pancreitis

[Tankstar]

So blaze was vomiting for 3 days. Pretty much never is he sick. I was gone away for almost 2 days. I took him in yesterday. Lucky we caught it just in time. His levels were 407 over 400. Just looking for more information on it.any one with unfortunate history on it
I know exactly how and why it was brought on. Had a large bbq on Canada day July 1st. And both dogs were fed lots of junk. Including numerous amounts of hot dogs. By me and others. I've always done that. Well there is definitely a change going to happen now.

 

[AllisonPitbullLvr]

Once it occurs, it is more likely to occur in the future. Catch it early and you can often treat at home. Hope Blaze is on the mend now!

 

[JacksonsMom]

Jackson possibly got pancreatitis after a family BBQ too. I think it was the sausage that did it.

I say possibly because I'm still not 100% sure if it was or if it was just upset GI system.

I had to take him to a different vet because it was of course on a Sunday and a REALLY long story short... they were total rip-offs and scared me very badly and I ended up doing a bunch of unnecessary visits/tests. When they finally told me that a cPL test existed to test for pancreatitis, we did that, and it came back negative. So even though his lipase levels were high in the bloodwork, I didn't have any prior bloodwork to base it on so it could've just been his normal bloodwork. Anyway once I talked to my regular vet and showed her everything, she assumed it just a bad GI upset.

Jackson ended up staying overnight on IV's all night at the 'other' vet and I regret that because I think he would've been perfectly fine at home with some sub-q fluids (which they had me come in for 3x during that week, and charged for each visit, etc). It ended up being a $1500 ordeal.

We did the really low fat diet for a few months afterward just to be safe anyway but I was never happy with his body condition or hair, so we just went back to a regular diet. I still avoid super high fat things in general (I won't buy dog treats extremely high in fat) and he's not allowed any fatty table scraps (ham, bacon, sausage, etc) but other than that, everything has been normal thus far. I think this was 3yrs ago now.

I do know that pancreatitis CAN be very dangerous for certain dogs, and it depends on if it's a chronic issue or not.

It seems Blaze had a REASON for the attack, too, and you know what it is, so it's probably a one-time thing, but I too would just stick on the safe side and keep food and treats low fat. Ex: treats, I use Cloud Star Buddy Biscuits. Most of them are no higher than 5-8% fat or so. Any treats over like 12% fat, I won't do. Dog food, I won't go over about 18%, but I'd prefer to stay in the 14-16% range. For dogs with chronic issues, you usually don't want to go over like 10-12%.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Tango is in the unlucky Pancreatitis club. His seemed to come out of the blue and recurring even after his vet diagnosed. He has to be on food in the 12% range and right now that maintenance is working great. I think if you can get Blaze back to healthy, finding a food that is low in fat and cutting out ALL unhealthy table/human food then he will likely be fine. Tango hates not getting tasty table scraps but is happy with the occasional yogurt cup to lick and pieces of my seaweed chips.

It's not easy, but it is manageable. Hopefully Blaze will recover just fine

 

[aengusafton]

Pancreatitis is inflammation and swelling of the pancreas. It can occur in a mild or severe form. The cause of spontaneous pancreatitis in dogs is not well understood. Dogs taking corticosteroids are at increased risk. There is a higher incidence of pancreatitis in dogs with Cushing’s syndrome, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, and idiopathic hyperlipemia (a disease of Miniature Schnauzers). These diseases are associated with high serum lipid levels. Pancreatitis is also more prevalent in overweight spayed females and dogs on high-fat diets. An attack may be triggered by eating table scraps or a fatty meal. The diagnosis can be suspected based on a physical examination.

 

[amberdyan]

My mom's dachshund had the same problem after licking pork fat at a family BBQ : (. Lucky they don't have to feed her a special diet or anything, she just isn't allowed any even remotely high fat meat scraps and they keep her away from the liquid fat during cook-outs.