[jewel0247]

Hi,
My 12 yr old dog is hospitalized with pancreatitis (on fluids, bowel rest)… She also has elevated liver enzymes. Before getting sick, she was fed darwins in the morning with coconut oil and natures variety instinct in the evening with probiotic. She was doing great with her skin and allergies…

I want to modify her diet to less fat… Any suggestions? Cancelled darwins and was thinking either honest kitchen preference (add ground turkey) or natures variety instinct rabbit. She’s very picky..

Should I start her on milk thistle or sam-e?

Thank you for your time

[Susan]

Hi, did you look at the Honest Kitchen Zeal, the fat is only 8.50% & it already has the protein fish, fish is easy to digest.. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal…
I looked at the Preference the fat is 8.4% & you haven’t added the meat yet….have you looked into cooking? once you cook & freeze everything its pretty easy, just once a week you have to cook & days you feel lazy, I feed a wet tin food, kibble is hard to digest so maybe stick with wet foods less work on the stomach pancreas & bowel…. on Face Book there’s a “Canine Pancreatitis Support” group, post a post asking brands of low fat premium wet tin foods…I know a few feed the “Holistic Select” Senior kibble its easy to digest… just remember the fat % in wet tin food is higher then kibble, if a wet tin food says 5% fat that’s around 22% fat if it was a kibble….

[jewel0247]

Thanks Susan for your post. I will look into the HK zeal.. It’s just I had her on the turkey one and she got tired of it. So I thought at least the preference I could rotate proteins. Definitely will stick with wet dog food..

I sent a request to join that FB group. Pending approval I think..

Don’t think I wouldn’t mind cooking her food (may help with the pickiness).. I just don’t know where to start. Need a recipe for a 12 lb dog :).

[Nora L]

Pancreatitis is associated with high fat consumption. All commercial foods have too much fat, and most don’t even disclose actual percentages on the labels. If a dog of mine had this problem, especially if s/he was as small as yours (and therefore cheap to feed), I’d opt to feed the best foods possible, raw, uncombined and in proper quantities. People are brainwashed to believe that disease just happens out of nowhere. This is not only not the case, it is possible to avoid disease and, in most cases, even reverse it by recognizing and removing the causes. My own dog died (naturally and at home) at age 19 and had not visited a vet for a symptom in the last 11 years of his life. My sister’s dog almost died from Pancreatitis 6 years ago and she switched him to a rotational mono-diet and he has not been to the vet since, for any reason. I’d be happy to share the details if you are interested.

[Julie L]

MY dog also has had Pancreatitis, in fact twice. Once they have it they will always be subject to get it again unless you get them on a low fat food. I found Anna Maet Lean and called the company to get the max fat. which is 9%. I’m very happy with this food. Ellie (dog) has to be monitored all the time. I had her boarded since I had to go out of town and gave them the strict instructions on her food. When I got back she had her 2nd bout with Pancreatitis. My dog cannot have any store treats, NONE I make all of her treats. Guess what I’m trying to say is find a very low fat food and don’t ruin it by giving your dog any store treats. Dehydrate chicken breast or boil/pressure cook chicken breast for food topper. Turkey is also a great treat.

[Nora L]

It is difficult to ascertain the actual fat percentages of commercial foods (including treats) because producers are not required to divulge this information, and they do not do so voluntarily. Even when they do provide a percentage, it is deceptive because it is by weight, not by calorie. This is the trick that allows milk producers to put “2%” and “low fat” on their labels. They include the water in their calculations. 2% fat milk is actually 35% fat by calorie. So using the same trick, if a pet food producer says their product is 9% fat, it is more likely at least half fat by calorie. That’s not low If my dog had already had pancreatitis, I’d be making sure that I was feeding low fat and the only way to do that is to feed meats that are low fat and/or that you can cut the fat off of. When you buy commercial pet food of any kind, you give up control over the fat content of what you feed. It is also easier on all the digestive organs to feed raw.

[Author]

Posts