pancreatitus diet

[Annabella]

Hello all!

It's been 10 years since I joined this forum (my boy turned 10 this year) and I haven't posted in years but here goes!

My boy has had several bouts of pancreatitus over the years, almost always brought on by picking up something fatty. I've has him on a low fat diet for a couple of years which (touch wood) has worked well and he's not had any trouble in a while.
However he's now losing weight! I've had him at a good weight for a while but over the past few months he's been slowly dropping a few lbs. I don't want him to get to a point where he's too skinny so wondered if anyone knew how to feed a diet that's low in fat but helps maintain or even add a little weight? (Impossible?!)
Currently feeding natural dog food company senior/light mixed with a little chappie. Treats include low fat wagg treats, the odd denti sticks and some carrot.
Any ideas? Is there a doggy protein powder like for weight maintenance or some supplement or food I could try? Want to adjust it now before he gets too skinny!
Thanks in advance

Anna x

[elaine.e]

Hello and welcome back

I don't have any suggestions for food, but would suggest that you have him checked by your vet as he's losing weight, albeit quite slowly, for no obvious reason. Hopefully there's not a medical problem, but if he was mine I'd have him checked over

[Annabella]

Hello!

I took him to the vets on Monday and they said keel an eye on him for another month to see if he drops any more before they'll take bloods. Just wondered if there was anything diet related in the mean time I could try. He's on a very restricted diet and wondered if that was the problem.

[rubybella]

How about adding cooked pasta into his food ? My girl has had pancreatitis and is on millieswolfheart Tracker mix (8.5%fat). She is quite lean and I sometimes I add leftover pasta or rice into her kibble to bulk her out a bit.

[Archie bean]

My last cocker Dickon suffered regular bouts of pancreatitis. It's been a few years since I lost him (to cancer, not pancreatitis) but I do remember that this is a common issue with dogs suffering from this problem. If I remember rightly it's because they can't absorb nutrients from their food normally so weight loss is common, as is the inability to put it back on. I agree that a conversation with your vet would be a good idea as there are special diets that can help. Dickon was put on Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal low fat food mixed with some chappie. I've said this before so apologies for repeating myself but, although this food doesn't appear to have great ingredients and doesn't rank highly on some of the food review sites it was BRILLIANT for Dickon. He maintained a steady weight and was fitter and healthier than he had been for years once he was on it. I honestly believe it saved his life as he would have pancreatitis relapses regularly prior to being on it.

[Annabella]

I think the dry food is less than 4% fat so perhaps I've been restricting him too much with the fat?! I've never heard of milles wolf heart so looks interesting and will look into royal canin as well thank you.
I may try experimenting with adding a little more fat and see how he gets on.
X

[1sttimecockermum]

My Boy Dennis has pancreatitus and so is on a low fat diet- When i was researching foods I learnt there is a calculation you have to do to compare the fat content in foods-


Converting dry matter basis

If a dry dog food has 10% moisture we know that it has 90% dry matter. So we look at the label and check the protein level that reads 20%. Next, we divide the 20 percent protein by the 90% dry matter and we get 22%, which is the amount of protein on a dry matter basis. Does this make sense so far? Good. Now let us compare this to canned food that has 80% moisture. We know that with 80% moisture we have 20% dry matter. The label shows 5% protein. So we take the 5% and divide it by 20% and we get 25% protein on a dry matter basis. So the canned food has more protein per pound on a dry matter basis after all the water is taken out. We can do the same for fat, fiber, etc.

It all seems very complicated- Dennis is having Burns Fish and Maize with a tiny bit of Fish Naturediet mixed in for flavour and this seems to suit him (fingers crossed)

[Macette]

My girl had an attack of pancreatitis after being spayed. So we put her on Burns Alert low fat and a teaspoon of coconut oil which is one oil they can have when on low fat....so far so good she loves the food and no loss of weight. Sometimes I add some boiled rice or pasta. The dry food is low protein and low fat but she seems to be doing fine on it.


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[Annabella]

Coconut oil sounds interesting, I might give that a go.

I've had him on tuna and rive for a few days to see if that would stop the soft and pale poos he's been having but no luck yet.

Very frustrating when something was working so well and then just suddenly disagrees with him.

Thank you for the tips though. Much appreciated!

[Archie bean]

I have copied the following  from this article as I think it might be relevant:

http://www.2ndchance.info/pancreatitisdog.htm

The Chronic Form Of Pancreatitis

"Repeated bouts of acute pancreatic attacks eventually destroy the organs ability to produce digestive enzymes.

You might observe recurrent bouts of cramping, abdominal pain and tenderness, arched back, reluctance to move, little or no appetite and transient depression over an extended period as your pet journeys into the chronic form of pancreatitis.

Once these changes occur, the pancreas cannot regain its healthy state. In those pet, veterinarians will attempt to lessen your pet’s need for the missing enzymes (through special diets) and supplement the missing enzymes with similar enzymes available in powder or tablet form.

Sometimes, it is not only the enzyme-producing tissue within the pancreas that is lost. The portion producing insulin can also be lost, leading to diabetes.

I have noticed that stool color and consistency often change as pets pass into the chronic stage of pancreatitis. It tends to be a lighter yellowish or clay color, smell worse, and have a greasy appearance.

This is because of a lack of pancreatic enzyme (pancreatic lipase) necessary to digest, emulsify and absorb fatty substances in your pet's diet. (similar stool changes occur when a pet’s liver no longer produces sufficient bile)

Because these pets are starved for nutrients, they tend to gradually loose weight no matter how much they eat."

It sounds as if your boy might have chronic pancreatitis. Having nearly lost Dickon to this I am a bit over cautious perhaps, but I am a bit concerned your vet doesn't seem to be taking it very seriously? I would be taking him back for more tests sooner rather than later.