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Canine Pancreatitis?


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Anyone have any experience with this? My mother has a chocolate lab who is on phenobarbital for seizures. She got really sick the other day (throwing up) so we took her to the vet yesterday. After a full blood work up, the vet tells us it's pancreatitis. Since the dog is about 10 pounds over weight, he told her to give the dog 1/2 cup dry food in the morning and 1/2 cup at night. That's it! Absolutely nothing else. The weight loss would help the pancreas function better.

Now Mom is freaking out, feeling like she's starving the dog. It's so tough to see our fur babies sick. After a month they will test her levels again, and if they're not lower, he will refer her to a specialist at UF to see if they can prolong her life.

Just thought I would throw it out here and see if anyone has heard of this, or maybe she should seek another opinion. :(

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I don't know anything about the pancreatitis Stef, but my dd has a chihuahua that was pushing 20 lbs. Yes that is seriously obese. The vet put her on the same type of a diet. She lost 9 lbs and looks and feels fabulous. She fed her diet Pro Plan for a year. She is now feeding regular dog food but still just twice a day with no other food and is keeping the weight off.

Tell your mom she will be doing her dog a big favor if she sticks to the vets plan. :heart:

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Well that makes me feel a little better, but we're just wondering if 1 cup of food for an 80 lb. lab is enough. Mom will do anything if it will help, but she's so stressed out right now.

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Pancreatitis can be caused by too much fat in their diet. Both our Schnauzers have suffered from it, and both were permanently put on low fat diets. Also both of them were on prescription medications for the pancreatitis.

Thanks for that info. So I'm assuming the diet & meds worked?

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Yes, for the meantime. But you have to be very vigilant about the diet. Once an animal has suffered from pancreatitis, it will flare up easily again. First Schnauzer eventually passed away from it, but he lived for several years after his first attack. A couple of years ago the morning we were leaving for Florida Kassie accidentally ate something she shouldn't have. In 48 hours we were in an emergency clinic in Lakeland ... $500 later we were on our way to the fort. She recovered and hasn't had another attack.

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Thank you so much. You basically confirmed what the vet said. 1 cup of food a day, nothing else! We will follow the vet's orders and hope Maya (the lab) reaps the benefits.

Anything that will prolong her life is worth trying. Thanks again.

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check with the vet and see if it's ok to give the dog veggies. I'm not sure about a diet for this specifically, but when we've gotten obese dogs into rescue before, we've supplemented their very restricted amount of regular food with carrots or frozen/fresh green beans. Helps them to feel fuller without adding may calories.

Good luck wishes going out!

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www.caninepancreatitis.net This site explains about canine pancreatitis. you will see these on the right hand side. click on each one to learn about them.

if the dog can only have 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup at night, maybe she can keep a few pieces out to feed as treats through the day. as long as it is within the amount they would like the dog to have i don't see why this would be a problem. good luck and look at the treatment link on this page. :)

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