Dog Pancreatitis Diet

Pancreatitis Diet in order to prevent further painful attacks is important. Less fatty food is the traditional advice. Is this still true?

Inflamed pancreas, pain and a lot of suffering for your best friend. Well, it's not difficult to understand why you want to do everything you can do to prevent pancreatitis flare up happen again.

The whole story about acute pancreatic inflammation is not understood. We do now that some factors probably can trigger the disease. This can be feeding fatty food (when your dog not really used to this). Or some medicines can provoke the gland and make in inflamed.

But most important! This is (sorry, as you probably are saying - "I don't want to hear this again") Yes -.Overweight.

I have written more about precipitating factors and you can read about it here.

Canine pancreatitis diet - in the Acute Stage

During the acute stage of the disease the main goal is to stimulate pancreas as little as possible. If food enters the GI tract the whole mechanism of digestion begins. Pancreatic enzymes is pumped out.

The inflammation is getting worse.

Not much for you to do right now

Often lot off medicines and IV fluids are needed. This is best done in the animal hospital. The reason for the staff not to give food is to cool down the painful and irritated gland.

Vomiting is another complication. Feeding would make this worse as well

Some experiments has been done feeding during this period. Not normally through the mouth. But direct in the jejunum.

This is done by tube feeding through the nose, to the stomach and into the intestine by passing duodenum.

This will by passing the segment of the gut where the pancreas gland is stimulated.

Healing is best done if the body gets what's needed.

Even, if there are benefits doing this - in Sweden at least - this is not very often done.

Pancreatitis diet - After Coming Home

The advice regarding dog pancreatic diet is still the same. Dog food containing less fat preventing stimulus of the lipid digesting enzymes.

Hyperlipidemia in some dogs is best controlled giving special diets.

General guidelines regarding content of fat relative to the energy in the pancreatic diet is:

Many different dog food companies have this type of diet available. Royal Canine's "Digestive Low Fat" and "Weight Control" are good examples.

Hills Prescription Diet another. Hill's Prescription Diet i/d can be used in pancreas inflammations not caused by hyperlipidemia.

If hyperlipidemia is present Hill's Prescription Diet w/d or d/d can be good pacreatitis diet possibilities.