Peanut has Pancreatitis
 

Not sure who read this

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...poor-baby.html

That is how it all started. This morning he woke me up about 5 and went diarrhea everywhere, then he threw up-

Off to the Vet we went. He did an xray- There was no blockage, but he had a lot of poo build up, and a lot of gas.

We ran bloodwork, Liver, kidney was all normal. However the pancreas level was high-

We did a pancreas test and it was positive. He is in the hospital getting Iv fluids and injections till about 7, I can go pick him up. (Once home NPO) Then I have to take him back tomorrow morning for more fluids and injections.

Then tomorrow about 3 they will retest him to see if the treatment helped at all- if so he has to be on a special diet- and can NOT have any table scraps, if it didnt help he will probably need more treatment-

The Vet asked me if we give him table scraps- I told him DH only reall gives him cheese, and lets him lick some sour cream.. He said dairy is really bad for them, they can not break it up- so they get all the fat..

He said since he ate the whole texas toothpick (with high fat) that was probably the last straw.



** I know some of the furbabies on here have had this- Do I need to take him off the Acana?

I honeslty know in my heart this happened because of all the table scraps he gets.. he mostly gets diary- I know it probably just has been building up.

I know for a fact he is getting nothing ever again, no more chew treats and no more table scraps of anything!

I feel so guilty for this- I am a mess.. This is all my fault! I just hope the 2 days of fluids help and it gets better!!

bb
 

Im sorry Deanna that poor Peanut is going through that but glad he gets to come home tonight. Dont be hard on yourself mine get scraps from time to time and they have never gotten sick but I probably need to count my blessings

Oh no!
Deanna I'm so, so, so sorry about Peanut! *Hugs*
With regards to his food, I would discuss it with your vet. I know he/she is going to recommend no more people food. Especially dairy because it can have such a high fat content.

ACANA I had Gizmo on before I switched him. And he has a really sensitive tummy, but did pretty good with it. But once again, I would run everything by your vet. If you still want to feed ACANA I would be looking for the lowest in fat option and once again, running it by your vet.

Poor little man, sending him lots of puppy kisses.

Thanks- Yes please do!! I know we don't give him very much, but it adds up. Most of what he was getting was Diary-

It is better to be safe than sorry!! At least no Dairy or high in fat scraps!!

Aw thank you- It means a lot-

I know he is going to want him on Hills for a couple months- I told him I dont really like Hills, but I will have to do what I have to do-

I looked it up and this is the Ranchland stats

protein: 31%
Fat: 17%
Fiber: 10%
Moisture: 10%
Calcium: min 1.8%
Phosphorus: min 1.4%

Not sure if 17% is high, I will talk to him about it. Peanut has been doing really good on it and has been for about 2-3 years- I know it isnt from the dry food it is the table scraps we give him.

I will talk to him and see if 17% is too hight for him, I do not want it to flare up again so we will have to do what we HAVE to do..

Oh..poor sweet Peanut:( Don't keep beating yourself up..your quick response to his need is making the world of difference for him...I'm so sure:thumbup: It will take some time and training of your DH...no table scraps but both will do just fine ;) LOL, just teasing you.
So glad you get to bring Peanut home tonight. Sending prayers Peanut will continue steady improvement. Hugs to you both.

Sending special prayers for Peanut to get better soon.

Thank You- Yes WE need some training!! :D

Don't beat yourself up over this. You did the best thing by taking Peanut to the vet right away and you're getting him help. Hope he's feeling better. Give him a big get well hug!!

I would dump the Acana for a while. IMO 17% min fat is too high. For a reference point, the vet nutritionist has my dog on 3% for life but that's after a two time bout of pancreatitis (5 years apart). I was worried about going low fat but honestly his coat is silky smooth and skin is supple, and he is also an old dog.....so I feel low fat is a safer bet. My two other boys eat 11% fat and have no pancreatitis histories. I think the breed is just prone to these digestive upsets and you won't really go wrong going lower fat but could go wrong with higher. Just my thoughts. Best wishes for you and Pnut.:animal-pa

I'm sorry. But don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes with our pups at one time or other. Life itself is a teaching/learning process. I hope he gets well real soon. Hugs to you and him.

Thanks for the input! I agree with the Acana! I think 17% in fat is too high for him. Wow 3% I honestly don't want another scare like this. I am going to do my hardest to make sure it doesnt happen!! Once is enough for me. Which furbaby is this that is on the 3% You homecook for him or do you have him on a dry food?

Thank you- They are sesitive lil guys!!

Thank you-

I'm so sorry to hear this, but don't get too upset right now. You have to take care of your baby first. ;) I found this article and it's really the best I've seen so far. I think you will get some much needed help from it.

Pancreatitis in Dogs JustOneMorePet

Thank you- I am going to look at it now!

Sorry to hear about Peanut. Sending well wishes and hugs

I'm sorry. :(

It sounds like he is going to be okay.

Fat is not the only thing that can trigger pancreatitis. It is thought that certain ingredients and high protein foods can also.

Yup, I'd throw the bullies and Toothpicks away. Not good for pancreatitis patients and not good for dogs in general (jmo).

I'm not sure that Acana would trigger a pancreas issue, but now that it is weakened, he is much more susceptible to get it again. IMO, it is safest to skip it. Good idea to let your vet help you choose the food. for dogs that have had pancreatitis, esp. if a breed that is prone to it, it might be best to stick to rx food just because 1) these foods tend to be more consistent, 2) the protein and fat percentages are minimums, so you would have to contact every company if not rx to get the max percent, and 3) the ingredients used in GI foods tend to be agreeable to these pups.

My girl is on an 8% fat diet. Because of all her issues, when I homecooked her nutritionist decided on 1% fat. All depends on the pup... If you really want to feed an OTC food, then your vet could help you pick one. If they want Peanut on rx food only and you don't want to use it, then you can always talk to a nutritionist about homecooking.

Ohhh No! I am so sorry. Poor Mr. Peanut. I know what you are going thru. I was a wreck when Jackson was in the hospital - blaming myself, and just an all around mess. That first week was miserable because everything was so unsure in our case. I took him to our non regular vet where we had never been, since it was open Sunday. I was such a wreck as he had been throwing up ALL night and it started turning into a red hint, and because I was so scared, I simply listened to what they told me and had him stay over night on IV's. In hindsight, I am regretful that I trusted that vet (as I don't now) and after speaking to our regular vet about a month or two later, she believes he did not even have pancreatitis to begin with, just GI upset. I know he had a ton of fatty human foods at a family BBQ and I am pretty certain it's what set off the digestive upset (he also was in a salt water pool and I do wonder if he injected too much salt water). But I spent sooo much money getting subq fluids every other day for like 7-8 days, and going in and out, and 3-4 seperate blood tests and nothing was changing and he was acting completely fine and back to normal. They finally decided to send out for a cPL test (pancreatitis test-which I would def suggest, in the future I'd ask for it right away) and it came back negative. My vet who did not see him during his illness thinks it was simply a GI upset from all his files and what I told her.

So anyways there is the short version. But either way I played it safe for a few months and kept him on low fat low protein foods and was never happy with the results. I still play it safe and do not give any high fat treats (I stick with soft Buddy biscuits and Zukes, etc) and the only human food he gets is the occasional cheese (for pills, or doing something very special), or a small piece of bread, or lean meat. I also do not give high fat canned food (which can be tricky, because a lot are rich, and you have to convert the %'s to dry matter basis). I feed a canned food with 1.5% fat (not sure what that coverts to) mixed with his Acana kibble. I went back to Acana probably 5 months after, and after two bags, I immediately noticed a shine coming back to his coat, less eye goop, more energy, etc, etc.

I am so sorry you are going through this though, and am sending my prayers. I am not the most knowledgeable at all but did a fair share amount of research after this, so if you ever need to PM me, I am here. But I got the most advice & help from here on YT and still am extremely grateful for everything every one offered me.

I agree with you that the Texas Toothpick and the table scraps put him over the edge. Little dogs can't tolerate the things that large dogs do. It only takes a couple of table scraps to throw their levels way off.
My parents had a little Sheltie that ate some chicken skin and got a bad case of Pancreatitis. It took him a few weeks to recover but he went back to a normal diet once he was totally better.
These little ones can get into trouble so easily.

Sending hugs to Peanut.

Thanks for keeping me posted this a.m. - I was on the edge of my seat.....

As You know Riley is on Acana. I looked at a couple of the other grain free foods that I had considered feeding Ry.... FROMM and Nature's Variety Instinct and they both had the same or more % of Fat as the Acana.

Definitely see what % the Vet recommends.

Continuing to send good Vibes to Riley's lil' Big Brother!! :)

Oh now get well soon Peanut. I sure hope things can be balanced out for him quickly. Such a worry when your lil one is sick

Thank you guys for the prayers.. I'm going to pick him up in about 15 mins. I'm so stressed and worried- I will respond to you all when I can get myself together!

Thank you all for the support- it means the world to me!!

solid gold has a good low fat food 6%

Oh, I am sorry to hear this. I read Pancreatitis posts so much on YT, it is scary, especially since Tibbe had that high lipase count on his bloodwork last week. I surely hope you can arrive at a good treatment plan that works & Peanut is feeling better before long. Thank goodness we can find these things out nowdays & find things to do to help them. Wonder how many Yorkies suffered undiagnosed/untreated with this years back? Makes me shudder to think. Anyway, here's hoping for a much happier Peanut over the next few weeks as healing happens!

Prayers for Peanut. Hope he feels better today. Hugs

Sorry to hear this. Sending hugs and prayers he is much better tomorrow

Sorry to hear this. Uni has pancreatitis as well. We found out after she did not do so well eating lamb. This was when she didn't want to really eat, yet she loved the lamb. I now give her the lowest fat and protein kibble I can find.

As for "table scraps" I don't like that term. It always sounds like stuff you don't eat on your plate and are going to throw away, like the fat cut off a steak, burnt edges, or leftovers. I know none of us YTers would give our yorkies that. I still give Uni plenty of people food, in the form of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, fruits, etc. She is now on a grain free diet, and has not had a relapse of pancreatitis since the first.

Now about the Texas Toothpicks. I guess you didn't know, but Merrick has had many recalls of their products in recent years. I used to LOVE the TT. The first time I tried them was at the Muttropolis meetup in Newport Beach, remember when we first met? Uni loved them so I bought a few more. They used to last about a week long each. Then I started buying them by the bag instead of by the piece. They looked much darker and only lasted I swear 10 minutes each! I emailed Merrick and asked what's up. They said they haven't changed a thing (yeah right) and here's a free bag. :rolleyes: T hen come to find all the recalls. I haven't gave them since them. Throw them out! I wouldn't even donate them to my shelter, I don't want to make the poor dogs there sick! But as far as I know (or what I was led to believe) the TT's are not high in fat.

Prayers for Peanut... Hope he feels better soon!:aimeeyork