Pancreatitis help?

[Khimaira]

Our 3yr old Yorkie has pancreatitis and I was hoping to get some more information on what he has and how to prevent it in the future.
This morning he was given subcutaneous fluids at the vets, to help flush him out and treat dehydration, and he'll get fluids tomorrow and possibly Friday as well. He's also on antibiotics and painkillers. The Vets advised a very lean diet of chicken and rice/mashed potatoes until he's better. He's getting home-made chicken and rice soup for the next week or so.

I have a few questions and concerns- the biggest one right now is what exactly pancreatitis is. My understanding was that its an inflammation of the pancreas due to an overload of fats, in this case prime rib scraps (lesson learned, he won't be getting that again), and that once his system is a flushed he'll be fine so long as we don't feed him really fatty foods.
Some of the forum posts I've seen make it sound like it's chronic and easily triggered again, like its never really going to go away and has to be constantly managed.

We were already planning on changing his diet, and obviously we're going to be keeping a closer eye on his fat intake but I guess I'm unsure of HOW much we need to be doing. Is this something that's likely to happen again, do we need to be watching for it all the time? What kind of preventative measures do we need to be taking? Should we switch his wet food, do we need to consider keeping him on a home-made diet?

Any advice, or resources, or suggestions would be appreciated.

[fasteddie]

I'm sorry to hear about about your Yorkie with pancreatitis. My Yoda had it last year and it was very scary for us. I'm no pancreatitis expert, but basically Yorkies in general can have sensitive stomachs, and their little bodies can't handle fatty foods long-term. He was very, very weak and lethargic when he had an IV and was treated by the vet.

We have changed the diet of both of our Yorkies tremendously (never EVER any human table food), and they both eat low-fat Royal Canin Veterinary Diet (Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Low Fat LF 20) along with rice for their main meals. Treats are organic cookies which we have cleared with our vet. They've each lost a bit of weight and have been more healthy and spunky since the diet change. Yoda has been healthy since that pancreatitis episode about a year ago and hasn't had any relapses or issues with his pancreas, so there is hope with a changed diet.

Most wet foods will be higher in fat concentration than the food I mentioned above, you may want to consult with your vet to see what they recommend. A homemade diet of chicken and rice would be lower in fat than wet canned foods too.

There is also a thread about homemade Yorkie treats and recipes, which can help with diets as you know exactly what ingredients are in the treats. The thread is here:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...od-treats.html

Good luck!

[107barney]

Originally Posted by Khimaira

Our 3yr old Yorkie has pancreatitis and I was hoping to get some more information on what he has and how to prevent it in the future.
This morning he was given subcutaneous fluids at the vets, to help flush him out and treat dehydration, and he'll get fluids tomorrow and possibly Friday as well. He's also on antibiotics and painkillers. The Vets advised a very lean diet of chicken and rice/mashed potatoes until he's better. He's getting home-made chicken and rice soup for the next week or so.

I have a few questions and concerns- the biggest one right now is what exactly pancreatitis is. My understanding was that its an inflammation of the pancreas due to an overload of fats, in this case prime rib scraps (lesson learned, he won't be getting that again), and that once his system is a flushed he'll be fine so long as we don't feed him really fatty foods.
Some of the forum posts I've seen make it sound like it's chronic and easily triggered again, like its never really going to go away and has to be constantly managed.

We were already planning on changing his diet, and obviously we're going to be keeping a closer eye on his fat intake but I guess I'm unsure of HOW much we need to be doing. Is this something that's likely to happen again, do we need to be watching for it all the time? What kind of preventative measures do we need to be taking? Should we switch his wet food, do we need to consider keeping him on a home-made diet?

Any advice, or resources, or suggestions would be appreciated.

Hello. Our dog Barney has had two episodes of life-threatening pancreatitis and it is very scary indeed. We have Barney on a very low fat diet that we home cook. I would advise talking to a vet nutritionist (preferably a board certified one) if you would like to properly home cook for your dog. I also wanted to mention that although a fatty meal or higher fat diet is implicated in pancreatitis, it is not the only thing that can trigger it. We had a member on here whose dog has pancreatitis when her husband dropped a pea on the floor. Also, pancreatitis can smolder for a very long time. So, you do not want to jump too quickly into regular dog food. Your vet's advice was the same as our vet nutritionist - chicken and rice. We fed Barney 50% chicken and 50% rice for several weeks in smaller sized meals and then had the diet balanced by our vet and added veggies for fiber, water, and a sense of fullness for Barney.

Good luck!

[Nancy1999]

From my understanding, just one episode of acute pancreatitis can lead to chronic pancreatitis. My son's dog suffers from it, and they have to be very careful of what and when they feed their dog from now on. He's on a special prescription diet, and he needs to eat three smaller meals a day instead of two larger meals. He's doing well on this diet, but there are no forbidden foods ever.

[Ellie May]

Chicken and rice is good for now. Once they have had it, it is very easy to get it again. It is now a life long concern. Usually a very low fat diet is indicated. You probably will not need to homecook long term.

[Khimaira]

Thank you all. I looked at Royal Canin, but I don't think we can convert him over to just dry food. Bubbi hates his kibble, only eats it when he has no choice - and he makes it clear he's not happy about it when he does.

He's been eating Cesar brand wet-food, but we're going to be changing that once he is better. Any recommendations for a good low-fat wetfood? I don't think there are any canine nutritionists in my area to help work out a good diet for Bubbi, maybe we can do half and half...some wet food in the morning and chicken/rice for his dinner? Or would that still be too fatty to be safe?

What are some of the "forbidden foods" we need to avoid?

[south]

Been through it as well. Near death twice, pooping pure blood, bad vomiting. Vet did not expect her to make it either time, and her levels were too high for the vets lab to count. But they CAN make it, have faith & be diligent.

Ditto to the chicken & rice. We actually found that Zoey sometimes would prefer the rice alone (white rice only) during recovery. It also helped with the diarrhea.

She only eats ID now. A plate of wet food in the morning & evening, and a small snack of dry mid-day. Thanks to 107barney, she may be able to get a treat occasionally now too!

[107barney]

Originally Posted by Khimaira

Thank you all. I looked at Royal Canin, but I don't think we can convert him over to just dry food. Bubbi hates his kibble, only eats it when he has no choice - and he makes it clear he's not happy about it when he does.

He's been eating Cesar brand wet-food, but we're going to be changing that once he is better. Any recommendations for a good low-fat wetfood? I don't think there are any canine nutritionists in my area to help work out a good diet for Bubbi, maybe we can do half and half...some wet food in the morning and chicken/rice for his dinner? Or would that still be too fatty to be safe?

What are some of the "forbidden foods" we need to avoid?

Wet foods are usually higher in fat than dry as a general rule. Of course there are exceptions. Before you feed wet food, you have to learn to read the labels. When it says "crude fat minimum %" and then it will say something like 6 or 8% crude fat minimum it sounds like that's pretty low. But it is not. You have to convert the % by using the moisture in the can as well. When you convert it, the fat will be much higher. No one ever says what the crude fat MAXIMUM is so they can put however much fat in that can that they want. This is how Barney got sick BOTH TIMES. He ate a superpremium wet food and his blood fats were so high they could not register them in house at the vet.

Also, just wanted to let you know that the canine nutritionist I use and many of the others who are associated with veterinary hospitals do nationwide phone consults. I am only 45 mins from our vet hospital but I still do the phone consult option to save time. It's not cheap, but it is alot cheaper than pancreatitis for sure.

[Ellie May]

There are a few very low fat canned foods, but not many at all. A veterinary canned food may work or a dry food mixed with something like rice. Some dogs go back to their normal diet, but most shouldn't. I'd say no Cesars ever again. chicken and rice is fine for recovery (make sure it's white meat wtih no fat or skin), but feeding this for 50% of his diet long term is not okay. It shoudn't exceed about 10% unless a nutritionist balances it for you. BTW, 107barney and I use the same nutritionist. I'm several states away and just do phone consults. You probably don't need to homecook if you don't want to though. It can be a lot of work and nothing to be taken lightly.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

From my understanding, just one episode of acute pancreatitis can lead to chronic pancreatitis. My son's dog suffers from it, and they have to be very careful of what and when they feed their dog from now on. He's on a special prescription diet, and he needs to eat three smaller meals a day instead of two larger meals. He's doing well on this diet, but there are no forbidden foods ever.

I just wanted to add that repeated bouts of pancreatitis can cause diabetes, too.

Some breeds are prone to pancreatitis. Unfortunately, Yorkies are one of them.

Here is a great article for you:

Pancreatitis (Inflammation) in Dogs