*Avanti*

One of my girls had pancreatitis last year and is now on a very low fat diet (and also on a special renal diet now). I haven't been giving her bones but yesterday her visiting vet said to give low fat bones. He suggested I got marrow bones cut length ways and scooped the marrow out. A lot of butchers don't seem to like to cut them like this so I will have to find one who will. I also wonder if anyone can suggest what other sort of bones might be low in fat. ETA I also have the issue; being Labradors both my dogs eat like it is their last ever meal so with bones I have to be careful what I give them as they will swallow things whole :D

What a fun idea :D

I am sorry for your loss, run free of pain now Bonnie. :laugh: to you KelpieHoundMum

Personally I wouldn't pay towards the vet bill as it could be admitting fault. I'd go with a gift, gift voucher from a doggy supply shop or something like that. If you still feel you really want to contribute something $200 would be more than generous imo. You sound like a very kind and responsible person but it is their responsibility after all.

What a lovely pair (and great pics). Thomas is a very special boy in his mature age - love the slightly grey whiskers :D .

Good news for now: Heidi has been on the kidney diet (Royal canine, Renal) and has put on 3kgs since I last posted. We have a long way to go but it is such a cheer to see her pick up like this. I appreciate all the feedback and will take it all on board. Please excuse me whilst I chuff to see an improvement for her.

Great photos, I'd donate.

Thanks again for the good wishes. You have given me some more to consider Rappie. She doesn't seem to be drinking enough to me; I had to get her to drink more to get the second urine sample (by adding some meat juice to the water) so maybe her urine was diluted? She has allergy issues that are still present but it is by far better than it was. This has given her secondary fungal and bacterial infections in the past so I wouldn't discount bladder. I will ask the vet about this. Another symptom that I didn't mention is bad breath. At present she is being seen at an animal hospital and as good and reputable as it is, we haven't been lucky to see the same vet twice. In the past we have had a visiting home vet for the basic needs of both dogs, like vaccinations and routine checkups but he is no good for path tests and of course when she had pancreatitis. Her condition/s is very complicated with the allergy, pancreatitis and now kidneys. I wish I did have one vet overseeing her but am not in a position to do that in the foreseeable near future. The kidney diet can't hurt I hope. I really feel out of my depth here not being sure what’s wrong. She's the sweetest girl too.

Thanks again sandgrubber, I rang found out today that the result of the specific gravity test was, in fact, 1.008 I also asked this question and was told no, it won't be done as it was not indicated. Again apologies for not knowing what all this means. The more I know though the better I will be able to help her. Thanks for your patience.

I'm sorry Rappie, I don't know what the figure I was given was referring to then, I am sure it was 10.8. I'll have to ask for more info. It will be hard to measure her water intake over 24 hours with two dogs but I'll try to work something out. Thanks for the 'wee' tips all. She's very shy about going in front of anyone so I have to sneak a bowl under her from behind.

Sorry I'm a bit ignorant here. The test was called specific gravity and when I asked 10.8 was a figure I was given and told she was not concentrating her urine. I was hoping I could research it a bit but it's not much help not knowing what it is . I can probably get a print-out next week. (As it happened the first urine test got lost in the system and I had to take another one in.) I am also not sure of the other tests you mentioned but I know they tested for glucose and said she is not diabetic.

Thanks sandgrubber, I was going to post tonight. It is nice to know some others are thinking of Heidi. I got the urine test results and they said that early signs of kidney disease are showing. The specific gravity reading was 10.8 (whatever that means as I am new to these terms). So the plan now is a special kidney diet and she has blood and urine tests again in 5 weeks (unless there is no improvement). The only symptom showing has been the weight loss. She has not been drinking excessively, generally seems pretty alert and happy and has the usual keen Labrador appetite. Her stools are normal. I can start her off on Hills KD but I may prefer to eventually prepare her meals. I also have to consider the pancreatitis and low fat issues etc so there's some research to do. A few questions and some I didn't get to ask the vet today: If anyone has some info on kidney diet it would be appreciated and/or does anyone know good suppliers of the Hills KD or Royal Canine renal support if I go that way (I am in Preston, Melbourne)? The "canine renal failure diet" recipe I have is beef based so I am not sure if that will be the best. She has not had beef for many months. Are other meats such as chicken breast ok? Are any other supplements/herbal teas recommended? I will also see about naturopath remedies/advice but it will all take time as funds are tight. I'd spend my last cent on her though if it would help her. ETA Here is a recent photo of her, I hope in a month she will be looking much better.

Yes there was some relief in hearing the info. There's worry in just not knowing what the kidney enzymes reading means. They said her problem still could be EPI. I've just managed to collect a urine sample from her (boy was that a challenge with a girl who likes her privacy! ) so am heading off to take that in to the hospital now.

Thank you persephone. I just got the results and this is what I know so far: (I don't know how to interpret these results but asked for the detailed info so I hope I have correct spelling etc) Apparently the kidney enzymes are showing to be high but were not last July when she had the same test: urea 10 (I was told normal is 3.6 - 8.9) creatine 203 ( " normal is 62 - 150) The better news: thyroid normal liver enzymes normal white cell count not high not diabetic They said the next step is for a urine test. Thanks zayda_asher, we obviously cross-posted. ETA

What a day, I have phoned three times and have no choice but to wait for a vet to call . Sitting on the phone now. Meanwhile I don't know what more I can do for her. Sorry, just needed to winge :D .

Sorry to hear of your loss. RIP dear Misty girl.

Thanks for all your well wishes. My only update tonight is I'll know more tomorrow now. After days of waiting and calling to be told a vet had to call me back I was in a situation where I had to turn my mobile off for two hours this arvo. I then got home to a message on the answering machine saying "We do need to speak with you about Heidi's blood test results" but it was too late to call back. The 'do' means something has shown I presume. She's being seen at an Animal Hospital which is where she was a patient. A wonderful hospital but they are extremely busy. It'll be a long night now, all a bit worried here. (Edited for typo and remove names [out of etiquette])

No to both, but diabetes was mentioned as a possible development when she was at the vets soon after the pancreatitis. Would the blood test show that one? They didn't do a urine test. I hope we find the answers very soon too as she can hardly lose any more weight. I have made her a little warm coat for if the weather gets cold but I hope by winter she will not need it. Thanks for all the replies. The vet actually said it was a pretty ‘complete’ diet but it makes sense to me to change it. She was so very ill at the time ( when she had the pancreatitis in July) that I have been afraid to experiment too far since. I know lean chicken breast is ok. I remember someone saying kangaroo was not recommended for their dog after pancreatitis but they didn’t say why. Here’s hoping the blood tests can help, I think the vet didn’t suggest much more until we get those results. (Edited for second reply)

She (Heidi) has been on what was originally an elimination diet for 4 months now and I have kept her on it because I thought it was a good low fat solution. She has cooked diced kangaroo and mashed pumpkin and potato. This diet was prescribed by a skin specialist who was investigating her allergy/s. She lost some weight after the pancreatitis and diet change but it seemed to be much more so in the last month. Heidi is now six and a half years old. What doesn’t fit yet is her stools seem normal. I have two dogs so I am not always sure who’s is who’s if you know what I mean. They have quite different diets but the stools are quite similar. A couple of months ago one had very mucousy stools but it was only for a few days. I suspected it was Heidi's but am not 100% sure. I still don’t discount it being Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency that others have suggested though. I would rather find out it was something like that which can be treated than any other bad news like cancer which the vet said is a possibility (I asked ). As for the allergy I am almost certain it is our Kikuyu grass and in almost desperation have fenced off from the lawn from her since the pancreatitis (when I also took her of the prednisolone). I couldn’t get the blood test results today so now have to wait until Monday. I’ve been thinking that maybe I should put her back onto the lean chicken breast diet anyway? I prefer to prepare my own food for her than buy anything like Hills ID cans or anything else processed.

One of my Labrador girls has been losing weight and I am quite worried about her. She had (wellness profile) blood tests taken yesterday and we are awaiting results. She had pancreatitis last July and has been on a lean fat diet ever since. At first I thought it must have been the diet, which would have explained some of the weight loss. But this last month she seemed to be looking more skinny so I started to monitor it more closely by weighing her weekly. She was losing about 2kgs a week in the last three and I had even increased the amount I was feeding her. The vet gave her a good check over and said, except for being skinny, everything else and her heart seemed to be ok. There seem to be no other symptoms, she is happy, alert, still loves her food and her poos mostly look normal. I am at a loss for now. If nothing shows in the blood tests the next step is testing her poos. The vet said something about the pancreas may have stopped producing enzymes that help her digest her food. Fingers crossed for my little girl, it breaks my heart to see her wasting away . .

My condolences on your loss . RIP beautiful Rocco.

I just saw this thread. Sending some healing wishes to Reg and all concerned. Hang in there dear ol'boy!

Poor Smooch, I hope he bounces back soon enough. The new fence should be great once it's all finished.

I'm sorry for your loss Rozzie, she made it to a grand old age but that doesn't make it any easier RIP Abbey

This list could do with some alpha order but at this time of night I'm not volunteering I've got a Bella and not yet listed: Heidi