[Sarah A]

Hi everyone,

I searched the forums for information about what to feed for pancreatitis but it seems that a lot of dogs with this issue need to lose weight. Mine needs to gain.

Lucie is a 13 1/2 y.o. standard poodle. Love of my life. When people see her they never believe how old she is. She is high spirited and a total people dog. But she has always been a picky eater (unless she has access to human food and/or the trash can, lol). A few years ago she had some elevated kidney results in her blood work and a liver result that was a bit elevated too. Also, high blood pressure. We put her on IAMS renal dry mixed with Purina NF wet (just did the calculation and the NF is >20% fat on dry matter basis). She was never thrilled with this food.

She has always has a weak immune system. A year ago she had persistent diarrhea so she went on metronidazole. We were unable to stop the metro w/out the problem returning. We recently tested for EPI (negative) but she is pos for SIBO/SID. We switched her to Tylosin and she’s doing well on that. But about 3 weeks ago she stopped eating and lost all of her energy and happiness. Pancreatitis (although an ultrasound showed it to not be “acute”) She was SO sick I wasn’t sure she would make it. She lost weight she couldn’t afford to lose. But, thank goodness she pulled through. I spent a couple of weeks cooking every lowfat/quality protein thing I could think of. Now she’s eating enthusiastically but she needs to gain weight. I’m giving her Rachel Ray wet food – this is the one food she likes and will eat for more than one meal in a row. But she is not eating enough.

Obviously her food needs to be low fat but preferably high-calorie. I’m leery of the Iams/Purina combination because she doesn’t like it much and that’s what she was eating when she got so ill. Anyone else have a similar problem with a success story to share?

Thanks in advance!!!
–Sarah & Lucie

[Susan]

Hi Sarah are you mixing the Tylan powder with her food or are you putting the Tylan powder in a empty capsule so she cant taste the awful Tylan as it taste awful & can make dogs stop eating their food….. Put a real little bit of the Tylan powder on ur finger & taste some, its sooooo bitter, its awful then you can not get the taste out of your mouth…. Tylan powder made my boy feel sick, I had to stop using it, he kept licking his mouth after eating, the vet said its probably the bad taste coming back up into mouth, I was putting the 1/8 teaspoon Tylan powder in a capsule as I have read on the Dogpancreatitis yahoo group do not mix the Tylan powder with their meals, to put in a capsule so it digests in their stomach, as they can stop eating…
Have you tried tin tuna in spring water or tin salmon in spring water, I drain the water then mix with some quinoa.. Tuna is very low in fat, salmon has just a bit more fat but I only open a small tin & mix 1/2 quinoa & 1/2 tuna or the salmon & only feed for lunch, are you feeding about 5 small meals a day, that’s what I had to do with Patch…I found boiled chicken breast put the weight back on Patch.. I would add 1/2 a boiled egg per day with some boiled pumkin, some sweet potato etc

[Sarah A]

Hi Susan,

Thanks for responding. I’m giving the Tylosin in capsules. I know it tastes awful – I don’t let her taste it!

Talked to the vet yesterday. She said that even tho salmon might be higher in fat, it’s bioavailable fat that gets absorbed almost immediately in the stomach and therefore doesn’t make the pancreas work hard. The worst meat for a dog w/ pancreatitis is pork, followed by beef. Lots of saturated fat in those. She also recommended krill oil as a supplement – for the omega-3’s and to help her skin.

If anyone else has any other ideas I’m all ears. Lucie has gained a bit of weight back but she needs to gain more.

Thanks!!
Sarah

[Jessica M]

Get her off those foods..Iams Rachel Ray are both horrible especially for a dog with pancreatitis. Try Dr. Harvey’s Raw Vibrance. I suggest looking up The forever dog and do some more research what foods are good and what foods are junk food. Not trying to bash you, I hope you don’t take it that way. I am just trying help.

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