Well, damn if she isn’t a little better, but not by much. She still seems weak and is very stiff in the hind end. We took her off Tramadol since it was just making her dopey and the pancreatitis test was negative.
She’s going back in for the internist referral.
This is a short video of how she was walking last Sunday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEFYRk1hbdM
We thought this was going to be the end for her.
On Monday, I called from work and made the appointment with the internist. But when I got home, she was so much brighter, I called back and switched it to the ortho surgeon. She clearly had recovered from whatever was making her sick, although she was still lame.
Took her in Thursday, and they recommended medical solutions, such as joint supplements and Adequan, so she got an injection. Despite manipulating her every which way, they could not get a pain response from her, and her x-rays were deemed not that bad.
So, four days after her first shot, she is bouncing all over the place, maybe not 100% like she was before, but pretty darn close.
I guess we will never know if she really had a bout of pancreatis!
I know this is a super old thread, but any updates?
I have an 8 year old mini poodle, who is my girl… she’s basically my “heart dog”. She has been having issues with pancreatitis and recently (about 2 weeks ago) started on Royal Canin Gastro Low Fat but still isnt totally “herself”… she is still having off days… sometimes an extra gurgly stomach, sometimes throwing up, just not totally herself… we all thought she was on the upside of it but then yesterday she threw up a couple times (mostly just kibble, not much bile) and today her stomach has been super gurgly and lethargic (but she also got 1/2 a tab of ACE this morning so I dont know if she’s lethargic or is jut feeling the Ace…she got it since my mom and I went to Washington Int HS and dad was home with Bailey). Poops are normal, eating/drinking normal, playing normal… but just not quiet right. Tips? Suggestions? Anything?
My Boxer had a bout of pancreatitis this spring. I actually think he has had it a few times but not profound enough for us to consider taking him into the ER. He is now on Hill’s ID Low Fat. Only. No treats. No special bites of anything, Nothing fun. It seems to be working. Are you positive that other family members are not giving her bites of anything fatty? I had to tell my mother-in-law that her good intentioned bites of cheese or deli meat could now KILL my dog. He no longer goes over to visit her house because she could not resist sneaking him treats.
Also, when my guy was first diagnosed, he was on omeprezole for 2 weeks. That seemed to help. The ER vet indicated that it would be about 3 days to feel somewhat better and up to 14 days to rebound completely after eliminating high fats from his diet. Frankly, I would stay away from things like ace until this digestive things settles down.
You can always try a different low fat, easy to digest kibble or switch to canned. I found the canned to be even more easily digestible by my guy. It doesn’t take as much from the digestive system as it does to break down kibble. Or soak the kibble until soft.
When we had a checkup by our regular vet, I asked about doing follow up blood work to see where his numbers are. She indicated that could be done at 3-6 months because sometimes it takes that long for the pancreas to completely settle down. Now that I think about it, my dog did have some “dietary indiscretion” (squirrel poop) about 3 months after his initial diagnosis. When we went to the ER (different clinic due to a power outage) they gave him cerenia for the digestive upset. Perhaps your pup needs omeprezole and/or cerenia to help everything calm down. It may be time for a revisit to your regular vet if she doesn’t get over the digestive upset in the next few days. Good luck!
@Lizrd Thank you!!! Do you give your dog the gastrointestinal low fat treats? I think that Hills makes them. I know Royal Canin does (I ordered them yesterday!).
Yeah going to stay away from Ace, any treats, and her cosequin. We had been only doing super low fat (5% or less) training treats and a duck jerky but no more. The duck jerky was surprising, 3% fat! Just the royal canin gastro low fat food.
We ended up going to the ER last night, she started arching her back, wouldn’t settle, in pain…she probably didn’t need to go, but we were worried and she really is my baby. I am totally that dog mom who probably goes to the vet more often than I need to… Last night they did blood work, slightly elevated for one enzyme (I don’t remember which one it was), but just barely on the “high” side. Which is consistent with her previous blood work. They gave her SubQ fluids and an injection for pain/nausea (I dont remember again, all of this is on the kitchen counter…we got home after 12 and I was up early to go ride this morning!). The ER doc last night didn’t even call it pancreatitis, she called it gastroenteritis since her levels were just barely up, even though symptoms were consistent with pancreatitis. By the time we got home (like 20 mins from the ER) she was back to herself…ate her kibble and then came and snuggled in bed with me. She is totally back to herself this morning.
I think that the fluids and the shot were able to get her comfortable and we are going to follow up with our regular vet tomorrow. We are going to try to get her in with the dog radiologist for a full work up ultrasound just to make sure everything is OK structurally in there since this is flare up #3 in a year…seems to be every 6 months or so. She had x-rays done when she had her first issue with it. We dont really know whats causing it, and her levels are only every so slightly elevated.
How is your dog doing now Liz?
I am glad you took her in and that the vet helped her feel better. That Cerenia, an anti nausea shot, is magic!
Our pup is good, knock wood. I feel like we are early in the journey but hopefully with diet control we can keep this regulated. With Boxers, it is always good news to have a condition you can do something about. So often their diagnoses are terminal… We were definitely at fault with plenty of high fat treats prior to his first serious bout. My guy loves our dogs and liked to indulge them with people food. He used to do spray whip from the can, cheese, peanut butter, etc. To his credit, the minute our Boxer came home, he stopped giving people food cold turkey.
I have found a few treats that are super low fat. My guy and I also take turns following this recipe for homemade treats using his Hill’s ID Low Fat. We do the kibble version. Throw some in a blender to make powder, then add water to make drop cookies. Very easy but it does make the kitchen reek!
https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/nutrition-feeding/healthy-homemade-dog-treats
My dog’s first trip to ER was in April. We did only the Hill’s diet and homemade treats for the first two months. Then every two weeks we would introduce a new low fat treat. Keep in mind, our Boxer is 60 lbs so a few biscuits is nothing to him compared to a mini poodle. We have been able to provide these treats in very moderate amounts
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/product.aspx?&cat=1&pid=5
Not more than 5% fat
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/charlee-bear-dog-treats-with-turkey-liver-and-cranberries
about 3% fat
https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/treats/limited-ingredient-treats-biscuits/sweet-potato-and-chicken
about 6% - we get the mini treats and I ration out how many he can have each day.
We have also added freeze dried chicken breast which is pretty low fat, too. I am crazy about reading labels now. What I don’t love is that dog food and treats lists minimum fat content but not maximum. I always figure the manufacturers aren’t going to make it even fattier than it lists because adding fat adds cost to production.
Hope your girl continues to improve. They are our families!
@Lizrd Thank you!!! The hills website has all kinds of helpful info 
I’m gad your boy is doing well.
Yeah the Cerenia was magic! She’s had it before. It is so frustrating how the list the fat minimum. I wonder if just plain chicken would be ok? Like white meat from a rotisserie chicken. We get them for 4.99 at the grocery store and seem always have left overs. I will have to take a photo the duck jerky things we have. I got them at BJ’s and they seem pretty good quality and low low low fat.
So far she’s been her wild self again ll day. I will call the regular vet tomorrow just to follow up but I think she’s on the up swing.
Hi EqRunner, I am glad she is doing better. I don’t have kids but my two Boxers are treated better than any kids I would have had!
I don’t think the rotisserie chicken is a good idea. Have you ever seen them on the spit at the store? All of the fat and juice from the top ones drip onto the ones lower down. I have always been told that even chicken breast needs to be boiled and then drained to be appropriate for dogs on a bland diet. I cut off any trace of fat that is left on it prior to cooking. I do feed boiled chicken breast when I want to really pamper my pups. When I make it, it is surprising how much fat and ick rises to the top of the water. I rinse it well, even after draining it. Our new rule is: Everything in moderation!
Hope your girl continues on an upward trend. I am sure it is nice to see her bouncing around again!
Yeah I don’t have kids either but Bailey is deff my fur baby!
Ewwww I didn’t know that!!!
So far shes still on the up swing. And running around like a wild child…you’d never guess she has blew both ACL’s and is 8.5 years old! Shhh don’t tell her.
My young whippet had acute pancreatitis before he was a year old. He was hospitalized, and after he got home I used prescription food for a while, but he was having trouble with the dry. It just seemed hard for him to digest.
I boiled boneless, skinless chicken breasts for him and drained the fat off, and then used the remaining water to start boiling plain white rice, adding some extra water, until it was fairly gummy. Mixing those two things, and giving him the PancrePlus powder prescribed by the vet helped slowly restore him to health. I changed him to a lower fat, more easily digestible food (the baked beef Avoderm) after he was doing well. He hasn’t had the problem reoccur in the almost 4 years since then.
@snowblaze aww he was young!!! I’m hoping that my girl stays on the up swing like your boy did! Did you give him any extra treats or anything “yummy” or “extra”?
@Lizrd did you ever give your pup any “extras” or “yummies”?
We are going to the regular vet tomorrow (shots and follow up). The ER vet suggested an ultrasound of her pancreas but I’m not sure what that will actually show. Has anyone had an ultrasound done?
I hope she does, too!
I gave him very lean treats, checked ingredient labels every time. We stayed under 8% fat, preferably under 4%. Mostly he got the boiled chicken for a treat. No cheese, pigs ears or even the other dog’s food.
I was too worried to give anything that might be too high in fat and trigger a third episode in my still growing young dog. You can see what my poor boy looked like after he got home from the second hospitalization in less than two months. I was afraid a third instance would kill him. It took him about three months to get back up to the decent weight in the second pic. He’s still my lowfat boy and I give him things like the chicken, milk chews, low fat dog treats etc.
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@snowblaze He’s so cute!!!
I just got the Royal Canin Gastro (prescription) treats in the mail on Weds. She likes them which is good (she can be very picky sometimes!), and they are small. According to the package she can get 11 a day. I just feel guilty not giving her any “extra” yummies.
I’m hoping she doesn’t lose too much weight. She is 20lbs right now, (not fat, she’s tall and long and kinda lanky for a mini poodle), which is OK. She is usually 21-22 lbs, and below 20 is too thin. But I know we can’t do fat supplements, like cool calories for horses…but I wonder what we would do if she got too thin? She’s not overly food motivated/oriented.
I have read that pumpkin is good, and yogurt. I know in the past she liked when I mixed yogurt and peanut butter, which I know isn’t a good idea anymore. I wonder if we could do pumpkin and yogurt mixed? Not anytime soon but might be something to think about down the road?
Thanks so much for calming me down I was that nervous dog mommy at the vet (regular shot and follow up from the weekend) today
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