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Pancreatitis - *UPDATE* Dog food from Iams recall!

The Menagerie
#1

This message is quite undetailed, so please forgive me! I’m trying to find some answers for my cousin, who’s Boxer seems to have come down with a case of Pancreatitis on Saturday morning.

The dog HAS been seen by an emergency vet. He is now back home, and on IV fluids, and eating small pieces of chicken.

They are not sure what caused it, maybe eating something in the woods, apparently the dog has been recently trying to eat, or at least play with, frogs/toads around the house.

Presented with lots of vomiting, lethargic, so to the vet he went.
Lab work showed that the pancreatic enzymes were elevated (don’t know the number, he didn’t get the results on paper, just recalled the discussion with teh vet).

Sent dog home with pepcid, to return the next day for IV fluids. Local vet has provided IV bags and such so he can receive the IV fluids at home, rather than going to the ER vet (save $ and time).

Anywho, today, the dog is still not very alert, has an appetite for chicken, but doesn’t seem to move very well, he said he seems to have trouble walking, he seems to stagger. He also said the dog sometimes makes a honking noise, like a goose honking. :confused: I’m not sure if the noise is coming from his mouth or just a noise from the stomach?

He has not introduced water orally, because everything with Pancreatitis seems to point to withholding food and water via stomach, and to provide IV.

The question is, with Pancreatitis, how long is long enough to withhold food and water from the stomach? The dog is on IV for hydration, but those don’t provide nutrients do they?

He’ll be calling the vet back today, I just watned to see if anyone here had experience they could share.

#2

Yes. Lots of experience. Here is my advice.

If the “pancreatitis” was diagnosed solely on a cPLI test then you need to further investigate. cPLI will tell you if pancreatic values are different from the average dog, but it is not an indicator of pancreatitis - rather pancreatic reaction.

So - A normal dog could have an increased cPLI, so could one with pancreatitis, as could one with a pancreatic tumor, or any inflammation in the liver/surrounding the pancreas. Septic dogs also can have increased cPLI’s.

What Im trying to say, is that you really do need an ultrasound to determine if you are dealing with routine pancreatitis ( which for the most part is self limiting - but not always), or something more invasive.

What worries me is that he is staggering and coughing. This is generally not a symptom of just pancreatitis. Staggering, lethartic - nope. Also not typical. A dog with just a pancreatic inflammation should be painful and anorexic/vomit.

When dogs are septic, or have other abdominal issues going on often the pancreas will react causing elevations in cPLI, amylase and lipase. I would insist on an ultrasound by a specialist. Severe pancreatitis that obstructs the bile duct can cause a rupture and sepsis.

It could be that your dog just has mild inflammation, but based on what you are saying (coughing, staggering) I would be FAR more concerned.

Also, old school vets will withhold food, but if the pet is not vomiting they should be fed. Only withhold food if they are vomiting, withholding food doesn’t treat anything other than preventing more nausea.

#3

I told him that I would slowly offer water also, like 1/4 cup of water every few hours or so and increase the frequency. He is on IV, but hasn’t thrown back up and has had a small amount of cooked chicken.

I’m not sure what his plan is, because funds are limited and the visit on Saturday was $800. :cry:

I think his plan right now is to continue with bland diet and some water today adn see what happens.

#4

If he isn’t vomiting there is no reason not to offer free choice water, small meals of cooked chicken. Good luck with your boy and I hope he resolves quickly on his own!

Depending on the fluids (PLA, NaCl or Lactated Ringers) it often will make them thirsty. As long as he isnt gulping massive amounts, its best not to restrict water.

We had a dog come to us for “pancreatitis” diagnosed by another vet - however this dog was projectile vomiting for 4 days. Well, even though the cPLI was high - the dog had a rubber ball stuck in its stomach. He was very critical at that point, but did end up recovering after surgery and a 6 day ICU visit!

#5

:cry: He euthanized him yesterday afternoon. He was unwilling to move, and generally not okay, and he unfortunately didn’t have the funds to admit him to the animal hospital.

It really sucks to have to decide between paying the bills and saving our pets. It should never come down to that, in an ideal world, but sadly it can.

At least he is not suffering.

#6

Im so sorry, if it makes you feel any better it sure sounds like he had something more than pancreatitis going on.

Whenever a friend gets a new pet, I always recommend pet insurance - it really can help make decisions easier especially when it comes to financial decisions.

In your dogs case however, it sounds like the decision regardless of what COULD have happened, was probably the right one.

So sorry for your loss.

#7

I’m so sorry to hear this. We just put our Boxer girl down in January. It’s a long shot, but could you ask him what type of food the dog was on?

#8

[QUOTE=SquishTheBunny;7124890]
Im so sorry, if it makes you feel any better it sure sounds like he had something more than pancreatitis going on.

Whenever a friend gets a new pet, I always recommend pet insurance - it really can help make decisions easier especially when it comes to financial decisions.

In your dogs case however, it sounds like the decision regardless of what COULD have happened, was probably the right one.

So sorry for your loss.[/QUOTE]

I learned my lesson the hard way. All of mine have insurance now, except the senior cocker I adopted last year…she’s uninsurable.

#9

[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;7125860]
I’m so sorry to hear this. We just put our Boxer girl down in January. It’s a long shot, but could you ask him what type of food the dog was on?[/QUOTE]

I want to say an Iams food of their “higher quality” line…but I am not sure.

I know it was a brand in line with Iams because just a few weeks ago, I was trying to convince him and his live in ex-wife (:lol:) to switch to something better that was grain free. Her dogs keep getting ear infections and she says its because their ears are long and hang down, so no air gets in there. They are some type of bigger hound, not a bloodhound, but a taller hound with long droopy ears. It was obvious that she didn’t want to hear that the ear infections could be food related, so I just dropped it.

Whenever a friend gets a new pet, I always recommend pet insurance - it really can help make decisions easier especially when it comes to financial decisions.

It’s difficult to recommend pet insurance when I don’t have it myself! :lol:

#10

I ask because my girl was on Diamond and I later found out it was recalled, she had the same symptoms. I just read on Facebook today that Eukanuba and something else are on recall…

http://news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporate-announcements/pg-voluntarily-recalls-limited-quantity-dry-pet-food-due-po

#11

Interesting. I’ll ask him because perhaps he was feeding Eukanuba?

#12

Looks like Iams was on the list too…

I’ll definitely be sending this info along…

#13

Yep, his food is on the list.

Iams Dog Food Healthy Naturals Chicken Adult

Not sure if the lot number matches, but seems pretty conincidental.

Also, he said this morning when I asked him about it, that his live-in roommate’s dog now also has runny stool and lacking appetite. That dog was just brought to the vet today.

I suggested that he call the vet clinic where he brought his dog, explain the dog food recall (whether the lot number matches or not) and explain that another dog in the house eating the same food is now sick, and see what they suggest. ETA: and obviously stop trying to feed the food they have to the third dog who is not sick, yet.

#14

I never even heard about it until a month after we put her down, we kept feeding it to her the whole time :frowning:

#15

He is calling the emergency clinic who saw his dog to ask them what they think regarding symptoms. The other dog has been brought to it’s regular vet, she isn’t as sick (yet) and hopefully does not progress. The third dog is fine, but they are not continuing to feed this food. He said this bag was just opened a week or so ago, which could easily coincide with his dog getting sick on Saturday.

#16

The dog food that the dog was eating WAS from the same lot mentioned in the dog food recall list linked above!

I told him to call P&G and report the issue, as well as the other dog in his house eating teh same food that is now sick.

#17

Definitely report the issue. It may have had nothing to do with it, but it certainly could have! If there was a high amount of bacteria in the food, the dog could have become septic -generally antibiotics can help this but sometimes the abdomen can react so poorly that the peritonitis causes organ failure or reaction (usually pancreas first!).

So sorry:( I hope for the other dogs sake it was not the food. Boxers are also prone to autoimmune disorders, neoplasia and cardiac disease.

#18

How sad for your cousin and his dog. I hope the roommate’s dog is okay!
This thread made me go into our dog room and check all of our food bags. We have one bag of iams that was donated which matches the name of the food but thankfully not the size bag, lot number or best by date etc. Now checking dog food advisor for a full current list… MrB usually is in the know about this stuff but it’s good to double check!

#19

They thought my Boxer had atypical Addison’s at first, but the tests were inconclusive and she didn’t respond to treatment AT ALL. It’s a sad state of affairs when you can’t even feel halfway safe feeding your dog!

#20

Strictly anecdotal, but my GSD got horrible skin/ear infections even on grain free food. Sometimes it’s not the grain, it’s the protein. In his case, I hypothesize it was chicken. We switched him to Royal Canin skin support, which is primarily whitefish and rice, and he’s doing great. Any chicken treats, however, cause him to start biting his toes again.

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