Hello everyone......
 

Another newbie here to say hello to everyone. I have a 16 lb yorkie (Harley) (yes, I do have registration papers ....) He is full 100% yorkshire terrier. I have been told by one vet that he is a "silky" ..... his parents were both in the 10 lb range; however, he was the largest in the litter.

I found this forum searching for info in regard to pancreasitis (spell?) in yorkies. He has had a real problem as late. I recently switched from science diet dry dog food and some table scraps to Ceasers dog food which triggered the problem. He has never liked the straight dry science diet which leads to the table scraps. My original vet suggested that science diet is the greatest thing on planet earth ..... which I read on this forum is a false statement. Yesterday, I began researching this problem and found this forum which I found to be very helpful.

Obviously I will be switching to a new dog food.... low fat and low protein as soon as I determine which one ????? No more table scraps and no more Caesar"s....

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

One other thing, I have not yet carried him in to the vet for this problem. I am not happy with the vet service here as they are not very customer oriented. They almost killed him during during a recent teeth cleaning under anesthetic. They actually handed me an almost dead yorkie which took hours in the recovery area to bring him back from certain death.

Sorry for the rambling .... thanks, for any help or suggestions as to what I should do.

thanks, newbie

Have you considered home cooking instead of all that dry dog food? For his problem, you could buy fresh broccoli, carrots, jicama, bok choy, swiss chard and grind them and add to very lean meat. I buy inexpensive very lean roasts and grind, cook and add to the veggies. I'm sure this type of diet would really benefit him. ;)

Hi welcome to YT!! Can't wait to see pics of your cute little teapot!! :p

Welcome to YT!! You will find a wealth of information here!! Glad you could join us!!! Post pictures soon!!

Welcome to YT. I'm sorry your yorkie is sick. Pancreatitis can be very dangerous. I hope you search for a new vet and get the help that you need for him. They often need a dietary supplement to help them, since their pancreas has been compromised.

Welcome, gcsb77. Best wishes to you and your sick baby - sounds like your vet situation is awful. Someone here may be able to recommend a vet. Wow, what a big guy you have! I'll bet he's a big doll! Tibbe is 5.3 lbs. and he is sometimes a handful. I am still new and finding my way around this site but you will love it for the good information and concerned dog lovers here. Quite a wealth of knowledge from all these people. Beeee careful - it is addicting!

I dont know about the food problems. Mine have been eating caesars for years without any problems. Alot of people will assume a larger yorkie is a silky when they are a yorkie. There are alot of larger yorkies but maybe your vet has only seen smaller ones so thats why he made the assumption hes a silky

thanks to all for the welcome and good suggestions.

Moderator might want to move this thread to the "sick and injured/emergencies" Forum ...... thanks,,,,,

Hi and welcome to YT....I'm not sure which kind of diet would be best for him since he had a bout with pancreatitus..(ms) But there are many others that have dealt with this issue...so I'm sure they'll have some great advice for you!!
Vets push people to purchase science diet simply because Hills pays them to do it! Not because it is healthy for our babies!!!

So getting your little one off Ceasars and SD is a good decision! :)
I'm thinking that more meat based and grain free dog foods might be better for him....but I'll let others tell you for sure!

My Princess had a liver shunt which caused all sorts of problems. She had to be on 3 meds to help control the side effects from the ammonia build up in her system caused mostly by the protein. I had to make food for her. It contained pumpkin, cottage cheese, barley, oatmeal, egg yolks and chicken. This combined with the meds kept her feeling pretty good till she got too old to combat it all as she also developed a heart condition. The meds she was on were Hepato, Denosyl and potassium bromide (to combat the seizures caused by ammonia build up). I don't know if this helps any but since you mentioned lower protein diet I thought I'd add my little one's remedy. :)

What a lot of information I get at this site! I think it helps to have all this knowledge just in case it happens to ours or someone's dog we know, we at least have some input and know a few things to ask about.

Hi great to meet you.

Since pancreatitis is a worry, do you think you could call the veterinary college in your state for a referral to a vet for the symptoms he has? Without a really good vet's advice on this worry of pancreatitis, I don't know how you can best proceed without some professional guidance. I sure am sorry your big guy is having all this trouble.

thanks for all the great responses. Everyone has been very helpful which I am very thankful for. I finally talked to a very good vet and had some blood tests run to check for pancreatitis. The tests were negative for pancreatitis. Therefore, the symptoms he had matched pancreatitis perfectly and led to the incorrect conclusions.

To be on the safe side, I have begun the process of switching his diet to a combination of "Wellness" and chicken broth. Sometimes I mix a little Ceasers with it to get him to eat the new dog food. I know that you are supposed to switch the diet a little at a time over 7 days or so, which I am trying to do. Also learned something new..... the science diet puppy food that I have been using is very high in fat!!!!!

I have also stopped the table scraps. The vet advised that I look at the Blue Buffalo dog food choices.

again, thanks to all for the great ideas and advice and suggestions.

gcsb77