Pancreatitis

[wizard]

hi folks

i have just been told by my vet that my 9yrs old malamute has pancreatitis and is on medication

i'm not to sure what name of pills are

my query is this does it kill ,and what can be done apart from huge vet bills (which i dont mind paying)

vet stated whether its true or not as i would like an opinion on this also that bones plus fatty foods can cause it

so now they have said no more bones/chicken frames ever ,so now if all goes according to plan she can only have supercoat lite and mature

i would like some feed back from any one who has experienced this and is the vet always right

much appreciated

wizard/wayne

[Tiggy]

My 2 year old Stafford was showing symptoms of Pancreatitis and her blood test showed up a slight abnormality. I fed her the Tuckertime chicken and rice flavour and nothing else for two weeks and she did really well on it. I'm now in the process of slowly getting her back onto a raw diet. I've had to reduce the fat and bone in her diet and she can't have her food changed daily eg chicken one day, beef the next. She still has the odd sick day but it doing much better. I'm going to try her on the Vets All Natural Complete Mix mixed with lean meat and any bones she can handle such as kangaroo tails. It's frustrating because she's looking very lean for a Stafford but it's hard to get the weight back on. Goodluck with your doggy.

[wizard]

My 2 year old Stafford was showing symptoms of Pancreatitis and her blood test showed up a slight abnormality. I fed her the Tuckertime chicken and rice flavour and nothing else for two weeks and she did really well on it. I'm now in the process of slowly getting her back onto a raw diet. I've had to reduce the fat and bone in her diet and she can't have her food changed daily eg chicken one day, beef the next. She still has the odd sick day but it doing much better. I'm going to try her on the Vets All Natural Complete Mix mixed with lean meat and any bones she can handle such as kangaroo tails. It's frustrating because she's looking very lean for a Stafford but it's hard to get the weight back on. Goodluck with your doggy.

thanx for reply i will just keep her comfy and see how it goes ,will try chicken and rice

[taters]

Hi Wayne

sorry to hear about your Malamute having pancreatitis

In regards to your questions

Can they die from it? It would depend on how severe it is and if they get treatment straightaway

If they have it really bad, then they need to be on IV fluids to keep them hydrated and no food for 24 to 72 hours

Some times they need medication for pain, and to stop them vomiting and so on

It is usually cause by too much fat in the diet

So a really plain diet will indeed help but sometimes if their liver has been badly affected then they will need a prescription type food

[TangerineDream]

Pancreatitis can be controlled but you have to become the 'food police'. My last GSP had a low level pancreatitis and I controlle dit by controlling his diet and learning what he could and couldn't eat. He had his last attack at the age of 18 months and never had another (he died at nearly 11 years old from cancer).

I boiled chicken pet mince in water to cover (from a butcher - less fat), put it in a bowl and into the fridge when it cooled down and let the fat congeal and removed all of the fat.....boiled rice and oatmeal and fed that and Supercoat adult (8% fat) with yogurt added. 8% was the magic number for Cadence's system - he could cope with that, but I had to be very careful if travelling as I could only feed him packet / canned food for about 2 days and then I'd start to see signs that his pancreas wasn't coping and it'd be back onto chicken fillets steamed and rice and yoghurt.

You need to learn what your dog can and can't cope with. My rule was - no snacks except Bonio biscuits, chicken (no skin) or cheese.....everyone was banned from giving him anything without checking with me first and I drummed it into them by saying "if you feed him anything without asking me first, it may kill him" (that worked a treat and stopped the do-gooders from giving him anything).

Bacon rind for him was absolutely lethal (that's what tipped him into it in the first place) and after that bones were out too and I used to descale his teeth myself.

Lots of luck - it's not that difficult to work with when you learn your dog's system initmately....and your dog will be fine if you follow the 'rules'.

[sas]

I know someone whose dog has just been diagnosed with the same, they're controling it with diet....no fat, so meals are cooked everynight.

[Dogsfevr]

Yes its a killer & is created by a poor diet or build up off an unhealthy food source.

Some breeds are also pre disposed to it.

Most dogs fall prey to this after BBQ when everyone gives them the scrasp or lets them like the drip tray.

With the right diet is is very easy to manage

[wizard]

once again many thanks for all feedback regarding pancreatitis

my malamute is doing ok now pills seem to be working but as yet not eating very much but drinking heaps so that is good

just another query if i may

what type of yoghut would i have to buy for tara as i think will add some to food ,also is the a recepie available for yoghut for dogs

my other dog thinks it is not fair tara is sick no food bonnie is over weight on a diet and she is wondering why she is only getting small portions of food if looks could kill i would be dead

well once again thanx to one and all

wizard aka wayne

[charliehotel]

Hi there, my OH has a 14 year old Malamute who came down with pancreatitis about 5 years ago. My OH used to give his Mal a big marrowbone every couple of days that was cut down the middle so he could lick all the marrow out, and the vet reckons that was a big factor in causing the disease.

Like other people have already described, it's a disease that's able to be controlled by diet, but you do need to be the food police!!! The diet needs to be as low fat as possible so doing things like boiling lean mince to get all the fat out is a good option. Also lots of vegies and a good dry food that has the lowest fat content you can find - there's quite a few different varieties out there, so it's just a matter of finding one that your dog likes to eat. Chucky likes the Optimum one better than others but that's just his taste!!!! Chucky also gets cooked rice and pasta mixed into his meals, each night it's like a meat, dry food, pasta and 3 vegie mix and he's been doing very well on it for 5 years now. For a treat he gets the occasional roast chicken with all the skin and fat taken away, and he also used to like raw kangaroo fillet steak (it has virtually no fat) but he spontaneously decided he doesn't like it any more!!! If you are really keen to make up some doggy treats, my OH used to make his own dried beef strips (like beef jerky for dogs) with the leanest meat he could find and Chucky would have these instead of doggy biscuits or other fatty treats.

I'm not sure what medication Chucky was on when he first got sick, but he's not on any medication anymore, it's all diet controlled. So hopefully that will be the case for your Mal too, might bring the bills down a bit!!

Good luck - I'm sure you'll all be fine once you get into a routine.

[Danielle]

My 8 yr old Smithy came down with Pancreatitis recently and is now on Eukanuba Low Residue Prescription food. She will be on it for the rest of her life.

Vet said yes, pancreatitis can kill. Apparently quite painful condition too.

My girl had a shot of anti inflammatory and a course of antibiotics. She seems better now, but has to keep the diet under control.

Good luck with your dog.

[RuralPug]

I used to holiday sit a Pug bitch whose pancreatitis had to be controlled by daily insulin injections as well as diet. Be absolutely a food Nazi with them. Watch for excessive drinking in dogs withthis condition as it can be a sign of pancreatic collapse.

[Jed]

One of mine had pancreatitis a few years ago. The acute episode was controlled by medication, and he has been on a low fat diet ever since. Dry food, some meat replaced by vegetables or rice, no marrow bones, no fatty treats. He has been fine of the diet for several years, and not needed medication.

[rubiton]

Talk about nightmare - gastro/pancreatitis. There seemed to be a few dogs suffering a few months back.

The dog is 9 years old and the vet explained that at her age the problem is trying to get her back on norml food. Basically what was coming out was liquid with blood. She had the injnection and starving for 24 hours then tablets for a week. Seemed to improve but then by the end of the week she started having problems again (pretty much back to liquid and blood). Back to vet another injection, more antibotics both the amoxcil and the other white one and the pink liquid to line the gut.

For the two weeks on medication first we started with the rice and chicken but after 10 days she was strting to refuse most of the rice (loved the chicken) and having lost weight noticably had to feed something else. Other choice was the ID prescription food - on this she has done OK - you can feel the difference between that and the normal fattier dry food in the residue left on your hand. Anyway after another week I tried her again on her normal food and that caused intermittent problems fo a few days. So laid downthe law (food police time again) all she had for another 4 weeks was the id food - none of her normal food, treats, etc no human food nothing and finally what came out returned to normal colour (for the first couple of weeks it was a light brown though solid).

Vet warned me that she may become intolerant to the fattier food and treats due to her age (a young dog should be expected to have less problems going back). For the last couple of weeks I have slowly very slowly been adding alittle more of her normal dry food to the id meal at night. She also has been getting the odd one scooby snack or one little marrowbone schmacko treat every few days in the last week. She got sick initally on April 25-27 weekend. She was given a corner of a sandwich a week ago with a tiny amount of processed meat, mayonnaise, cheese, etc (I didn't know about it til I stressed out about an abnormal pile in the yard and was then told of this little treat shed had a few days before).

Her heartworm tablet upset her a month ago but I think maybe this months one hasnt caused a reaction as bad this time.

Vet also said that whenever we try her on a bone to avoid the ones cut down the centre as the marrow itself is fatty and we have to be careful of upsetting her insides. SO we are into month three but she is still a way off getting dinner leftovers of any sort. Gastro problems resulting in bad attacks do take a long time to get over especially in older dogs.

Slightly off topic - does anyone know how long chicken breasts can be kept frozen in the freezer (they've been there since early May is that too long?)

[Loving my Oldies]

Yes its a killer & is created by a poor diet or build up off an unhealthy food source.

Actually, it is impossible to tell the cause of any particular attack. An attack can be extremely sudden. It is known to be aggravated by fatty foods and excessive food intake, but generally speaking the cause is unknown.

It can be EXTREMELY painful and the dog can feel very very unwell.

Immediate treatment is to the vets, on a drip and nil by mouth.

I didn't see this thread before starting mine on the fat content in foods.

And, yes. Pancreatitis can kill and it is an extremely unpleasant death.

[wizard]

thank you one and all for replies/advice on my malamutes pancreatitis

just have one more question regarding diet

i am feeding both my dogs on

i cup supercoat lite/mature dry food

1 cup boiled rice

i cup boiled vegies

oatmeal

every seconday i supstitute dry for 1cup cooked kangaroo meat

am i doing right with this diet if not any imput would be appreciated

thanx once again

[rubiton]

The sheet I got from the vet said to avoid kangaroo meat (but then others on here feed it - I wont though).

[charliehotel]

Maybe ask your vet what they think about feeding kangaroo meat? I know some dogs owners like to feed it but others dont, pancreatitis or not........We tried it because it's very low fat, and Chucky ate it without any problems for a while but then he just went off it and wouldn't eat it anymore. Personally I think he was just putting it on to get some roast chicken, he does that periodically!!! Any time he 'goes off his food' he gets roast chicken with all the skin and fat removed, so why wouldn't you put it on to get a better dinner!!!!!

Sounds like you are on the right track with the diet though - sometimes it's a bit trial and error but if you aim for the lowest fat content possible you shouldn't go wrong. Hope both your dogs are doing well now!!!!

[Sheridan]

Yes its a killer & is created by a poor diet or build up off an unhealthy food source.

Some breeds are also pre disposed to it.

Most dogs fall prey to this after BBQ when everyone gives them the scrasp or lets them like the drip tray.

With the right diet is is very easy to manage

My last kerry had it, caused by the cortisone he was on for an autoimmune disease. Every BBQ I gave the lecture of 'Don't feed the dog. If you do, you pay his vet bills.'