Fat content in canned food.

Try looking on the dogfoodproject.com site.  It lists most of the info an owner would want to know and has most of the dog food brands.  I've never looked at the canned food info since I only feed kibble.

Prancer has issues with fat also (was pre-pancreatic and scared me deeply !) so I understand the frustration. 

Company websites sometimes list the "nutrient analysis" (which is based upon actual analsys of the product or the recipe) rather than the guaranteed analysis (which is whats on the can).   If its not on the website you can get it (generally) if you write to them.     This doesn't mean that the amount of fat won't be different - it might be, but it's better than the "not less than" thing (which I NEVER understood either !  at least give us a range !).

 For a seriously pancreatic dog - as icky as they are - I'd say stick with one of the prescription diets or with something just as icky like Science Diet Turkey & Rice or Canidea Platnium.   Pancreatitis isn't something to mess with - it can be fatal.    I'd rather have a dog that's alive on a less appealing diet than a dog that died but ate well.   The other option is to go with some homecooked components.

I like feeding canned food but given Prancer's issues with fat I cut the fat content down on by breaking her meals into  1/3rd canned food plus 1/3rd pureed veggies (that I make in huge batches and freeze) plus 1/3rd low fat meat (I boil all her meat to render and drain the fat - and then I rinse it all in hot water to remove some more).     I use alot of chicken breast, turkey breast, 90% ground beef (VERY well boiled), fish (whiting, cod) and egg whites.    This way I'm adding protein while I'm cutting fat.

The other option is to skip the canned food altogether and just make some good old fashioned broth (from low fat meat) to wet the kibble.     Boil any meat for 20 minutes, let cool, skim the fat off the top and you're done.   She can make big batches and freeze it into ice cube trays or small freezer containers.  Once frozen pop them out and put them in a freezer bag.   Take out enough for a meal, zap in the microwave for a minute and pour over the kibble.

 Hope that helps.   

   Hi Dyan; I use Blue Buffalo's Longevity Mature canned food for Jessie. It's 3% fat. I never use canned food that's higher than 3%, because that's the amount of fat in most prescription canned food for pancreatitis. The labels will always say minimum for protein and fat, and maximum for fiber, whether it's prescription food or regular food. It's very hard to find non-prescription canned food that low in fat, so she may want to try Hill's ID and Purina EN. I don't think the ingredients of either one are really that bad, especially if it's only used as a mixer. The EN is 1.5% fat. Wellness makes a few varieties that are 4% fat but it's probably not worth the risk, and ProPlan has a few that are 2% fat but  9% protein, which is high for a dog with pancreatitis. Hope this helps.

  About the California Natural; I had Jessie on the low fat rice and lamb (7% fat) and she seemed to do well but she had gas several times a week and her stomach made noises (rumbly?).  I slowly changed her to Nutro Natural Choice Venison and Rice, which is 10% fat. My options are very limited because of her food allergies. She no longer has gas or the awful stomach noises. Her coat was very dry on the CN, and now her dandruff is gone. She also seems to have more energy. I have no idea why she seems to digest this food better even though it has more fat. I hope your friend's dog stays well.

I use Blue Buff's Longevity food also - fish based.   VERY nice food.   I also use Canidea Platnium (but I'm not crazy about it - ALOT of rice !).  I/D isn't all that bad really - eggwhite and chicken (but alot of white rice , as is the Canidea Platnium).    Wellness Senior is an ok low fat canned food also.    

There's a pancreatitis list on yahoo (dogpancreatitis) that has a list of low fat canned foods.  Unfortunately I can't get the file to open right now. 

Thanks Guys.   Freeway was on Prescription food from her attack until maybe 2 months ago...vet said she could get off it as long as she is on low fat food.   Donna ended with California Natural low fat...but bet she NEVER thought too much about the canned which is NOT low fat.     She does cook Freeway chicken a lot too.   I forgot what CN fat says not less than....but she did pick up something another brand ( sorry, can't remember but it was a more expensive brand....darn ) that said not less than 4%......  but bought 2 of each.....she will HAVE to get her off that CN.    You know, she originally told me she just adds a little canned to the kibble ( which by the way Joann...she had been feeding the chicken formula kibble and the girl at the store ran out and talked her into getting Lamb...and Freeway got sick on it. ) but yesterday on the way home I said " well as long as you are not feeding her that much canned.....and she answered a can a day. THATS not just a little.

For canned foods, I've found that chicken foods are actually higher in fat than turkey foods (I'm guessing it has something to do with the skin to muscle ratio in chicken vs turkey).   Fish foods are her best bet.    I really like Longevity (Blue Buff).  Wellness makes a Fish and Sweet Potato that's not awfully high fat also.   Natural Balance has a grain free fish and sweet potato but the fat content is a bit higher (its salmon based while the others are whitefish based).    Egg Whites are a good alternative also.    And eggs are relatively inexpensive.  

dyan

she had been feeding the chicken formula kibble and the girl at the store ran out and talked her into getting Lamb...and Freeway got sick on it.

  If she did a sudden change, that will make Freeway sick. When I changed Jessie from the CN to Nutro, I took three weeks and literally increased the Nutro by a tablespoon a day. Dogs with pancreatitis are very sensitive to changes in their diet.

dyan

and she answered a can a day. THATS not just a little.

 You're right, and if a canned food is 5% fat and 74% moisture, that's equivalent to kibble that's 19% fat.  Jessie only gets a few tablespoons, and never more that 3% fat on the label. Freeway may tolerate the higher fat, but that can cause her to have a relapse in the future.

JoAnnDe

I use Blue Buff's Longevity food also - fish based.   VERY nice food.   I also use Canidea Platnium (but I'm not crazy about it - ALOT of rice !).  I/D isn't all that bad really - eggwhite and chicken (but alot of white rice , as is the Canidea Platnium).   

 Jessie loves the Blue Buffalo. I can't feed her the Platinum because she's allergic to chicken, but a lot of rice isn't a bad thing. As per Monica Segals book "Optimal Nutrition", it's best for dogs with pancreatitis if most of their calories come from carbs. The diet Monica formulated for Jessie was rice and boiled turkey breast, balanced with vitamins and minerals. Jessie did well on it but after a few months grew tired of four and a half cups of very bland food a day, so we changed her to the CN Rice and Lamb, and then to the Nutro. I love your egg white suggestion; Jessie gets one egg white a day as a topper along with a few ounces of boiled turkey. She also gets one half ounce of extra lean ground beef for treats; I bake it, cut it into half ounce pieces, and freeze it. We really spoil them, don't we?

jessies_mom

She also gets one half ounce of extra lean ground beef for treats; I bake it, cut it into half ounce pieces, and freeze it. We really spoil them, don't we?

Oh - I never thought of that !!    Prancer gets boiled chicken gizzard as a treat.   I push it into a Kong so she has to work for it.    My doc suggested the gizzard as a natural toothbrush.   It actually works - her tartar isn't much worse than it was 2 years ago.    We call chicken gizzards "chewy chewies" - she loves them

 Yeah - we spoil them but only because they spoil us right back with their love :) 

 I started giving Jessie boiled chicken gizzards a few days ago; she gets one a day. I'm trying them for her incontinence; it's a traditional Chinese medicine remedy. It's the lining of the gizzard that's supposed to help, and the dose for dogs is 2 to 4 grams. One gizzard weighs about 14 grams, so I'm hoping that's enough. She's allergic to chicken, but I'm hoping that one gizzard won't be enough to cause problems. For a small dog, they would make a good tooth cleaner. Jessie gets a rawhide flip a few times a week to help her teeth, and I also brush them.

JoAnnDe

Yeah - we spoil them but only because they spoil us right back with their love :) 

 Absolutely !!!

I didn't realize that about gizzards! Thank you BOTH! My girls can always use chewy treats, and Bean has bladder issues since forever.

 Jennie, I learned about gizzards on Mordanna's board. The poster gave her dog one gizzard a day, and after two weeks the dog stopped leaking. If it works for Jessie, I was going to post a thread in the Health section. I hope it works for Bean.

Awesome!!! My vet is wanting me to try Proin, for her, but I'm not excited about it. I'll certainly try a bit of gizzard, first.

 Have you tried tofu? I heard about it on K9 Kitchen. How much you need depends on the size of the dog, of course, but one of the members with a 60 pound dog had success with a pound of tofu a week, giving her dog a few ounces each day. Soy doesn't seem to be effective for Jessie, but it may be worth a try for Bean if the gizzards don't help.