Annabelle Has Pancreatitis--again

[P Hudson]

Originally Posted by 107barney

I'm sorry if I was not clear. Yes, I home cook for my dogs and use supplements. I feel that if someone isn't going to properly home cook, then using a commercial food recommended by your vet is the best in my opinion. I was responding to your concerns about home cooking when I suggested that your vet may have the best suggestion on a commercial food. Our dog was put on very low fat after his second bout of pancreatitis and I was initially worried it was too low fat. But he's done great.

Thanks. Got it now.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by 107barney

I'm sorry if I was not clear. Yes, I home cook for my dogs and use supplements. I feel that if someone isn't going to properly home cook, then using a commercial food recommended by your vet is the best in my opinion. I was responding to your concerns about home cooking when I suggested that your vet may have the best suggestion on a commercial food. Our dog was put on very low fat after his second bout of pancreatitis and I was initially worried it was too low fat. But he's done great.

totally agree .. I see lots of people posting about home cooking for their pups but not adding supplements and it is worrisome

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by P Hudson

Thanks. So wonderful that you foster. Lucky dogs.

Aww ..thank you. In many ways, I am the lucky one. I so love these little characters.

[ladyjane]

How is Miss Annabelle doing?

[P Hudson]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

How is Miss Annabelle doing?

I would say great, as she's been like her old self for a couple of days now, very playful and energetic. But I'm questioning a couple of small wet spots on the rug, which either means she threw up or Turner, her brother, has been lying there and obsessively licking and chewing himself--they have allergies and he does that a lot but that's another thread.

I've been giving them boiled organic skinless boneless chicken breasts and rice. The last couple of days I've added a little baby food sweet potatoes, but not much. And because I ran out of the boiled chicken last night, I've substituted some strained baby food chicken and broth, which is low fat and recommended years ago for another dog I had who had pancreatitis and kidney disease. Just to be safe, though, I'm discontinuing the baby food and getting ready to cook some more chicken to go with the rice.

Her vet says the Hills Rx I/D low fat canine digestive care canned food is back-ordered at Hills. So I'm trying to find some somewhere. They have the dry food in that Rx but I've read that a lot of dogs don't care for it, so I wanted to start her on the canned. Maybe if I got the dried and for the time being mixed it with chicken and rice? I don't know at this point.

I want to put her on a nutritionally balanced diet and Hills is what they carry (usually). I know there's another one called Royal Canin but haven't looked into that one and the vet may not be as familiar with it. And with Thanksgiving tomorrow, this is probably all going to have to wait until Friday.

I worry that currently my dogs are not on a balanced diet. We ran out of the Blue Buffalo Grain Free Kibble they used to eat--and Anna couldn't eat that now anyway--so they're both on cooked food now. I want to put them both on that same low-fat food, just to make sure Anna doesn't get into whatever higher fat food I would be feeding Turner. The vet said it would be okay for them both to eat low fat. (I could always sneak Turner some balanced doggie treats that aren't low fat from time to time.) Ultimately I'd like to put them back on self feed with some kind of kibble but also give them canned food for maybe one meal. Lots of decisions . . .

[dottiesyrky]

Thanks for the update. It seems that Anna is doing well on the home cooked low fat food you are making for her. It is a good bland diet that most of us feed when our dogs are sick. Yes it is not completely balanced but I would think for a few days that will not matter.
Sorry the Hills ID canned is not available yet, but I am sure it will be relatively easy to come by. As far as the ID kibble, my dog eats it OK alone, but adding some canned or a little topper of chicken and rice makes it more acceptable. I now feed my dog the ID kibble plus a small amount of chicken and boiled rice, but he will eat kibble on its own as well!
So when your baby is completely better you can use the ID kibble plus some mixer if she will not eat it alone. It certainly is easier to feed than the messy canned, and less expensive too!
It will be good for Turner too as it will keep him slim and hopefully P free! As you say you can always give him some more tasty extras on the side
It would be hard to keep Anna out of Turners food, if it were different.
I don't like the BB food as I had issues with it when I fed it to my dog before he got the P.
Hoping the wet spots are only innocent and that Anna is really on the mend now. Even if she did throw up a bit of liquid it should not be concerning unless it becomes more frequent and in large amounts, especially if it contained undigested food.
So try not to worry any more and keep doing what you are doing, as it is working
Enjoy the holiday with your babies…but keep them out of the 'human good stuff"!! Hard to refuse them a few bits of our holiday dinner, but it is not worth the risk.
In situations like this I just give a little veggies and chicken so they don't feel left out.
Praying all is well now and Happy Thanksgiving!

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by P Hudson

I would say great, as she's been like her old self for a couple of days now, very playful and energetic. But I'm questioning a couple of small wet spots on the rug, which either means she threw up or Turner, her brother, has been lying there and obsessively licking and chewing himself--they have allergies and he does that a lot but that's another thread.

I've been giving them boiled organic skinless boneless chicken breasts and rice. The last couple of days I've added a little baby food sweet potatoes, but not much. And because I ran out of the boiled chicken last night, I've substituted some strained baby food chicken and broth, which is low fat and recommended years ago for another dog I had who had pancreatitis and kidney disease. Just to be safe, though, I'm discontinuing the baby food and getting ready to cook some more chicken to go with the rice.

Her vet says the Hills Rx I/D low fat canine digestive care canned food is back-ordered at Hills. So I'm trying to find some somewhere. They have the dry food in that Rx but I've read that a lot of dogs don't care for it, so I wanted to start her on the canned. Maybe if I got the dried and for the time being mixed it with chicken and rice? I don't know at this point.

I want to put her on a nutritionally balanced diet and Hills is what they carry (usually). I know there's another one called Royal Canin but haven't looked into that one and the vet may not be as familiar with it. And with Thanksgiving tomorrow, this is probably all going to have to wait until Friday.

I worry that currently my dogs are not on a balanced diet. We ran out of the Blue Buffalo Grain Free Kibble they used to eat--and Anna couldn't eat that now anyway--so they're both on cooked food now. I want to put them both on that same low-fat food, just to make sure Anna doesn't get into whatever higher fat food I would be feeding Turner. The vet said it would be okay for them both to eat low fat. (I could always sneak Turner some balanced doggie treats that aren't low fat from time to time.) Ultimately I'd like to put them back on self feed with some kind of kibble but also give them canned food for maybe one meal. Lots of decisions . . .

My vet carries mostly Hill's but does also carry some Royal Canin products. I prefer Purina RX foods over some of Hill's so they order it for me. Perhaps if you ask your vet, he could order the RC for you.

A few days or a week is not going to matter in the long run...when I was switching a couple of mine to home cooked, I tried different foods without supplements just to see what they liked best. Then, I had the diets formulated by the vet nutritionist.

So happy to hear Annabelle is doing so well. I so know the stress of having a sick pup....I know you will have extra stuff to be thankful for tomorrow.

[107barney]

You can get your vet to write you a script for RC gastrointestinal and get it at Petsmart (Banfield) if there is one nearby. You also can order it online at Chewy.com and your vet can authorize it. If you fill out the info on chewy, they will call your vet. We used the RC gastrointestinal kibble for Barney and he liked it. He currently eats chicken breast with sweet and white potatoes.

I would feed white meat chicken and white rice or chicken and white baked skinless potatoes until you get the Rx food in. By the way, I usually cook my own chicken for the dogs but in a pinch I grab a rotisserie chicken without salt.

if it's only a week or so without balancing the food, I would not be particularly worried. I would be trying to get calories into the dog with small frequent bland low fat meals.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

totally agree .. I see lots of people posting about home cooking for their pups but not adding supplements and it is worrisome

Yes and worse than no supplements is when I see people posting and it seems they are just throwing random ingredients together in a bowl. People mean well and think home cooking is better because of various factors they cite as important (fresh, organic, no preservatives, additives, chemicals, etc) but if they are not doing it right, they are going to have problems eventually. They may not even know until it's too late.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Yes and worse than no supplements is when I see people posting and it seems they are just throwing random ingredients together in a bowl. People mean well and think home cooking is better because of various factors they cite as important (fresh, organic, no preservatives, additives, chemicals, etc) but if they are not doing it right, they are going to have problems eventually. They may not even know until it's too late.

I know, that's the part that is bad. It is bound to show up later on... and the poor pups will suffer as a result.

[P Hudson]

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

Thanks for the update. It seems that Anna is doing well on the home cooked low fat food you are making for her. It is a good bland diet that most of us feed when our dogs are sick. Yes it is not completely balanced but I would think for a few days that will not matter.
Sorry the Hills ID canned is not available yet, but I am sure it will be relatively easy to come by. As far as the ID kibble, my dog eats it OK alone, but adding some canned or a little topper of chicken and rice makes it more acceptable. I now feed my dog the ID kibble plus a small amount of chicken and boiled rice, but he will eat kibble on its own as well!
So when your baby is completely better you can use the ID kibble plus some mixer if she will not eat it alone. It certainly is easier to feed than the messy canned, and less expensive too!
It will be good for Turner too as it will keep him slim and hopefully P free! As you say you can always give him some more tasty extras on the side
It would be hard to keep Anna out of Turners food, if it were different.
I don't like the BB food as I had issues with it when I fed it to my dog before he got the P.
Hoping the wet spots are only innocent and that Anna is really on the mend now. Even if she did throw up a bit of liquid it should not be concerning unless it becomes more frequent and in large amounts, especially if it contained undigested food.
So try not to worry any more and keep doing what you are doing, as it is working
Enjoy the holiday with your babies…but keep them out of the 'human good stuff"!! Hard to refuse them a few bits of our holiday dinner, but it is not worth the risk.
In situations like this I just give a little veggies and chicken so they don't feel left out.
Praying all is well now and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for your support. Anna seems good tonight. And you couldn't pay me to give her holiday, fatty foods after the scare I've had seeing her so sick.

It's encouraging to hear that your dog will eat the kibble on its own, and I hear you on the cost of this stuff. I used to pay a dollar a can in 2006, though it may have been the k/d. I'm not sure; he had kidney disease as well as a history of pancreatitis--I think just once. I found the canned i/d today, though it might not be the same thing because it was on Amazon, and it was $72 for 12 cans.

Anna just came up to me with a ball and a hopeful/taunting look in her eyes. So good to see.

Have a good holiday, and thanks again for writing.

[P Hudson]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

My vet carries mostly Hill's but does also carry some Royal Canin products. I prefer Purina RX foods over some of Hill's so they order it for me. Perhaps if you ask your vet, he could order the RC for you.

A few days or a week is not going to matter in the long run...when I was switching a couple of mine to home cooked, I tried different foods without supplements just to see what they liked best. Then, I had the diets formulated by the vet nutritionist.

So happy to hear Annabelle is doing so well. I so know the stress of having a sick pup....I know you will have extra stuff to be thankful for tomorrow.

I absolutely am thankful that both babies are happily gnawing away on their Nylabones and seem healthy and well. I'm going to try some kind of prescription dog food and maybe later will talk to a vet nutritionist. Right now I just want to put their diet in the hands of an expert because I'm not comfortable guessing. So Friday I'll call the vet and see what they say.

[P Hudson]

Originally Posted by 107barney

You can get your vet to write you a script for RC gastrointestinal and get it at Petsmart (Banfield) if there is one nearby. You also can order it online at Chewy.com and your vet can authorize it. If you fill out the info on chewy, they will call your vet. We used the RC gastrointestinal kibble for Barney and he liked it. He currently eats chicken breast with sweet and white potatoes.

I would feed white meat chicken and white rice or chicken and white baked skinless potatoes until you get the Rx food in. By the way, I usually cook my own chicken for the dogs but in a pinch I grab a rotisserie chicken without salt.

if it's only a week or so without balancing the food, I would not be particularly worried. I would be trying to get calories into the dog with small frequent bland low fat meals.

Thank you for your help and encouragement. They both seem to be doing well tonight, and better a short time eating an unbalanced diet than trying to balance it and giving them the wrong thing. I can call the vet day after tomorrow and talk about options. There is a PetSmart/Banfield close. I tried some pet site today and the site was malfunctioning. But who knows? Maybe that was a good thing. I can figure it out Friday.

It's just so good to seem them both playing and to have them nagging me with a ball again.

[dottiesyrky]

I am so glad to hear your babies are playing and feeling better.
I hope your vet will agree that if you do choose to feed a commercial food, a food such as Prescription Hills ID Low Fat ( either canned or kibble) or the RC or other equivalent is the diet usually recommended for P.
As for price I pay around $3 a can or $34 per 8 LB bag of kibble at the vet. The Amazon price seems really high. Also 12 cans may be a lot to order at first. She may not like it, and you may decide to convert to kibble. I only fed my dog the canned for a couple of weeks before I weaned him off that and fed the kibble. If you have a Petsmart nearby, as suggested in the above post, they will probably have the food if your vet gives them a script.
I know you are concerned as to what to feed, but in my case I have found the Prescription food is well tolerated by my dog and he keeps really well on it. I feel for him having to eat the same low fat kibble all the time, but he is always hungry and eats it all up every meal. I feed him four times a day and he does well on that regimen. The one issue I have found is that the low fat diet meal seems to be absorbed quickly and he gets hungry again!!
After he was really free of the P and eating just kibble, I started adding about a thumbnail's worth of boiled chicken breast and about a tsp of boiled rice mixed in each meal. These additions seemed to satisfy him better and made me feel I was cooking for him a little. LOL! In my worrywort way, I did retest his P panels and they looked good, so the additions are doing ok for him.
For you it will soon be time to get that bird in the oven
Wishing you a peaceful day with two happy and healthy dogs playing under your feet as they enjoy the lovely cooking aromas in the kitchen.

[P Hudson]

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

I am so glad to hear your babies are playing and feeling better.
I hope your vet will agree that if you do choose to feed a commercial food, a food such as Prescription Hills ID Low Fat ( either canned or kibble) or the RC or other equivalent is the diet usually recommended for P.
As for price I pay around $3 a can or $34 per 8 LB bag of kibble at the vet. The Amazon price seems really high. Also 12 cans may be a lot to order at first. She may not like it, and you may decide to convert to kibble. I only fed my dog the canned for a couple of weeks before I weaned him off that and fed the kibble. If you have a Petsmart nearby, as suggested in the above post, they will probably have the food if your vet gives them a script.
I know you are concerned as to what to feed, but in my case I have found the Prescription food is well tolerated by my dog and he keeps really well on it. I feel for him having to eat the same low fat kibble all the time, but he is always hungry and eats it all up every meal. I feed him four times a day and he does well on that regimen. The one issue I have found is that the low fat diet meal seems to be absorbed quickly and he gets hungry again!!
After he was really free of the P and eating just kibble, I started adding about a thumbnail's worth of boiled chicken breast and about a tsp of boiled rice mixed in each meal. These additions seemed to satisfy him better and made me feel I was cooking for him a little. LOL! In my worrywort way, I did retest his P panels and they looked good, so the additions are doing ok for him.
For you it will soon be time to get that bird in the oven
Wishing you a peaceful day with two happy and healthy dogs playing under your feet as they enjoy the lovely cooking aromas in the kitchen.

Thanks. My vet gave me a recipe out of a book but said if I decided not to home cook, he'd prescribe some low fat dog food. I suspect he's been there before and figured I'd eventually go for the prepared, balanced food. And he was right. I like the idea of, later on, adding a tiny bit of boiled chicken and rice for "dessert." Have a good holiday. I just took a computer break. Gotta get back to the kitchen.