Food for Pancreatitis dog

I'd refer her to someone like Monica Segal http://www.monicasegal.com or Mordanna (Sabine Contreras)  -- they can both do diets specifically for dogs with health issues and I know Monica often works with vets.  I know Megan consulted with Sabine for Pirate last year.

Most vets never know much about food -- it's medical stuff they take in college not nutrition.  They simply believe what the people at the dogfood companies tell them, and it's dogfood companies that are responsible for much of the grant money that makes vet schools run.  It's what's familiar to them.  Not necessarily right.

 I also consulted with Sabine, for Emma, and was very, very happy. She ended up on prescription food, anyways, but.... nothing related to the diet Sabine made, just her individual issues.

I would NOT "wing it" with a dog that had been so ill.  I would either do the prescription food, or a formulated, home prepared diet. Freeway's skin may still look dry on fresh foods. Pancreatitis means limited fat content, always. Dogs get "winter skin", too

Thanks!  I don't want her to do any thing unless she talks to a vet first. If anything were to happen to Freeway while she was trying other food...she would never forgive herself.   Even if she were to consult with either of the ladies who could make her a diet....it would not be good without talking to a vet.    You know....I told her I am feeding Gibby home cooked and not feeling at all secure about what I am doing because at least I know that dog food is balanced with vitamins and what the need.    But Donna has always given Freeway good food...but no doubt things that added or caused her problem to begin with. Such as...Donna makes Chicken soup all the time..... and Freeway loves it.  Donna told me that no matter what she made for herself...she gave part of it to Freeway.   Freeway also ate Eagle Pack,,took vitamins and all.  Donna is pretty much of a health nut and feels bad when reading ingredients to the prescription food she is feeding now.

  Dyanne, as long as she chooses a food that has a similar amount of protein, fat, and fiber to the prescription food, Freeway should be fine. It's important to make the change very slowly, taking about a week. Also, if she decides to work with Monica Segal, Monica will ask if she wants her to contact her vet. I explained Monica's credentials to my vet, and gave him a copy of the diet, and he was completely supportive. The diet that Monica did for Jessie included 2 wild salmon oil capsules daily, which is more omega 3's than are in the prescription foods. Her coat stayed shiny and soft even though the diet was very low fat. Monica will make sure Freeway has all the nutrients necessary for a healthy coat.

dyan

Donna makes Chicken soup all the time..... and Freeway loves it. 

  She's not still giving Freeway chicken soup, is she? The fat content of the soup will be enough to make Freeway sick. For Jessie's diet, I boil skinless, boneless, turkey breast and then drain the water. When Freeway vomits, she shouldn't be fed for at least four hours, and then offered a handful of food every few hours after that for the rest of the day; that was my vet's instructions when Jessie vomited.

jennie_c_d

Pancreatitis means limited fat content, always.

I disagree.  It depends on *why* the dog developed pancreatitis.  Was it food-related?  If so, then yes, a fat-restricted diet forevermore.  Was it secondary to another intestinal issue?  Then diet had little to nothing to do with it and the dog likely wouldn't be any more likely to develop food-related pancreatitis than a dog who'd never had it.  You just need to feed an easily digestible, low-fat diet for several weeks/couple of months to give the pancreas time to recover.

BUT . . . it does sound as if Freeway's pancreatitis was food-related.  And as such the vet's unwillingness to endorse a home-cooked diet may be justified, as it sounds like your friend might not have the self-discipline to stick to a formulated recipe and would be tempted to share her food with Freeway.  I would suggest that your friend ask the vet about other "prescription" (they're not really prescription, ya know) foods that might work better.  There's quite a selection of "prescription" foods available nowadays.  I personally wouldn't be afraid to try some of the lower-fat, limited ingredient commercial foods.  The main risk there, I think, is that they can change ingredients before the labels on the bags are changed.  So you wouldn't necessarily know.  And if your friend truly can't resist giving the dog table food, then the most important effect of keeping him on a "prescription" food may be to help keep her aware of the need to be careful with his diet.

jessies_mom

She's not still giving Freeway chicken soup, is she? The fat content of the soup will be enough to make Freeway sick. For Jessie's diet, I boil skinless, boneless, turkey breast and then drain the water. When Freeway vomits, she shouldn't be fed for at least four hours, and then offered a handful of food every few hours after that for the rest of the day; that was my vet's instructions when Jessie vomited.

Oh gosh no!  She is afraid to give her anything...and knows that Freeway COULD HAVE gotten sick because of all this food she was fed.  Although even the chicken soup she does what I do and that is to cook up the chicken both and skim the fat off the top before she actually puts the soup together....but still.   

Myra

jennie_c_d

Pancreatitis means limited fat content, always.

I disagree.  It depends on *why* the dog developed pancreatitis.  Was it food-related?  If so, then yes, a fat-restricted diet forevermore.  Was it secondary to another intestinal issue?  Then diet had little to nothing to do with it and the dog likely wouldn't be any more likely to develop food-related pancreatitis than a dog who'd never had it.  You just need to feed an easily digestible, low-fat diet for several weeks/couple of months to give the pancreas time to recover.

BUT . . . it does sound as if Freeway's pancreatitis was food-related.  And as such the vet's unwillingness to endorse a home-cooked diet may be justified, as it sounds like your friend might not have the self-discipline to stick to a formulated recipe and would be tempted to share her food with Freeway.  I would suggest that your friend ask the vet about other "prescription" (they're not really prescription, ya know) foods that might work better.  There's quite a selection of "prescription" foods available nowadays.  I personally wouldn't be afraid to try some of the lower-fat, limited ingredient commercial foods.  The main risk there, I think, is that they can change ingredients before the labels on the bags are changed.  So you wouldn't necessarily know.  And if your friend truly can't resist giving the dog table food, then the most important effect of keeping him on a "prescription" food may be to help keep her aware of the need to be careful with his diet.

Woah....its interesting that you disagree to limited fat in the food.   I have no experience with this illness but I read tons and tons of things myself and everything I read said its the fat and protein in the food that could cause it to erupt again. I honestly haven't read anything differently myself.  

I don't know how you could know why a dog had an attack though.    Freeways problem did NOT come from eating the wrong thing at any given time...such as many people who come to our clinic ( working for a vet clinic myself ) after a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas saying "my dog is sick, and yes....we did give her a little stuffing or gravy etc.  Nothing like that happened....she just got sick for a few days and when it didn't go away  they took her in and she was tested for it along with a few other things...they thought she could have been blocked for one.

Its probably my fault for not saying this better...but all my talk on my above post about what Donna always fed her dog was past tense....she does NOTHING like she used to at all anymore. I was trying to tell you guys about all the good foods that Freeway used to eat.... tons of veggies,, meat and everything...along with a premium dog food.  And besides the variety of good food...Donna only buys organic food..so Freeway was always getting really good stuff. Now she is stuck with a bunch of crap in her prescription food.  

At first one of the two vets she sees said she could try any low fat/protein dog food...then the last time she saw the vet she told her to stick with the prescription.  Donna bought some S.D. ( I believe it was ) in a can and just maybe co-incidentally Freeway got sick that morning...but vomitted only once and of course as we humans are.....we worry that it was the change in food. Don't know...she is not trying it again.

And the thing about talking to the vet...there is a big difference than feeding the dog table scaps and making the dog home cooked food but I'm not sure that Donna is getting that across to either of the vets....they just want to make sure that she does NOT feed her table scraps.

dyan

Woah....its interesting that you disagree to limited fat in the food.   I have no experience with this illness but I read tons and tons of things myself and everything I read said its the fat and protein in the food that could cause it to erupt again. I honestly haven't read anything differently myself. 

I don't disagree at all with a low-fat food in the short-term (a couple of months or so) for any dog who's had pancreatitis.  I do disagree with the idea that any dog who's ever had pancreatitis, regardless of what triggered it, automatically needs to be on a fat-restricted diet forever and ever amen.

I don't know how you could know why a dog had an attack though.

In my dog's case it was relatively simple--She'd been dealing with an ongoing stomach issue likely caused by giardia.  Initial bloodwork did not indicate any pancreatic involvement.  Bloodwork done several weeks later indicated pancreatitis.  Since we knew she hadn't been eating anything remotely resembling a high-fat diet/treats, and since we knew she wasn't on any medications that are known for triggering pancreatitis, it was an easy conclusion that hers was a secondary issue to giardia.

Freeways problem did NOT come from eating the wrong thing at any given time

Sorry.  I assumed when you posted this: "no doubt things that added or caused her problem to begin with. Such as...Donna makes Chicken soup all the time..... and Freeway loves it.  Donna told me that no matter what she made for herself...she gave part of it to Freeway" that it was known, or at least highly suspected, to be a food-related pancreatitis.  Plus your posting about the vet's resistance to a food change or homecooking, and insistence on avoiding table scraps led me to believe that the vet thinks Freeway's pancreatitis was food-related.

As far as sources that indicate the need (or not) for an ongoing low-fat diet, see this article from PetEducation.  It states:  "The dog may need to stay on a special diet for life, or it may be possible to gradually reintroduce the former diet.  (Bolding added by me.)

Myra

Sorry.  I assumed when you posted this: "no doubt things that added or caused her problem to begin with. Such as...Donna makes Chicken soup all the time..... and Freeway loves it.  Donna told me that no matter what she made for herself...she gave part of it to Freeway" that it was known, or at least highly suspected, to be a food-related pancreatitis.  Plus your posting about the vet's resistance to a food change or homecooking, and insistence on avoiding table scraps led me to believe that the vet thinks Freeway's pancreatitis was food-related.

As far as sources that indicate the need (or not) for an ongoing low-fat diet, see this article from PetEducation.  It states:  "The dog may need to stay on a special diet for life, or it may be possible to gradually reintroduce the former diet.  (Bolding added by me.)

Thanks for the link...and its funny...I did come across that article yesterday while talking to Donna on the phone about Freeway...but honestly I did not read it 100%....because it wasn't the kind of thing I was looking for...I was trying to find articles about perhaps home cooking for a dog with the illness.   But I see,,,, I saw a few other things in that article...saying to avoid high fat foods to prevent recurrence.

if the pancreatitis was mild and the pet only had one episode, chances of recovery are good and avoiding high fat foods may be all that is necessary to prevent recurrence or complications. In other cases, what appears to be a mild case may progress, or may be treated successfully only to have recurrences, sometimes severe.

Also, I did mean that no doubt that Donna could have caused the illness with foods that she fed such as soup... and every thing she ate.  Even though she is a health nut..... things like soup are made from grease...it wouldn't be good without it.   So you did understand me right...that IS what I meant....but again that same artilce says:

 Nutrition also plays a role. Dogs with diets high in fat, dogs who have recently gotten in to the trash or have been fed table scraps, or dogs who 'steal' or are fed greasy 'people food' seem to have a higher incidence of the disease. In addition, dogs who have previously had pancreatitis or abdominal surgery appear to be more at risk.

I kind of take that sentence to mean that if they are fed diets high in fat. or greasy people food seem to have a higher incidence.....      if you know what I mean.   I do know that the 4 years I worked for the vet I can't remember one case of a dog with pancreatitus that didn't come in after eating things fed over a holiday or such...when Donna called me before taking her I hadn't even considered this illness...to be honest I thought for sure she was blocked.   Freeway loves rawhides and they give ( gave ) them to her so she gets her chewing exercise.