Barney has pancreatitis - home cooked diet help

[107barney]

We just got home from the vet with Barney - he was diagnosed with pancreatitis.

He ate 1/4 of a can of Wellness chicken for dinner last night. He woke up painful, shaking and would not eat.


I'm looking for any home cooked diet help for dogs prone to pancreatitis.


Thanks.

[Ellie May]

Is he your pup that's liver compromised?

I am no help because Ellie's is 18% fat. Because she just had an episode of pancreatitis again, we are reducing the fat. It has to be rebalanced by her nutritionist. Fun times...

I will say (while it may not be popular) that the low fat recipes I've seen on YT probably do not meet AAFCO guidelines (and I'm guessing not NRC either). The % of fat is sometimes questionable also if the nutritionist doesn't figure out the guaranteed analysis.


Hope he is feeling better.

[ladyjane]

When I needed a home cooked recipe, I had my vet do a consult with the vet/nutritionist at Texas A&M. The consult was $150 and well worth it. It was custom made specifically for my pup who had renal and pancreatic problems which required low fat and low protein.
Not only did he love the food, he thrived on it and lived longer than had been expected.

[107barney]

No, he's not the one with the liver issue. Barney did have pancreatitis about 4 years ago (an acute episode requiring a 4-day hospitalization).

We are here in the same boat with him but this time the vet felt we could watch him here at home and if he is not 50% improved by morning, we have to take him to the hospital.

He is feeling just awful - he seems to be in a lot of pain. We brought him in this morning and he had a fever, his blood work was off the charts - there was so much fat in his blood we could not get accurate readings - and his white cell counts are up.

It is distressing to watch, I'm losing it.

[107barney]

Thanks LadyJane - I think I will have Daisy's nutritionist formulate a diet for Barney - I was more looking for something low fat to give him once we get over this fasting hurdle.

I feel so bad for Barney. I can't even stand to watch it.

[ladyjane]

I am so sorry....it really is difficult to see them sick. I hope you find something that is good for him!

Thoughts and prayers for you and for Barney.

[ladyjane]

Did they give him something for pain? Poor little guy.

[Ellie May]

Oh gosh, I'm sorry.

Did he get fluids and all that good stuff?
Pain meds, anti-nausea?

I'd say just pick something low fat like chicken and rice, but I'm doing that with fish and rice with Ellie now and she isn't doing too well on it. I don't like to recommend rx diets needlessly, but in this case, it may be best until you can get a balanced recipe. After one episode, the pancreas gets angry so easily and I don't want to recommend a combination of ingredient, even temporarily, because it's just too serious of an issue.

Hoping somebody else has an idea though...

[107barney]

They gave him an injection of pepcid for his tummy and also cerenia (for nausea). I'm hoping that is helping him feel better. He started the day with his abdomen distended and not wanting to get up, and he had his ears down (he looked like his ears were floppies). Now, he's got his ears up and he's not shaking/panting as much. So, I'm hoping that means he feels a little better.

I'm so sad for him. I feel like a bad Momma for giving him the Wellness.

[ladyjane]

I would ask for something for pain. Pancreatitis is terribly painful. Can you call? Do you have any pain meds on hand?

[107barney]

Yes, he got fluids. We are supposed to do chicken breast and brown rice starting tomorrow. 2 tsp at a time, every 2 hours and only if he keeps the ice cube down.

So does Ellie May have pancreatitis chronically? Barney had the one acute episode about 4 or 5 years ago and was fine without any dietary restrictions all this time. The vet says that now has to change so we have to figure something out.

[107barney]

Well, I just emailed the vet a little while ago to tell her Barney was unwilling to lie down and I said he seemed to be in pain and could I do anything. I hope she gets back to me soon.

We are 20 mins away from a 24-hour emergency hospital so I could go if needed but then they will stick him in a cage with IVs and he will not be with his family so I'm disinclined to do that unless absolutely necessary.

[Ellie May]

Ellie has had it twice...acute. The first was two years ago and the second was two weeks ago. After the first we stayed with 18% fat and just avoided any meat with questionable fat content (beef in this case...I think that's what triggered it). Not sure what triggered it this time. It was either chicken or white potato.

If pain meds need to be given while he is NPO, they may have to be given SQ or IV.

I agree about the ER vet. It's needed for a lot of pancreatitis cases, but a lot of times it can be treated at home and there is no reason to put the dog through it (or spend the money)... As long as his gums are pink and wet, he isn't throwing up or having excessive diarrhea, and the pain can be managed at home, I'd be doing the same.

[linda44]

I dont know anything about pancreatitis but just wanted to wish Barney well.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Yes, he got fluids. We are supposed to do chicken breast and brown rice starting tomorrow. 2 tsp at a time, every 2 hours and only if he keeps the ice cube down.

So does Ellie May have pancreatitis chronically? Barney had the one acute episode about 4 or 5 years ago and was fine without any dietary restrictions all this time. The vet says that now has to change so we have to figure something out.

brown rice? that is very hard to digest i would go with white over brown as brown in high in fiber too and can trigger colitis i saw it happen in dee dee and it was not pretty came out whole. Brown has to be cooked 20 minutes longer for dogs than humans so i would avoid it at all cost.

Pancreatitis is very painful as dex had it and he would toss and turn and could not get comfortable so i had to hospitalize him - this is one i would not mess with as they can die from this

If he has it no food through mouth for 48-72hrs and best if no water or meds too