I tried to transition him from Hills I/D to Fromm Senior/Less active, but yesterday he started vomiting and feeling crappy again, so back to Hills I/D. Unfortunately, he’s still an extremely active dog and has lost 3 lbs in 3 weeks on this diet. Any suggestions for adding calories that don’t come from fat or protein? Can I just add sugar to his diet? (Only sort of kidding). I’ll be checking with his vet tomorrow, but you guys sometimes have great ideas, so I thought I’d ask. TIA
Oh man, that sounds tough 
Can he eat more of his I/D?
Has he been ultrasounded to confirm pancreatitis? I would be suspicious of EPI in a shepherd unless it’s been ruled out.
You can increase the amount of ID, or try a similar gastrointestinal diet with possibly more calories like Royal Canin or Purina (don’t write it off just for being Purina, their veterinary diets are quite comparable to the other brands)
Both the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Energy and the Purina EN have more calories per cup than the dry ID. The Royal Canin has more fat in it, while the Purina has less, so I would prefer the RC if he can tolerate it.
https://www.royalcanin.com/products/royal-canin-veterinary-diet-canine-gastrointestinal-high-energy-dry-dog-food/3911
The diagnosis was based on symptoms, palpation of the abdomen and blood work. He’s severly arthritic due to multiple TPLO’s and hock arthritis, so was on high doeses of NSAIDS which we think triggered the pancreatitis. He’s now on high doses of tramadol plus cosequin and is lame as a duck, but still runs around like a pup.
I just read about EPI, and his first symptom of a relapse is a gradual reduction of his appetite and then vomiting and his stools are normal now, so I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s just taking an active, normally, lean dog and feeding him a diet for inactive dogs doesn’t supply enough calories.
This is an older dog? I would highly recommend an abdominal ultrasound. There are so many things that could be causing his symptoms that I think a definitive answer would help a lot.
He’s 9 1/2. So not ancient, just an orthopedic nightmare.
Still fairly old. IBD, lymphoma, GI ulcers, liver masses/disease could all cause those symptoms and depending on which one it is the reccomendations could totally change. Can’t say I’ve seen chronic NSAID use cause pancreatitis, but could cause some of the other potential ruleouts.
Liver and kidneys are fine according to the blood work. While treating him for the acute phase, his vet put him on pepsid which made him feel so much better, we assumed that there was some chromic gastritis going on. He also put him on pancreatic enzymes to help rest the pancreas. He’s still on them since we only wanted to change one thing at a time and chose to try to switch his diet first.
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What food was he on before all this started?
Diamond naturals chicken and rice plus a little canned pedigree. He’d been on it for years and did great.
Diamond- protein 26%, fat 16%, 368 kcal/cup.
Hills I/D- protein 27%, fat 14.8%, 369 kcal/cup.
There’s not a big difference between the foods, aside from the canned pedigree and comparing the dry to dry. I think you could probably get away with just increasing the I/D, or adding in canned I/D as well. How much of it is he currently eating? And what is his healthy weight?
I’m going to assume the Hills Prescription I/D she’s feeding is also the low fat version (since she’s dealing with pancreatitis), so the macros are different from the regular I/D dry dog food:
Diamond Nat–protein 26%, fat 16%, 3% fiber (max) 368 kcal/cup
Fromm Red Act/Senior–protein 23%, fat 11%, 3.5% fiber (max) 359 kcal/cup
Hills Prescription I/D low fat: protein: 20%, fat 6%, 1.7% fiber (max), 333 kcal/cup
Not a huge difference in calories, but the lower fat content for many dogs makes the foot less palatable.
My boy, TC, had Cushing’s, so he was prone to pancreatitis. We originally started him on the Hills I/D low fat (which he ate happily, but he was a Cushing’s dog…they tend to be Hoover’s around food), but he didn’t really “blossom” on it after losing a bunch of weight after having his first attack of acute pancreatitis.
On the advice of another Cush dog mom, I switched him to
Annamaet grain-free Lean (30% protein, 9% fat, 3.5% crude fiber max, 350 kcal/cup)
and he picked weight up again right away. http://annamaet.com/products/Lean_Formula
Fiber content also comes into play. You want the dog getting the most “bang for their buck” with every piece of food that goes down their gullet. If the food is high in fiber, it’s merely passed through as non-digestible foodstuff. That said, every dry food that’s been mentioned has a relatively low crude fiber %.
Clearly, you’re going to have to make sure your dog is getting similar calories on the new food as he was getting on his old food. In addition, because he’s lost weight, now you’re trying to slowly make up a differential. However, you also have to take into consideration the fact that he’s getting it in a different formulation of macros. You already are aware that if you are dealing with pancreatitis, you MUST keep the fat content down, otherwise you’re going to be dealing with this over and over and over. He may need 3 feedings per day vs 2. He may need supplemental moist food in addition to the dry (as long as it fits within the requirements for feeding a pancreatic dog–high quality, low fat, low fiber).
Finally, if memory serves correctly, there is a blood test that can be done IF you think a dog is having a pancreatitis attack. Upon a google search, I’m pretty sure it’s the Spec cPL (canine pancreas specific lipase). The cPLI is not as accurate.
Just curious…is there a reason behind not wanting him to have more protein? In pancreatitis, the diet that is generally a factor is high fat, low protein combination.
Did you also discontinue the NSAIDs? I would still go for the abdominal ultrasound.
Just a heads up on the Royal Canin Gastro.
My dog was eating it happily until recently, when it started to be contaminated with weevils. Three bags in a row.
If the kibble has little round holes in it that look like popped bubbles take it back.
P.S. Can dogs get stomach ulcers from NSAIDS?
Yes nsaids stopped immediately after the first attack. Now on tramadol and cosequin. Good news is he gained bit of weight back. Vet is running pancreatic enzyme test and put him on amoxi and flagyl in addition to pepsid and anti nausea drug. His abdomen was not too painful when palpated. Hes a little depressed right now but Im hoping for the best.
