Chihuahua Pancreatitus

[tommygirl3669]

Hi Guys. I was wondering wether you might be able to help my mother. 8 years ago, we adopted a chihuahua from the animal welfare league. He is now to the best of our knowledge about 15 years old, and still a very lively dog. Recently he had terrible allergy problems with his skin, and was diagnosed after a blood test with pancreatitus. He was never fed (by us) sausages or food scraps, but simply fed dry food in the morning and canned food at night.

Now, my mum has been advised to feed him Hills L/D Prescription diet, but I was wondering if anyone knew of any other feed alternatives as my mum's dog isd getting fussy and not really liking it much. I know he probably doesn't have many years ahead of him, but my mum does love him very dearly, and wants him to have the best life ahead of him.

Do you guys have any suggestions on food alternatives appropriate for pancreatitus, and or a bulk supplier for Hills L/D? I have scowered the net, and am yet to find a bulk supplier of the canned L/D!!!

Thanks a million in advance. All advice would be appreciated!

[Staff'n'Toller]

Royal Canin have a few prescription foods that are generally more palatable.

Digestive Low Fat springs to mind but there is also one in a brown packet that I can't remember the name of.

Your mum should give her Vet a call anyway for their recommendation on which Royal Canin food would suit best.

[Poodle wrangler]

Can you find out the ingredients and what makes this such a special diet? When I google it the info comes up that it's for "liver disorders" .

I know low-fat is important, but I'm not sure beyond that? Vets sell the Hills, so may be biased toward it? I don't see why you can't feed at least part natural diet and the vet should be able to say what foods to give and which to avoid.

[ScoobyDoo]

Hi, We recently believed our Shihtzu had pancreatitus. After blood and urine tests, it seems he is "fine"!!!!! Knowing that, did not stop the projectile vomiting etc, so we were a little dubious about the "fine" diagnosis. However, we took the vet's advice and choice of three canned prescription foods to trial, Hills I/D, W/D and another from Royal Canine (which we haven't tried yet). The Hills products have done wonders for ScoobyDoo. Truly, he is a totally different dog. Considering we have had to clean up spews almost every day for the past 10 months, we are thinking this is a miracle. Since starting this new canned food, he has not thrown up once and seems much more contented.

[Jed]

Low fat, low protein is important. No bones with marrow, no fatty food.

Mine has potatoes, brown rice,( both cooked) raw veges processed in the food processor. He also occasionally has egg, sunflower oil, sardines and he has a little meat. Chicken breast boiled and allowed to cool so the fat can be removed is good. I also give him Vit. C, E and B12 - I am careful with Vit E (essentially a fatty acid)

The dry foods are, I think better, and easier to cope with. But some dogs wnnt eat them.

I also think boiled chicken breast (no skin) with the fat removed, and raw processed veges would probably be ok, but best to check with your vet, he knows what's going on with your dog. Too much fibre is not good either - you need carbohydrates.

I'd hate to give you incorrect advice - what works for me may not work for you, because the problem is different.

[mita]

We had a sheltie with severe bouts of pancreatitis....& he was treated at the uni vet clinic. I'm a bit hazy on the details....but finally it got managed very well with diet.

What Jed described, seems very close....except the dry food I used for him was Supercoat Lite.

Also agree what she said about bones. One of my mistakes was giving him a bone with no meat....nothing on it. It triggered an attack. Uni vet told me to boil a bone like that & watch all the fat come to the surface.

Also another time, a bad attack was triggered because someone cut up good quality lean raw steak & gave him a little. Same reason....still fat in it.

We presently have a tibbie with a tendency to react to too much fat in her diet. Her trigger doesn't seem as fine as the sheltie's. But I have to keep fat in her diet low.

I use Tuckertime Chicken & Rice dog roll....only available from some vets....with a scatter of Science light. Veggies can be added. Only treats she gets are Greenies & Eukanuba treats for small dogs.

But one of the best things that has helped her is a special Dog Probiotic available from vets called

Protexin. Just 1/2 tspn a day in food.

Overall I agree with Jed, too, that the dogs with this tendency can still be different (look at my 2!) & what suits one wouldn't suit another. So is there a vet you can talk with....who has a special interest in this condition?