Low Fat Foods

Jackson goes in for a, hopefully, "final" re-check of his bloodwork after this bout of pancreatitis. It's been exactly a week since he was checked into the hospital overnight on IV's, etc.

He's been acting great - totally normal, healthy appetite, drinking water okay, but when we visited on Thursday for a re-check of bloodwork, his lipase levels highered a bit so the vet sent him home with sub-q fluids Thursday, Friday and today (Sunday). I am praying for a good check-up on Tuesday.

In the mean time, he's been eating Purina E/N. I am not very happy about it but it's working for now. I'm just concerned about getting his stomach normal again and getting him better and THEN I will worry more about food.

So in the meantime, I've been researching so that maybe I can show the vet some options I've been looking through and how to deal with his new diet, how to prevent this from happening again, etc.

I know that low-fat is super important.

I am curious of any ideas you have of good quality low fat food for the future? Just throwing ideas out there.

I'm looking into a few of the Natural Balance formulas.

I looked at the EN and they say it's 10.5% fat. I'd check out California Natural. They have senior formulas (8% fat), grain inclusive foods (11% fat) and grain free foods (12% fat) and even low fat food (7% fat).

Innova has a low fat (7-9%), Senior (8%), and Senior plus (10%).

Wellness Core has a reduced fat formula (10% fat).

Canidae has a senior formula called platinum (8.5% fat).

I'm sure there are more, just look at reduced fat or senior formulas. Some have really bad protein levels though, which really stinks. Is it better for dogs with pancreatitis to eat wet food? I fell like it would be easier for them to digest due to lower carb amounts, but I don't know much about the disease.

Bodie is on a low fat diet. I use the honest kitchen preference with rabbit or skinless white meat chicken and very small amounts of added chicken fat because rabbit by itself is too lean for a dog or human to survive on by itself.

Thanks! I hadn't even thought about Innova and CN. Even though they were bought out, I may have to consider these. They look pretty good ingredient wise and fit the bill fat and protein-wise.

Yep, it pretty much sucks. Most high protein foods also have higher fat. I'd ideally like to keep Jackson under 10-12% fat.

Thanks! I've heard good things about THK.

WDJ has some resources. This article looks really complete! Canine Pancreatitis - Whole Dog Journal Article

Here's one on Low Fat diets specifically: Healthy Low-Fat Diets For Dogs With Special Dietary Needs - Whole Dog Journal Article

Thanks! I found those articles this morning actually and found them VERY helpful and informative.

I'm THINKING I'm going to go with California Natural. I want to pick a food soon so that I can make a nice slow transition to avoid any upset tummy and have enough of the Purina EN to transition with.

Does anyone know of any major changes yet since the P&G takeover? I haven't heard anything.

If not CN, I'm looking into Natural Balance Reduced Calorie. I want to start him off with something really simple and easy on the stomach and then maybe a year from now I'll think about feeding Wellness Core Reduced Fat. Since he's so active, I am a bit reluctant to have him on such a low protein food.

I don't know a ton about the kibble, but I've heard of others feeding Weight Management Dry Dog Food: Chicken Meal & Peas | Holistic Select
AvoDerm® - Adult Weight Control Dog Food for Overwieght, Less Active Dogs
have you considered raw or premade raw? Complete Raw Diets for Pets: Canine Rabbit Formula
or dehydrated like Kat09Tails posted... Grain Free Dog Food | Dehydrated Dog Food | Homemade | Preference | The Honest Kitchen


This could be unrelated (there's always that chance!) but I wanted to share just in case.
One of my foster's forever home e-mailed me about 2 weeks ago.... The dog was very sick (long term diarrhea) and very, very itchy, losing hair, getting secondary infections, etc. She was put on antibiotics and steroids after the natural treatments did not work, but it would clear up but come right back. The vet wanted to put her on prescription food, but the new owners are very much into natural foods and all that, they refused.
So I asked what they were feeding.... it was CN. I suggested they switch off (and filled them in about P&G - they had no idea), and they did. Keep in mind that I fed this same dog CN when she lived with me, and the dog NEVER had these problems with me. BUT, that was before the buyout...

The results were almost immediate after switching with the diarrhea (and the initial itching), so hopefully the hair will start to grow back.

But after we e-mailed back and forth a couple times, we found this too California Natural Dog Food Ingredient Change?

SO - I have no proof, it could be an allergy for all I know, coincidence, whatever, but I just wanted to share...

Thanks for the info -- it does make me a tad nervous. Even if the formula hasn't changed yet, it would suck to find a food that works well for him and then it goes and gets changed.

I did buy a bag of CN today but I might return it.

I just spotted this new formula of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Weight Management...
BLUE Buffalo Wilderness - Natural Evolutionary Healthy Weight Diet for Dogs ? Grain Free

I may try this eventually. I like that the fat level is lower with the higher protein still. I just can't see a dog as active as Jackson thriving on 18%-22% protein foods or "senior" or "low activity" foods. Vet even told me not to get a senior food since he's so young and active and that protein didn't concern her as much as fat levels did.

However the fiber is higher in this food and I've read that initially, it's good to have a lower fiber diet when coming off an acute episode of pancreatitis.

That Avoderm and Holistic Select you posted seems like it'd fit the bill

I haven't needed a low-fat food personally, but I've learned a lot from our customers' feedback in the store. Natural Balance Reduced Calorie is really successful. A lot of dogs do really well on it in terms of weight loss and management. We also sell a lot of the Now and Wellness weight management formulas (Now Senior & Weight Management & Wellness Super 5 Healthy Weight) with really great feedback.

The Holistic Select one is pretty awesome too, and we just started carrying BB Wilderness in our stores - I like that the fibre content is high in all the varieties (good for weight management) while still remaining a grain-free formula. The protein, fat and fibre levels on their Weight Management formula are really ideal to me as a weight control food.

Acana also makes a Light and Fit formula which roooocks.

THANKS! I e-mailed Acana about their Light and Fit formula and it's still a no-go in the USA. Boooo! I really wanted to stick with Champion Foods since I've fed Acana for so long, just recently switching to TOTW. I wish there was a way to get it into the US.
See, I don't need/want him to lose weight so this is going to be tricky finding a food that works. I guess I'll just need to feed more of whatever I pick.

Hmmm... I am still not sure. It's so weird though -- everything I've heard/read, lower fiber is ideal for just coming out of a pancreatitis attack, but for the future, I believe fiber is a good thing. But at the same time, most reduced calorie/weight formulas have higher fiber (above 6%). I may look into Blue Wilderness Weight and Wellness Core Reduced Fat for the future. I think getting him gradually back onto grain-free, a bit higher protein, may be better since he's been eating Purina now for over 3 weeks.

I might do this one actually:

Castor & Pollux Organix Weight Management Adult Dry Dog Food - Organic Dog Food at PETCO.com

Organic Chicken, Chicken Meal, Organic Brown Rice, Organic Millet, Organic Peas, Organic Oats, Tomato Pomace, Chicken Fat (Naturally Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Salmon Meal, Natural Chicken Flavor, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Quinoa, Dried Egg Product, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Organic Apples, Organic Carrots, Organic Broccoli, Organic Pumpkin, Organic Pears, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Chondroitin Sulfate, L-Carnitine, Yeast Culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis, Fermentation Solubles, Rosemary Extract

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude protein (min) 21.50%, crude fat (min) 10.0%, crude fiber (max) 5.50%, moisture (max) 10.00%, calcium (min) .80%, phosphorus (min) 0.60%, omega 6 fatty acid (min) 1.75%, omega 3 fatty acid* (min) 0.35%. Glucosamine Hydrochloride (min)* 150 mg/kg Chondroitin Sulfate (min)* 75mg/kg., L-Carnitine (min)* 15mg/kg


It seems pretty in-the-middle of the road and I like it better as an option than AvoDerm.