Low Fat dog food--pancreatitis

[glfprncs]

My boy, TC, is now 48 hours into what we’re fairly certain is a bout of severe pancreatitis. We just returned from the internist who did an ultrasound (after x-rays revealed a suspicious area in the pancreas/spleen area) and found NO tumor like areas, only areas of inflammation over the pancreas. All bloodwork was PERFECT, particularly since he’s 16 years old and Cushingoid.

Also, saw his heart valves working on ultrasound. What a COOL thing to see. Doc says he has the heart of a 6 year old.

Anyhow, we’re now 12 hours into a 72 hour IV fluid only regime, and I’ll be allowed to introduce foods back into his diet. The vet believe he needs to be on a low fat diet, and my current dog food (Hy-Tek Rations grain free chicken & sweet potato) has a fat content of 17%.

I’d prefer to stick with a kibble. I know I could feed raw, etc., but I honestly do not have the time or energy.

Suggestions? Of course, my local vet recommends Science Diet because that’s what all vet’s recommend. Thoughts?

[horsenut_8700]

I believe pancreatitis is linked to the Cushing’s. Is the Cushing’s being controlled?

[NCRider]

[QUOTE=glfprncs;8437075]
My boy, TC, is now 48 hours into what we’re fairly certain is a bout of severe pancreatitis. We just returned from the internist who did an ultrasound (after x-rays revealed a suspicious area in the pancreas/spleen area) and found NO tumor like areas, only areas of inflammation over the pancreas. All bloodwork was PERFECT, particularly since he’s 16 years old and Cushingoid.

Also, saw his heart valves working on ultrasound. What a COOL thing to see. Doc says he has the heart of a 6 year old.

Anyhow, we’re now 12 hours into a 72 hour IV fluid only regime, and I’ll be allowed to introduce foods back into his diet. The vet believe he needs to be on a low fat diet, and my current dog food (Hy-Tek Rations grain free chicken & sweet potato) has a fat content of 17%.

I’d prefer to stick with a kibble. I know I could feed raw, etc., but I honestly do not have the time or energy.

Suggestions? Of course, my local vet recommends Science Diet because that’s what all vet’s recommend. Thoughts?[/QUOTE]

Flame suit on, I have an 11 year old dog who has been on one of the Science Diet prescription foods for about 5 years at the recommendation of the vet. At first I fought it because 1) $$ and 2) all of the criticism of such brands BUT
after about 6 months of trying everything else out there within reason (i.e. like you, feeding raw was not an option) without success, I caved and stuck with the Science Diet. He’s been very healthy ever since.
Not sure if that’s helpful or not, but I personally could not afford the time and $ for continuous monthly vet visits at the absolute most inopportune times and was willing to try anything.
I’ve accepted that there are tradeoff to this choice and he may not have the longevity he would have had if I’d found a different solution but I was tired of failing to resolve the issue.

[glfprncs]

[QUOTE=horsenut_8700;8437142]
I believe pancreatitis is linked to the Cushing’s. Is the Cushing’s being controlled?[/QUOTE]

Yes, he was diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago & his cortisol levels are carefully managed with lysodren.

[ASB_Stars]

My old Brittany had pancreatitis that we got through with chicken broth with very little fat and low sodium. It really did work well. Then added some poached chicken breast, and brown rice, IIRC. He never ad another bout.

Good luck!!

[Beckham03]

Flame suit on as well…some of these diets are worth it in many situations. You could try the RX version why you do research and see if it helps. Was his CPL high?

[Megaladon]

I would go with what my vet recommended.

[Horsegal984]

I’m another who doesn’t jump to recommend Hills, but their prescription diets work. I personally would go with I/D low fat (make sure it’s the low fat with the light purple label) or Royal Canin gastrointestinal low fat.

They are both available in a canned and kibble version. I like the canned to entice them early on and the kibble for maintence.

[Simkie]

All Epona needs to do is post the email addy she uses for paypal…

[MustangSavvy]

I would go with either Hills I/D low fat or Royal Canin GI low fat.

Did they do a CPL snap test?

[vacation1]

Mine’s been on the Science Diet i/d for a few years. She’s 17, and has had bouts of stomach issues every few years for most of her life and after a certain age, her vet and I couldn’t take the stress of dealing with it anymore (dog has arthritis and when the stomach thing hit, you had to stop feeding and hence stop giving the arthritis meds and then you have a dog in too much pain to move) and just switched her permanently over to the i/d. Knock wood, she hasn’t had an issue since. We also use a probiotic over it, FortiFlora.

There are 3 varieties of the canned version, and I like the original best. Dog overreacted to the apparently delicious stew version, bolted it and threw up immediately, so it’s been banned from our house The turkey seems ok, though.

[glfprncs]

[QUOTE=MustangSavvy;8437385]
I would go with either Hills I/D low fat or Royal Canin GI low fat.

Did they do a CPL snap test?[/QUOTE]

I honestly don’t know of they did a CPL snap test or not. When we first went to my regular vet, they ran bloodwork and took x-rays which revealed a suspicious mass-looking area. When we were referred to the internist, pancreatitis was only third on his list of possibilities, so it’s possible that they didn’t do that particular test. The internist was actually amazed at how good his bloodwork looked. In fact, he said you never would know it was the bloodwork of a 16-year old dog whose been on lysodren for 2 years. He expected his liver values to be elevated, as the lysodren generally impacts that, but his were perfectly in line (as was everything else). I’ll ask for a copy of the paperwork just to see for myself.

Once we had an ultrasound done, thus ruling out: 1. cancerous masses on his liver, spleen and pancreas, 2. Bowel perforation and peritonitis, 3. sepsis, and 4. gall bladder attack, and finding only inflammation and a small amount of fluid surrounding his pancreas as well as bit of sludge in his gall bladder (but no distended bile ducts or obstruction), that, combined with how great all of his other body functions looked on his bloodwork, it was determined that pancreatitis was the likely culprit.

I trust the internist. Now, he admitted that as a human being, he could’ve missed something in the ultrasound. However, he felt that he probed and probed and saw every angle of every organ in his abdominal (and even looked into his chest cavity) cavity and saw nothing alarming except the inflammation.

Looks as though we’ll try the Science Diet I/D low fat once we’ve given his body a chance to calm down, inflammation to subside, etc. We’ll know more by Sunday night if 72 hours of nothing but IV and subcutaneous fluids puts some pep in his step.

[Simbalism]

My dog developed pancreatitis last year at this time. My vet recommended DCO Dual Fiber Control feed that is made by Purina. The fat content is 10%. I also give a little bit of Hill’s Science Diet canned w/d food on her kibble. It is digestive, weight, and glucose management food. Good luck with your dog.

[RobinL]

My Corgi is on Canidae Platinum Formula dry for Seniors/Overweight. Works well for her!

Crude Protein (min.) 20.00%
Crude Fat (min.) 8.50%

[Whitfield_Farm_Hanov]

Hills Science Diet I/D Low Fat works best for mine that has had pancreatitis years ago. She’s now had diarrhea for some time & the same food is helping that.
I’ve tried so many other brands, all 5 star type foods, plus homemade, but Science Diet works best. Had to go back to it.

[sparky6]

Our 12 year old boxer has recurring pancreatitis. Tried the low fat non-RX brands and they didn’t work. She has been episode free since we put her on Hills. Well, she’s actually pretty sure she’s dying/abused because she was totally cut off from table scraps cold turkey, but aside from that she’s doing fine

[SquishTheBunny]

I’d have to agree that low fat prescription diets are generally what keep the pancreas happy. My friend has a 17 year old lab who has lived, well 17+ years and has been on hills ID forever due to sensitive gi track from puppy antics (eating foreign bodies!).

[glfprncs]

Just a little FYI update:

My boy has been on the Hill’s I/D low fat since my original post and has done well. Another person in a Canine Cushing’s group I belong to, who also had a dog with a pancreatitis attack, suggested Annamaet Lean dog food.

The ingredients are quality (according to labeling), and while the protein is higher, the fat levels are the same as the Hill’s at about half the cost (Hill’s prescription is $37 for an 8 pound bag, whereas the Annamaet Lean is $37 for 15 pounds). I ran the ingredient list and the base % levels past my local vet and the internist, and they agreed it looked like very good food and would be a good choice for a pancreatitis dog.

So, I have a bag on its way (ordered it from Chewy.com as no one here carries it), and will mix it with the Hill’s for a few weeks to see how he tolerates it.