Pancreatitis

[langcliffe]

Well its been a few years since we have been on the forum, but Bramble was diagnosed with pancreatitis today. She has had lose bowels once or twice a day with colitis for the last two weeks and this week had blood tests which has given us the diagnosis.. She is 9 next month. Still has her voracious appetite fortunately so changing det should be no problem.. she was on Arden Grange light chicken and rice before.. Just looking for any hints and tips.. as i gather Blue Roans are particularly prone?

[Acciesboy]

Our little Maltese Cross was diagnosed with Acute Paccreatitis a couple of months ago after his Cocker brother passed away. He had probably had chronic pancreatitis for years but we never really noticed, then the stress pushed him over the edge. We always thought he was a fussy eater, but now when we think about it, he probably wasn't eating because he felt sick from a high fat meal the day before.

He has been eating chicken or baked white fish to wrap his pills and then Royal Canin Prescription Gastro Intestinal food. We lice in Australia and have a different range of options from the UK based folslks. He has been on Losec for his tummy and Gabapentin (neurontin) for pain relief. He hasn't had any side effects of the pills fortunately. We're hoping to get him off the pills soon...he needs a blood test but has had an ear infection this last week, meaning they will likely be off due to that so the vert said to postpone tests for another week or so. He has also just met his new adopted Cocker Spaniel Brother so he went off his food for a day or two, but he seems to have righted himself again.

I found sticking to the diet was the most important thing...we cut out any treats and used the Gastro kibble as a treat. It seemed to work for him (touch wood.) To start with, little and often was also important. Feeding him small amounts every hour or two helped him early on (he had black tarry poos then other bloody things coming out of him, but the small meals really helped him.) He's now back to being fed twice a day. We watch him like a hawk and don't lot him near any indiscretions like cat food, table scraps, etc.

[elaine.e]

9 year old Louis had a bout of pancreatitis almost 7 months ago. He managed to slip a disc in his neck at the same time, so I suspect that the pain and stress of the slipped disc may have triggered the pancreatitis. There's no way of knowing for sure though.

Because he had both problems at the same time he had a real mix and match of drugs, so I won't list them because TBH I'm not altogether sure which ones were for which condition now! Before it all happened he was eating and drinking normally, no vomiting, no diarrhoea or constipation, and in fact seemed right as rain until the morning of the day when it all kicked off.

He was a very poorly boy for about 2 days and wouldn't eat, which is unheard of for him. He normally has a very keen appetite and the digestive capabilities of a hyena. Once he started eating again he soon graduated from several tiny meals a day back to his normal two meals a day. He's always been raw fed and still is. The only difference is that I'm now very careful to restrict the fat content of his food. But it's easy enough to do that and still give him a varied and balanced diet. His standby food, for those occasions when I've forgotten to thaw out raw food in time, is tinned Chappie Original. It's a pretty poor food IMO, but it's low fat and easily digestible, even if I don't really approve of the ingredients!

I'm hoping his was a one off bout, but there's no way of knowing for sure, so I'll have to continue to be careful with his food for the rest of his life.

Cockers are a breed prone to Pancreatitis. I think many vets will confirm that and will also say there's probably some sort of genetic reason. But so far that's not been investigated let alone discovered.

[Archie bean]

My last cocker suffered a sudden bout due to an accidental meeting with a large chocolate Santa hidden my nieces Christmas stocking.  He was very ill and after that he suffered from it for the rest of his life. He had to be on a very low fat diet, fed at the same time every day - no deviating! Low fat meant under 4% fat - food and treats. Stress was a real trigger so I also had to be careful about groomer and vet visits etc. For a while things were very up and down but I too was recommended to put him on the Royal Canin Low Fat gastro intestinal food and it was a complete life changer. He was literally a different dog on it. He remained on it for the rest of his life.

[sueneil]

You might give AVA White Fish for sensitive stomachs and skin a try- It's a Pets at Home brand and I use it for my lot who need to avoid gluten and grain. I add some cooked chicken or baked white fish as a topping for variety.

[revis]

Jessie is 13 and had a very bad bout of pancreatitis about 4 years ago.She stayed at vets for 2 nights on drip etc.Since then she has been on Royal Canin low fat gastro intestinal food.
She has a mix of their kibble and the wet food with vegetables.Loves it its gone in a minute never had such a quick eater.Since then she is fine no trouble at all with it.

[rubyduby]

You need to feed a low fat diet, bearing in mind that dog food packets tins etc put on their fat content this is not the Dry matter figure which is much higher and is the figure you need to go by(there is a formula for working it out) you are aiming for less than 10% Dm fat. I used to feed my girl who is also a blue roan 9 yrs old (her sister also had it and she was orange/roan) raw food, completes, but couldn't find one with a DM less than 10% so now feed 'Natures Diet@ fish and potato ..only as its the only one that I could find low enough, she eats it happiy and I do vary it with adding a little low fat beef mince or cooked chicken/turkey again breast ...lo fat. she is now on 3 meals a day but was on 5-6 small ones for quite a while after she was ill