My sweet Miley was diagnosed with pancreatitis!

[LoveMiley]

Hello everyone. I am new to this site, but I have read so many threads on pancreatitis from this site. Thank you for all your insight and experience dealing with this horrific illness.

Well, I own a beautiful Yorkie-Poo and her name is Miley. My girl is going to be 5 years old in May, but she recently got sick. It all started with her getting into a "praying dog" position, and we ended up taking her to the Animal Hospital where they said it could be gas or acid reflux. They told us to keep an eye on her and she got much better until we noticed her doing the "praying dog" position again. We also heard gurgling in her tummy so we thought it must be gas! I took her into her regular vet who refused to run any blood work on her. He sent us home and told us she would get better. I refused to accept that nothing was wrong, so I took her into a second vet to get another opinion and they ran some lab results and everything came back normal. The vet told us to give Pepcid Ac and Anti-Gas Drops for Miley. Everything seemed to be going well.

However, she started vomiting this past Sunday and that is when things got scary. Miley would throw up her kibble after she ate it (she has been on a Natural Balance Potato and Duck diet for 3 years). She would only throw up after eating kibble, but she continued to drink water and was able to hold it down. Every morning and evening she would throw up her kibble. She was able to hold down the same dog food but in a sliced meat roll so that is what we would give her. Since the first vomiting episode, Miley would throw up kibble and bile in the morning. I kept in contact with the vet and I took her in yesterday (Tuesday) for further testing. They ran a CpL test for pancreatitis and it came back abnormal. This was heartbreaking because Miley NEVER eats table food. We are very strict about her diet. This is when the vet recommended the Hills RX i/d Low Fat Gi Restore wet diet. When we got home, we fed her and two hours later, she threw up. We gave her some more food a few hours later and was able to hold it down for the night.

HOWEVER, we woke up today and fed her some food and she threw that up instantly. This is when I took her into the vet right away and they said she needed IV fluids to help her. She seems to be doing better and tomorrow she will be in the vet's office for more fluids. I am afraid because tomorrow they want to try feeding her some food. I hate to see her throw up luckily, she has no diarrhea and does not vomit unless she eats food. She also doesn't cry in pain. She has energy to bark and she has bowel movements and she urinates regularly.

I would like to know if anyone else has experienced pancreatitis with their Yorkies and what is the recovery time? How long before they stop throwing up? Any advice and input would be great. I love my girl and I want her to live a long happy healthy life.

All I want is to see my girl better. It hurts to see that she doesn't feel well. Thank you

[MandiesMom]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that Miley is going thru this. I know how hard it is on you having to watch her be sick. Someone will post soon with some experience in this area. I just wanted to tell you that I'm keeping Miley in my prayers. Your love for her is so obvious thru your words and you've done all the right things. I'm so glad you didn't just stop with the first vet's opinion.

[LoveMiley]

Thank you so much, Terri. I have been devastated but at the same time, I am so thankful that we caught this illness now. The vet reassured us that she would be fine. The difficult thing is just waiting for her to recover. Please keep my Miley in your prayers.

[107barney]

I'm sorry to hear this. Pancreatitis can be life threatening. My dog Barney now 12.5 years old had pancreatitis at age 5. For five years after that, he was fine. Then at age 10, he had it again. Since that time, he is on a home cooked diet that is very low fat, low residue and moderate protein. He does occasionally eat the Royal canin gastrointestinal low fat kibble which agrees with him. It's the lowest fat commercial diet on the market. Please keep in mind that a dog with pancreatitis could recover fairly quickly but many times this can smolder. Personally, I'm so petrified of more pancreatitis that all my dogs eat fat at about 12%. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[anniernc]

I have 2 that have episodes of pancreatitis. So far I have been able to treat them at home after fluids in the office. My vet will not let them eat for 24 hours (except water). Puts them on flagyl and something he calls a sluri (it's a pill that I add alittle bit of water too that disolves) it coats the stomach and she get it three times a day but I'm not sure what it is. The last time Elsy got sick she had bloody diarrhea and was throwing up blood - I was so scared but she was fine in a couple of days. My vet put her on the royal canin GI diet and I kept her on it for awhile but switched back to the natural balance duck and potato so far haven't had but one other episode of diarrhea. I keep flagyl on hand and give it to my two that have problems if they get the bloody diarrhea and it takes care of the problem. I don't give them any other food or treats other than natural balance duck and potato treats. Good luck with your baby. It sounds like you caught it in time and that she will be fine. Pancreatitis can be very bad and you can lose one because of this so please be very vigil.

[chestermama]

my girlfriends dog has this and she had fed the solid gold low fat dog food which is only 6% fat, for years and has done well

[LoveMiley]

Hello everyone! Just thought I should post am update. Miley, my mom, and I spent 3 days at the vet getting IV fluids for her. We were told to keep food away from her for the first 24 hours to let the pancreas rest.

I fee so luckily and blessed that her pancreatitis was caught so early. The major concern we had was that she would throw up bile every morning and was having a difficult time keeping down her Natural Balance kibble. She never had diarrhea but it was scary enough for us. Thankfully, my girl has made improvement.

The Hills I/D food didn't work for Miley at all. Last week, we requested an allergy test for my girl and the results arrived day and it showed she was allergic to 4 different ingredients in that food. This caused her allergies to flare up and for her not to digest the food properly. My mom caught this problem and ran out to the nearest pet store to find a low fat food that she could tolerate. The vet recommended a fish diet so my mom stayed with the Natural balance brand except she bought the fish formula (this food is amazing)!

My advice to all owners is that if your sweet pet is showing any symptoms that keep reoccurring, please do not hesitate to take them to the vet for testing. My mom and my persistence with the vet really helped us get to the bottom of Miley's condition and I know it is what kept it controlled. Make sure you know exactly what they are doing with your pet and what food's they recommend because they are all factors in their recovery.

Thank you all for your kind words, prayers and thoughts.

[LoveMiley]

You all are so kind. I am so grateful that we can all come together to share our feelings and experience on this site. It feels wonderful to know that I am not alone in this.

Recovery is slow but we have seen improvement! The best thing anyone can do is take their pets AS SOON as they see changes in behavior, etc. Also, be persistent. We figured out what was really going on with Miley way before it became more serious because we were VERY persistent about lab work, x-rays, etc. We ran many tests on Miley until we figured out why she was vomiting her food more frequently.

Now we are actually considering an ultrasound to see what is going on in the pancreas and to see her abdominal area. My mother and I are going to do EVERYTHING in our power to prevent this from happening again and we STRONGLY ENCOURAGE every Yorkie owner (and other pet owners as well) to take their little ones as soon as they see changes in them.

Soon to come..a more detailed post on Miley. For now, I am going to keep an eye on my girl and make sure she has everything she possibly needs to feel better.

- Abigail, the proud mom of a beautiful, wonderful, sweet girl named Miley

[redwind30]

So sorry to hear about your baby! My little boy is 12 and was diagnosed with pancreatitis several years ago. Most recent attack was last week which ended up with trip to ER.
The only thing he gets is WD food. He also gets 1/2 Pepcid every AM.
Sometimes you have to get assertive and insist they do blood work. Just remember you know your pet better than anyone!

Last year I took my guy to the ER because he was in praying dog position. Both the Vet and friend who went with me thought I was overreacting. I had to argue with Vet to get her to do the test....she was trying to save me money...she did the test, came back to the room and apologized. She said you really know your pet! Pancreatitis levels were very elevated.

Best wishes with your baby!

[Florabug]

My sweet departed Hugo use to get bouts of pancreatitis. After I changed his diet he got alot better. Low fat and low protein was the key. Anti-nausea meds helped more than anything when he had a flare up.

[MandiesMom]

Originally Posted by LoveMiley

You all are so kind. I am so grateful that we can all come together to share our feelings and experience on this site. It feels wonderful to know that I am not alone in this.

Recovery is slow but we have seen improvement! The best thing anyone can do is take their pets AS SOON as they see changes in behavior, etc. Also, be persistent. We figured out what was really going on with Miley way before it became more serious because we were VERY persistent about lab work, x-rays, etc. We ran many tests on Miley until we figured out why she was vomiting her food more frequently.

Now we are actually considering an ultrasound to see what is going on in the pancreas and to see her abdominal area. My mother and I are going to do EVERYTHING in our power to prevent this from happening again and we STRONGLY ENCOURAGE every Yorkie owner (and other pet owners as well) to take their little ones as soon as they see changes in them.

Soon to come..a more detailed post on Miley. For now, I am going to keep an eye on my girl and make sure she has everything she possibly needs to feel better.

- Abigail, the proud mom of a beautiful, wonderful, sweet girl named Miley

Thank you so much for the updates, Abigail. How is Miley doing now?

I know with your loving care and watchful eye, Miley will do great!

[LoveMiley]

Hello everyone! Please forgive me as I have not had a chance to post an update on Miley. It has been a hectic week balancing school and taking care of my little girl.

Let me just say that everyone in the house (my mom and grandma) keep a VERY watchful eye on her while I am at school. The most difficult part is having to leave her in the morning, but I know that my mom and grandma will take care of her as much as I do! I have noticed that small, more frequent meals have helped her tummy a lot! I make sure to set my alarm every night so that I wake up on time to feed my baby. Her appetite is great! She loves the low fat wet food she is on! We are currently feeding her Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato canned food and she is in love! The vet said it was perfect for her food allergies (my baby has allergies to the most common ingredients in dog food) and it was also super low in fat.

Miley had a check-up with her vet yesterday, and the vet said that she looked as if she never had pancreatitis. She was very healthy, and the vet said she looked wonderful! It was such a relief because last week was the most stressful week I have ever been through. Not knowing what was wrong with Miley was such a painful experience for me.

I am extremely happy and blessed that my girl is getting better. Thank you all for your sweet messages and prayers. I greatly appreciate it.

- Abigail

[Buster Brown]

Abigail it is so wonderful how you and your family look out for Miley and all your dogs! I am so glad to hear she is doing so well and that you have found a food that does not aggravate her allergies. Best wishes

[LoveMiley]

Originally Posted by Buster Brown

Abigail it is so wonderful how you and your family look out for Miley and all your dogs! I am so glad to hear she is doing so well and that you have found a food that does not aggravate her allergies. Best wishes

Thank you so much! Miley is our very first and only pet, and we have learned so much from having her. She is the baby of the house. I am an only child, so I never knew what it was like to have a younger member in the house! Miley is such a blessing, and it is an honor to be part of the family that cares for her.

[Patti]

I am so glad Miley is doing so much better. You are a great Mom!