. Just take out the night before what you would feed him for the next day in the fridge to defrost. All three of my dogs were a little on the chunkier side before I went to commercial raw diets. Since feeding commercial raw diets (3 years now) they have all thinned out to their present weights and maintain that weight all the time. I also give them organic (when possible) fruits and veggies as their treats. It doesn’t seem to change their weight at all and Hannah is a real couch potato. Hannah, my 7 lb. 15 1/2 year old Maltese, is hypothyroid and has been for probably half her life if not more and her thyroid level always tests normal. The diets are high in protein, fairly high in fat and very low in carbs. Some people think that because the fat % is so high they will get fat, or have all sorts of medical issues, pancreatitis, etc. etc. In actuality, the opposite is true. As to the fat content in foods. I have said this so many times I need to make a recording…..It is not the amount of fat in their food (or ours for that matter) it is the quality of the fat in the food. Your dog will lose the weight, stay at a nice lean weight, will not act like he’s hungry or starving day in and day out. I can’t say enough good things about the commercial raw dog foods. They have made a world of difference in all areas for my three dogs.

[Laura L]

Thanks Susan, I have signed up for the dog pancreatitis group so hopefully will be able to access the site soon. I had my girl on a low fat food in an effort to lose weight and she did not get into anything she should not have prior to this attack so I am kind of perplexed on the trigger. The vet thought we could reevaluate in a week regarding diet but I don’t want to go back on previous food which was not a good food anyway (prescription weight loss). I hated to put her on it in the first place but weight loss was a priority at the time. We walk daily but with the below zero temps we have been having that has been difficult to do consistently in recent weeks. She has one speed and it is slow, never had an interest in any toys and would just look at me if I threw a ball as if to say “why did you do that”. The thing she has loved best is doing therapy work and I just retired her in December secondary to her joint issues. Has anyone had success feeding the Fromm weight management formula (gold line) or Wellness complete healthy weight. I am not sure of the balance of fat, protein and fiber I am looking for as I am in the research phase.

[Susan]

Hi Laura, you could try the Artemis weight management, there’s also Canine Caviar “Special needs” the fat is 9%,the Protein-18% fiber-5% it has less ingredients then the Artemis…..a few dogs in the Yahoo group called dogpancreatitis eat the Canine Caviar special needs kibble, you can join the Yahoo group called “dogpancreatitis” & ask what foods people are feeding, a few eat boiled turkey or boiled chicken with some pumkin & beans also use green beans as treats to lose weight also walking is good to lose some weight…. start off slow then after 1 month start to speed the walking up a bit, so she starts to burn calories…or throw a ball in the park….. I throw the ball up the hallway… Patch doesn’t play ball in the park, he only plays ball if its another dogs ball…

[Susan]

Have you tried soaking the kibble in a water to soften the kibble then drain the water, normally when a dog is un well or has pain after eating they start to not eat, has he been tested for Pancreatitis?? I know lower fat foods don’t taste as good but have you tried a lower fat kibble then add some home cooked meats finely cut up,like turkey chicken or pork low fat meats, I mix thru a spoon of boiled pumkin dogs normally like pumkin also pumkin is good for their GI track…You have too work out is he spoilt & knows you’ll give him something else if he doesn’t eat or does he get a sore stomach or wind pain after eating & prefer not to eat….My cat is a bugger he looks in his bowl & then either eats it or turns his nose up cause he knows if he hangs around the kitchen I’ll give him something else or he goes off the a neighbours place & starts whinging….have you tried the Wellness Toy or small breed kibbles……

[Laura L]

My lab mix just had a bout of pancreatitis. The vet said we caught it as it was starting and as a result she had a quick recovery, only requiring 1 night and day of IV and pain meds at the vet. She came home on the Purina EN diet which makes me cringe when I look at the ingredients. I have been researching foods for after this initial phase (we have acupuncture in a week that will also serve as a recheck) and found the Artemis fresh mix weight management formula with 6% fat and 20% protein. I have found that many of the foods that are low fat are also high protein so this seemed like a good combo. Does anyone have any ideas about this food or alternatives. My Cammie is almost 13 and is overweight at 80 pounds (lab mix). I also have another dog in the home so I would love to find something both of them can eat if possible (My other girl is very picky and is currently on Natures Variety Prairie but she rarely finishes her food and I would love to eliminate the risk of Cammie eating her food.

[DogFoodie]

I thought I responded to you also, but don’t see my comment.

Quickly, before I run, I would definitely feed as if a large breed puppy. Better safe than sorry. Feeding your medium breed pup as if a LBP, poses no risk.

Also, I would add delicate Omega 3’s at the time that I feed rather than looking for a fish based food. Fish based foods oxidize quickly and the risk that rancid fats pose can cause serious health risks, include, but not limited to, pancreatitis. If you must feed a fish based food, buy only the smallest freshest bag that you can find.

[Susan]

Hi Kathy, which Hills I/d are you feeding…. the Hills I/d low fat GI Restore 7.4%-fat, protein-25.9% carbs-59.3 or the I/d Gastro 13.9%-fat Carbs-50.5% protein-26.3%
You can feed a different food but read the fat% protein% & carb% on the Hills I/d that your feeding & pick another food with the same amount of fat% protein% & carbs% …. you don’t want your girl the have another attack…… also wet food is better for pancreatitis..

[Kathy J]

My 13 Boston Terrier was diagnosed with pancreatitis which caused her to now be a diabetic.
My vet has her on science diet prescription ID which is very expensive. My other dog 7 yr old bull terrier is healthy and is on blue buffalo lamb and brown rice.
I have seen comments where blue buffalo is too rich and it’s fruit
Ingredients adds to a higher sugar intake for dogs.
I’m concerned my bull terrier will end up like my Boston terrier.
My questions is, any suggestions of a dry food that can help both dogs?

Thank you,
Kathy

[Peggy]

Hi Susan, thanks for your reply.
I’ve googled canine pancreatitis today and called my own vet.
Most of the symptoms I found, and our vet gave me, Tebow does not have.

Fever – no
Vomiting – no
Diarrhea – no
Loss of appetite (anorexia) – definitely Not!
Weight loss – no.
Dehydration – no
Fatigue and sluggishness – probably as much as any overweight dog, or human for that matter.
Mild to severe abdominal pain – I was brushing him today and while he was on his back I pushed on his tummy and felt around. He made no sounds at all that would lead one to believe he’s in pain. In fact, his legs got going because he was being tickled, haha.
Depression – not at all.
Increased heart rate – none that I can tell.
Difficulty breathing – again, as much as you would expect from an overweight dog or human. Plus he’s been snoring.

I ordered Wellness Core Grain-Free Reduced Fat Dry food today from Amazon.com – $6 less than PetSmart, and free shipping. Should be here Monday. I took him for a walk in the snow today – walking has not been a regular activity for us. It will be from now on.

Thank you to everyone for your help!

[Peggy]

DogFoodie, I wish I could take him earlier, but I have to wait for my check to come in on the 3rd of Jan. I am currently googling the symptoms of pancreatitis to see if he has any symptoms other than being overweight.

BTW, I just took him out for a walk and he was very energetic and lively.
LOVED it.

[theBCnut]

Purina has a lower calorie count, so you probably do need to reduce his food amount or as you as doing, reduce his calories. If the tightness in his belly is signs of pancreatitis, then reducing his fat is imperative, but he also needs to be fasted for a few days or he could have a very bad case of pancreatitis- read LIFE THREATENING-so I REALLY wish you would not put off having your vet look into this. It really is a serious sign of serious pain.

[theBCnut]

One cup is too much food for my VERY active JRT. Definitely look into how many calories you are feeding. If his belly actually feels tight, it is not fat, and it can be medical emergency, so really watch that. If his belly extends and gets tight after eating, it can be a sign of liver failure, bloat, pancreatitis, or a few other serious problems. The panting/labored breathing is a sign of acute pain.

[DogFoodie]

It’s great to be proactive, especially with a breed prone to pancreatitis.

In addition to those foods Sandy already suggested, I’d throw out Petcurean products as a suggestion. I was originally going to suggest Go! Senior, but the protein is higher than what Billy does well on. That brings me to Petcurean’s Now Fresh line. Great products with fresh meats only and no meals. The Now Fresh Senior has 24% protein, 10% fat and 341 kcals per cup. There are likely other Now Fresh products that would also met your criteria.