[107barney]

My Barney has had two life-threatening attacks of pancreatitis. The first occurred at age 5 and after he was treated with hospitalization, he went back to his regular diet and for the next 4.5 years he was fine.

Last March, at age 9.5, Barney had another attack of pancreatitis. It came on suddenly and with some of the same type of symptoms. Barney went on a chicken and brown rice bland diet (50% brown rice and 50% chicken breast) for the first couple of weeks as he recovered. We fed very small meals throughout the day, and it took a long time for him to be able to eat a full meal and act "normal." After that bland diet, our vet recommended starting a prescription diet for dog's with pancreatitis, but because I like to home cook for my dogs, I consulted by phone with the veterinary nutritionist at Angell Memorial Hospital in Boston (we used her already for our other dogs). She placed Barney on a diet of 3% fat -- much lower than any of the prescription diets.

At first, I was concerned about the lower fat but she explained to me that pancreatitis can smolder for a very long time and that we do not know all of the foods that can trigger or aggravate pancreatitis. So, it was advisable to keep Barney on this diet for the rest of his life. He has been on her program since March -- 9 months -- and he is doing so well. He looks great, his blood work has returned to normal, and you would think he was a much younger dog if you met him. He has no lasting effects from the food, and we even sneak him a couple of very low fat treats - but this is rare!

My point of all of this is that sometimes dogs with pancreatitis need to go on a diet that is lower fat and more bland FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. So your vet may be right that this is the case for your dog too. Maybe a consult with a nutritionists would be worth your while if this continues, and I think the one at Angell is the best. Pancreatitis is VERY painful for the dog. You may be rushing trying to introduce too much food too quickly. I fed very small meals to Barney 3-4 times a day for MANY weeks before he went to a regular sized meal. He was older, so this was why we did it for an extended period of time

Also, I do want to note that your dog cannot be on a bland diet for longer than a couple of months without having the diet balanced. I use an all-in-one product called "Balance It" which has a version for dogs with digestive issues. You can ask your vet about it. In Barney's case, we balanced the diet for calcium and vitamins ONLY and many months later added fish oils.

I hope this helps some.