Pancreatitis
 

Hi everyone. Long time since I've been on, i know..... Life keeps me so busy these days i kind of just veered off. But i need all the great knowledge and advise you can only find here on yorkietalk right now.

Charlie is currently hospitalized right now being treated for pancreatitis. It started with diarreah which was bad enough i took him to the vet. Vet suspected the pancreatitis so did blood work. The next morning they called saying he had it and here we are. I think he'll be in on an IV for two days, but I'll call tomorrow for his status.

The Dr acts like i caught it in time. He says no other organs were affected.... I'm just wondering what im looking at long term with this for anyone who's been through it or knows about this illness.

Thanks in advance for any tips and advise!!

There really isn't any way to predict the future with these pups. I have seen them have pancreatitis one time....and some will have it more frequently. Usually they are put on low fat diets after having pancreatits.

Hope he is doing better today!

Hi thanks. I hope so too! Im just glad to hear that it could very well not be an ongoing thing... more like an illness than a disease. The day the diarreah started he got into a bag of trash that hadnt been taken out to the dumpster yet. I have no idea what he ate, but that could have been what triggered it. Huge coincidence if not.

I think if it was a food that caused it, it is probably less likely to be an ongoing problem.
Hopefully! :)

I'm calling to check on him in a few minutes. I was so worried about him being cold last night and alone snd scared. I dont know for sure, but i suspect the pets are there alone over night.

Oh, I would not leave mine where no one is there at night!!! They should not be running IVs when they are not there.
You should bring him home at night and then take him during the day for IVs.
My vet does treat if it is not a severe case...if really severe, then mine go to a 24 hour hospital.

I do not know that for sure. I am probably wrong. I was thinking that because i know tge are closed on tge weekend. Then last night it popped in my head if anyone was there. But it makes sense that they wouldn't leave them alone with an ivy.

Btw i got an update. He is doing great and will be given food today. They hope to be able to release him today. Im waiting for a confirmation from the dr.

Charlie is home and doing great. :-)

Hi, we just recently went through this, so can relate.
Keep asking to see and discuss the lab work and see if their is improvement. It tells you how the pancreas is doing. Did they do an ultrasound. Laimonly had the ones episode 4 months ago and she will stay on the low-fat ID food from here on out. Don’t want another bout if we can help it. Hardest part for us is finding treats that are low fat.

LadyJane has had lots of experience with this.

Good luck.

Great news! :)

P
 

So happy to hear your boy is doing well. I agree it was probably the food he got into that made him sick. If the vet said you caught it early and he is being treated at the vet, and home now, probably no big worries.
I do suspect that certain dogs are prone to P and we can't take risks. My dog had a mild case several years ago that was treated at home and he recovered very well with the regimen that the vet said I should follow. I feed him prescription Hills ID Low Fat kibble mainly, and the canned if he seems upset. He loves both and he has had no P since the first bout. If he should get the slightest GI upset I get him tested for P and other blood and urine tests. So far so good. My vet said I should only feed the ID food for life and that is what I do. Certainly no people food or fatty treats. I get some low fat Chewy treats that I occasionally give him and he does ok with those too. Hoping your baby likes the prescription food and stays well.

Hi, yes the vet also thinks it was whatever he ate from the trash. The vet does not think he needs a special diet at this point. I am to skowly reuntroduce his regular food though. So for now, he is on the royal canine low fat can food. I hive him a large spoonful once in the morning and once at night with hus meds mixed in. Once the meds are gone then ill go back to his normal food and probably mix the low fat stuff in too.

I had them give an at home treatmebt to hold him over the weekend until we could mediate him via iv. Then Monday he spent one night (two days) getting treated at the vet. I wanted to be sure he was completly cured because i know it can be fatal. The vet said we could do home only treatment but recommended he be hospitalized. He said he recently had an unfortunate case with this illness and so he's really careful and makes sure his patients are offered a full treatmebt. He really is a great vet that cares. He wad beyond fair with my bill too.

P
 

Thanks for the update. Seems like you and your vet are doing a great job. Wise to get your baby well with vet monitoring and care before sending him home.
I hope the regular food you will wean him onto is relatively low fat. If you feed him regular food and not the prescription I would keep a close eye on your baby should he have any GI upset or change in bowel habits, and get hm tested at the vet in case the P returns. My vet scared me into the prescription food for ever as he felt that if a dog is prone to P, it can happen again. As he loves the food and is 9 yrs old now, I will keep him on the prescription and P diet.
Wishing your baby well soon and may he stay well.
I have no idea why my dog got his mild bout of P as he didn't knowingly get into anything bad, but I was feeding Wellness at that time. Most regulat foods have pretty high fat content.

Very glad to hear that Charlie is doing well.

The truth is that they really don't know what causes pancreatitis. That said, yes there are some absolute no no's in terms of food such as extremely fatty foods which are known to trigger it.

Sounds like you and your vet have a plan. It is great that you have a vet you like and trust. Hopefully this will be a one time thing.

When Cali had one and only pancreareitis attack the lab work was off the charts. Got a lot better each day and a week later was pretty normal. It was believed the treats I was giving her for agility, that were give to me by another agility colleague, were no doubt the cause. But like LadyJane said they really don’t know about that for sure.

The specialists however said that their mantra was once they pup has an attack then they stay on the prescription food for life. The feeling being another attack is not worth the risk and the damage/inflammation that each attack causes is not worth the risk.

LadyJane may be able to speak to this more. Since she has more experience with it.

Cali was less than satisfied with the food but we have found way to to deal with it like dehydrated lean chicken granules in the kibble. She likes the kibbles better than the wet food (which really really smells awful and can get stuck in her full coat mustache).

I use the Royal Canin prescrition kibble for regular means and the Hill prescription kiblble for treats ( don’t tell her they aren’t really treats) :D
You can get both from Chewys or the vet.

Anyway on this schedule her lab work is normal and I hope to never go through that flare again!

Thanks goodness for pet insurance what with ICU and all. But she was a pathetic little think while she as in the hospital. Never want that to happen to her again.

I had him on royal canine then switched to blue buffalo. He's been on that for at least a year. I'm thinking i might go back to royal canine. Ill need to figure which one of the royal canines will be best.

You might want to go with their RX gastro diet just to be on the safe side. I would suggest speaking with your vet about it...see what his thoughts are.

I have her on the Royal Canin ID diet, not the regular. Trying to keep,the fat content low as that stimulates the pancreas.

P
 

I was feeding my boy on Blue Buffalo kibble some weeks before he got P and he got sick, so I changed to Wellness. He did not improve, so after the vet visit and the P diagnosis, I wonder if both foods were too high in fat? Also BB has had some health issues recently. Although the ingredients seemed good, I felt the BB quality control was not good as my dog first got sick after I opened a new bag. I must say I have found the quality control from bag to bag is very good for the Hills ID. Luckily my dog loves the ID after eating it for years, so why change?

Dog food
 

My vet said to keep my yorkies on a low fat diet. No fat higher than 9%. So they eat wet hills id. I looking at the new hills Natural low fat id. So much better than that other stuff. This is a dry kibble. I've been feeding life's abundance with a 16% fat. Jojo doesn't like it. I better change that food, listen to the vet and go get that $40 bag of food. Alot cheaper than a bout of pancreatitus. Do you agree with me, lady Jane, love to dream. You love yorkies and I respect your opinions.

P
 

Although the prescription Hills is fairly expensive, I find an 8 pound bag lasts over two months for my ten pound dog, so it isn't that bad. Thanks for the info re the hills natural, I will look at it. But I am a little scared to change anything as the prescription ID is working so well.

I have been dealing with pancreatitis with one of mine recently. He has a history but it was years ago. I now have him on Hill's ID low fat. One of my fosters is on it and doing really well.
I would only use that or Royal Canin Gastro diet for a pup with pancreatitis.

I personally would stick with the Hill's ID low fat.