Pancreatitis in a dog
Common Questions and Answers about Pancreatitis in a dog
pancreatitis
Does anyone believe that the dental tooth extractions could have caused the slipped disk in his neck? They said that he must of had a degenerative disk in the first place. However, we have never had problems before. Because the vet gave us muscle relaxants and rimadahl to give for pain management, his pancreatitis flared up again. Now he is in the hospital on intravenous fluids and pain med injections. I just want to know anyone's thoughts on this?
I chose to put my dog to sleep after 3 weeks of trying to save his life because his gallbladder was getting so huge a rupture was likely. While it IS possible to remove a gallbladder in a dog, the dog's anatomy makes it difficult and doing so in one so ill with pancreatitis generally isn't a good idea.
As you've no doubt been told already, pancreatitis is an incredibly painful condition.
Making the decision to have your dog euthanized is never easy but IMHO if your decision felt right then it was right. What do you think your dog would have wanted if he was in a position to tell you. You have your lhasa 11 happy and loving years and he knew it. You knew him better than anyone else and I'm sure he knew everything you did for him, from his puppyhood to his death, was made out of caring for him and in his own best interests.
my dog has had pancreatitis 2 times he is 8 yrs old and he hasnt shown symptoms in 2 yrs. we got a kitten over the weekend and the dog ended up eating the cat food a couple of times. now he has diahrea and i have seen a couple blood drops by the poop. Is there something i can do for him other then take him to the vet. It is the same exact symtoms as last time so i really dont need to pay a couple hunred dollars for them to tell me what i already know.
s also good for constipation. Pancreatitis is often created by poor quality manufactured dog foods, so a home cooked diet is certainly the right way forward. It's also useful to reduce or eliminate completely animal fats, particularly things like beef, from the diet. Diets are also best devised that are low in fibre and easily digested. It can also be beneficial to feed small amounts more freuently, rather than one large meal all at once.
Pancreatitis can recur when it has happened once. But if there is blood in his vomit, I think you would be best to take him to the vet. Sometimes the presence of blood in vomit is caused by irritation to the throat only while vomiting, and in itself not a serious thing. But it might not be that. And I think if he has a history of Pancreatitis he needs to see the vet.
Poor little thing. I hope he is feeling better soon.
It depends what you mean by 'table scraps'. There are a whole list of Human foods which are bad news for dogs, including: anything salted/anything cooked with or containing onions/grapes/raisins(ie fruit cake,pies etc)/chocolate/ even LIVER can affect some dogs badly!....the list is quite long.
Also I wouldn't want to feed MY dog on...
I had ( still have her) a dog that had pancreatitis, she had it the same time she was ill with IMHA, so I don't know what they did to help her. I will tell you that your dog needs to be on low fat food. I would get Hills/ Science Diet Light to start off, most treats have too much fat so stay away from them. I would cook up chicken breast ( it's low fat) with some rice, both are easy on the stomach.
Dogs, like humans, need a certain amount of fat for good nutrition, but sudden spikes in fat can bring on an acute case of pancreatitis - particularly in a dog who has already had it. Chronic pancreatitis is darned difficult to manage in humans as well as dogs.
Please post back and let us know what your vet has to say about the urine sample and your dog's general condition.
Pancreatitis according to my ER Vet is one of the most painful things a dog can have. It is the equivalent of having a bunch of broken bones. My late dog Leeo had Pancreatic Neucrosis which was misdiagnosed as something else.
By the time he was severe I took him to the ER Hospital. Not saying your dog has the same thing .... but my dog had Pancreatic Neucrosis ... the worst . His pancreas was dying and eating itself and his internal surrounding organs.
But it can sometimes be slowed down with the right medication and diet. Sometimes a dog can gain more time and a decent quality of life for the time remaining. But of course if appetite has already gone and doesn't recover, then it probably is 'time'.
Pancreatitis of course, can affect appetite VERY badly, until the pancreas heals. That can take a little time.
Your dog may still have some options for a decent end-of-life care....
We took him to a specialist hospital where he had the same treatment in ICU as a human with pancreatitis. He had a central line placed in his neck so he didn't have to get stuck with needles all the time, and was put on TPN - nutrition given via IV. He also had a ton of pain meds - a 75 mcg fentanyl patch along with injections of dilaudid for breakthrough pain. At least I know he was as comfortable as humanly possible those last couple of weeks.
my Min-Pin had the same in Oct 2007. He got pancreatitis from a steroid shot.He spent 5 days in the hospital and on the last day did he start to eat and drink. The vet made it very clear if he could not hold down water or food, he was to return immediately. For the first week he was also very weak and he ate very small meals every few hours. This also helps to keep his pancreatis from working hard.
I am looking for a dog food for our rat terrier who has issues with chronic pancreatitis, high cholesterol and trig.
We presently have her on Hill's W/D but would like a maintenance low fat food.
There is currently another thread running on this forum about pancreatitis in a shih tzu. I just a few minutes ago finished a REALLY long post containing information about diets and how to home-cook for your dog to help the pancreatitis. I don't want to spam the board with the same post by re-posting it here.
Your dog is very lucky to have such an alert owner! Good catch on your part!
Please keep us updated!
The cause can sometimes be unknown, but very often follows after eating any fatty food (Turkey skin for instance, or even chicken fat etc) Even a few table scraps CAN cause Pancreatitis attacks in susceptible dogs. And very often, when they have had one -unless they stay on a strict diet, they can get another attack in the future.
Has your vet excluded this as a possibility?
The treatment sounds harsh but is the best way to manage an attack.
If the condition goes on more than a week to 10 days, then the vet may need to surgically install a port into a major vein in the neck to admister food. That sounds more horrible than it really is. With a port, the dog's meds can be administered and blood taken without being stuck all the time. It's very convenient for the dog and the vet staff and the dog can have more freedom of movement.
Pancreatitis is an extremely painful condition, and can crop up for a lot of different reasons. The classic case in dogs is a large, sudden intake of fat. My vet always gets pancreatitis cases in following holidays when the dogs get too many extra fatty "treats" from well-meaning family members or guests. Summer months are always the worst when people are cooking things like brisket and ribs.
I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It's unlikely that pancreatitis results in acute liver failure/necrosis (ALN)- while pancreatitis can result in ELEVATED liver function tests (LFTs), it shouldn't cause failure. Cause for ALN include blue-green algae exposure (in stagnant ponds), sago palm ingestion, xylitol sugar-free gum, a few medications, etc. Sometimes end-stage liver disease (cirrhosis) can also cause acute liver failure also.
My parents' dog just passed from pancreatitis. He was like a brother to me. As a Goldendoodle he had very human like qualities. He was very social and very much part of our family. Sadly when I was watching him while they were gone he became very lethargic and and began drooling. After not eating dinner on Saturday, I was a bit alarmed. Everything I read online said to take the dog to the vet if it was vomiting or had diarrhea--which he had neither.
Whenever a dog yelps upon touching them it's worthy of a vet trip. In this case there's really no telling what this could be without a thorough veterinary exam. It could be something as simple as a pulled muscle that will heal itself in a couple of days as long as she takes it easy or it could be something as serious as pancreatitis, a VERY painful condition that causes dogs to yipe out at the slightest touch or even NO touch.
yea he keeps down water he hasnt vomited since i got him back yesterday he still doesnt want food he seems more livley today i started him on milk thistle lastnight since i heard of miracle turn arounds with it so im still praying one happens and as for the money wise im a 23yr old kid who didnt start my career yet so finances are very tight so im praying this milk thistle brings the liver values down and he begins 2 eat and he wants 2 stay outside im assuming cuz theres snow out there he used 2
t thrown up at all but she she has gotten a lot weaker in terms of walking. She does have hip dysplasia but in the past week it seems much worse and I'm not sure if its just because she isn't getting much nutrients because she isn't eating.
The doctor gave us three options to treat for pancreatic disease which I guess is to not feed her and she will have an IV in her for her fluids. Or we can get a ultra sound from a specialist or at her clinic.
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