My little Barney is in the hospital with pancreatitis - again
 

Barney is in the hospital with pancreatitis. It came on yesterday morning when he had diarrhea. As the day progressed, he had loose stools so I switched him to bland food. But it was not major and there was only a small amount of diarrhea. He did not have any other symptoms. Last night he seemed to be feeling ok - eating, drinking, playing a little but quieter than normal. I checked his gums and skin and he did not seem to be dehydrated.

I called my vet this morning after he again had some loose stool. When I got there with Barney, she said he was dehydrated and he had pain in his abdomen. He is admitted for IV fluids and treatment, will come home tonight with a catheter placed and likely back tomorrow.

Please don't think your dog isn't dehydrating even if the gums look good. Barney is a 10 lb dog but even with mild diarrhea, he was dehydrated and ill enough to warrant an admission.

Please say a little prayer for Barney to have a speedy recovery. We are not sure what triggered his pancreatitis this time. My suspicion is that the RC Gastrointestinal food which is the lowest fat on the market was still too high for him as his blood was slightly lipemic before this episode and I had been saying to my vet it was time to get him off of Rx food and back on home cooked. I'm kicking myself for not doing it and I'm so sad for my Barney who is now suffering because I was not proactive enough.

Saying a prayer for Barney..and don't beat yourself up Cathy!! You are the best doggy mommy I know and are always proactive in the treatment of your kids!!

oh poor barney and u!! keeping him in our thoughts and prayers.

I'm sorry Cathy. I will be sure to keep Barney in my prayers. Please keep us updated on his healing progress.

Awe poor little Barney! Keeping him in my prayers and hoping for a speedy recovery!

Oh no, poor Barney! Sending prayers and positive thoughts that he will recover quickly. Gentle hugs from me, Max and Teddy.

I so agree with Michelle...you are a great mommy and very proactive in care! Sending prayers for speedy recovery for sweet Barney. :hands:

Oh, poor little Barney! I'm so sorry he isn't feeling well. Sending lots of prayers and get well huggins for him.

Prayers for Barney and a speedy complete recovery.Hugs to you.

Saying a prayer for Barney. Please do not blame yourself; sometimes things just happen that we cannot control.

Sending prayers and best wishes for Barney. I hope he is feeling better soon. Please do not beat yourself up as it is obvious how loving and concerned you are. Hugs to you and hydration to Barney.

Your a great mom, and by doing what you thought would be good for him and wasn't, makes you feel less of a mom then your so wrong. I will pray for his recovery and for you as well.

So sorry to hear about Barney, I pray he gets better and you can find a food he can tolerate. My son’s Maltese is doing well on a food made by Iams, it’s a low residue food. They really struggled to find a food for him and he not only can eat it, but is thriving on it. He was so skinny for a while, but it’s been 3 years and he’s doing great with not one attack. They have to feed him there small meals instead of two larger and that helps too.

I feel so sorry for Barney!! Hope he has a quick recovery. Sending hugs alongs with thoughts and prayers. Take care.

Sending prayers for Barney to get well soon! And like others said, don't beat yourself up, it's not your fault.

Cathy I know how upset you must be. You are such a good mommy and Barney is blessed he picked you. I will keep Barney in my prayers.

I will keep Barney in my prayers.

Prayers for you and Barney. I'm sorry to hear this, Cathy.

Im sorry Cathy! I will keep Barney in my prayers

Sending prayers for Barney and a speedy recovery. Sounds like to me that you are a very good and attentive mom!

Thanks everyone. His eyes were a little sunken this morning also. When I put him in his snoozer to go to the vet, he fell asleep and started snoring. It was so cute, but very sad :(

My vet saw him two days ago for his wellness exam and heartworm test and she could not believe he was the same dog. He looked rough and he was not happy with her when she touched his abdomen and even crinkled his lip at her.

I'm over beating myself up. Thanks to everyone for the added reasurrance. I always blame myself, but the truth is, dogs get sick sometimes just like people.

In terms of the diet, there is nothing commercial he can eat at this point of his life, with a 3x history of acute pancreatitis warranting hospitalizations. He was put on 3% fat home cooked for life and I was only suppose to use the RC food in a pinch. Well, he seemed to be doing so well on it that I just overused it. I knew his blood was slightly lipemic and I had it in the back of my head, but you need to treat the dog, not one value of the lab report so I kept with it. The RC gastro did other things that were beneficial such as improved his liver alkaline phosphatase.

I'm going to email Dr. R (nutritionist) to see if she thinks I can still use the 3% fat home cooked food for him, or if we need to go even lower with fat.

Oh Cathy, I'm just seeing this. Poor Mr. Barney. I'm so sorry that he's going through this. Especially since I know you've been working your tail off (food and diet wise) for all your pups.
He's in good hands, and I know you are going to figure this out for the little man. Prayers for you and him. Please keep us updated.

*Hugs*

Definitely dont blame yourself. My chachi got dehydrated after a small bout with diahrea also

Sending good thoughts your way for Barney's quick recovery.

Hi Cathy.. Please give Barney a hug form me and Remy

I known you are one of the vest mommies..and you will find a solution for ins food.

I am SO sorry about Barney and hope he will be feeling better soon. Please don't blame yourself...even on the best diet possible for them, they still can have bouts of pancreatitis. You are so good with your pups and tuned into them...this is not your fault, Cathy.

Saying prayers for sweet Barney. I hope he starts to feeling better soon. Will be looking for updates.

Poor Barney, I hope he is feeling better soon.

I hope Barney feels better soon and is back to his usual self!

Barney Update
 

I just called and spoke to the tech who is taking care of Barney.

Poor baby had more diarrhea and it is "gelantenous" - so my efforts at bland food and rice failed to make any headway with the diarrhea. They sent off his stool in case he picked up a parasite. She said he definitely has to go back tomorrow for the fluids again all day and they will send him home with a catheter tonight.

I've never had one home with a catheter, she said it would be bandaged. I hope I will be ok with this.

My poor baby :(