My 6 month old puppy, Charlie suddenly stopped eating last Saturday - refusing all foods (he is fed raw and wollops his meals immediately)  His last meal was on Friday evening.

I took him to the vet Sunday morning after not eating since Friday. Vet diagnosed ear infection in one ear and said to treat both, which I have. Said to come back in a week if not better. Said he wasn't eating because of pain in ear. (Charlie didn't show outward sign of discomfort - no head shaking or ear scratching.

Vet gave him an injection of Metacam and he slept all day - still not eating but drinking well. Vet said not to worry as long as he is drinking (no vomiting or runs) He ate half is breakfast on Monday morning and nothing until Tuesday evening apart from the very odd dry biscuit

Took a small amount of food on Tuesday evening, which I hand fed him sat on my knee. He won't leave my side at the moment, normally running around with my older girl. Sleeping most of the time.

This morning I though sugar to waiting a full week until taking him back and went back to vets. Vet said it will take more that four days treatment to clear his ears (infection spread to other ear now). Vet gave impression that I was worrying over nothing. I said I am not so concerned regarding his ears, but he has only had the equivilent of one full meal in six days.

Vet weighed him and said he has lost weight in four days - no surprise there, and has decided that something must be going on to stop him eating. He has taken bloods for routine testing and also for pancreatitis which he suspects is the culprit.

I now have some antibiotics pending the result of the blood test tomorrow.

Does anyone have any experience of a dog or puppy with this and how does one get them to take food? Should I offer him everything possible and not worry that it may not be the healthiest diet at the moment as long as he eats? The only thing that he will take is a gravy bone. I would give him the box if it would help. He is and has never been a fussy eater. I have started giving him nutrigel.

The vet doesn't seem worried that he has not eaten in almost a week, but I am. To compound this situation, I am booked to go away on Saturday for two weeks and have booked a house sitter. My first holiday in four years but it is looking like it will have to be cancelled.

Any advice would be welcome as I am worried sick.

My old westie had this (not with us anymore) and had a severe attack that really did take a while to get him back on track. He was in a lot pain in his tummy and didn't move much, he was also sick quite a bit and his tummy was very firm. He wouldn't eat and didn't want to drink much either so teaspoon fed him water in the initial stage. Vets wanted him in but he was 15 and I knew he'd better staying with me and getting full TLC.
A blood test will tell if its pancreatitis. I think my dog had flare ups on and off for years.

Does he chew and eat things he shouldn't ?
A neighbour of mine has a chewer and when he was ill the vet thought he had pancreatitis. Turns out he had eaten a sock ! He had a couple of days at the vets, she had a lot of heartache and a bill for nearly £5000 as he wasn't insured.
Hope he is feeling better soon.

He has been a nightmare of a chewer from the day I brought him home. Costing me a fortune!

Can't remember all that he has chewed but major things inside: my glasses (£300) two door mats, shaggy rug, leather settee, radiator covers, plastic dog bed (now in a soft one) anything anything left on the floor by mistake, anything not on the floor that he can manage to get - tissues, washing, toilet roll (mini me Andrex pup for sure, always getting himself locked in the bathroom) curtains, slippers, handbag, coffee table.

Outside: chewed through telephone wire (BT phone not working, thank goodness for wifii), garden shed, door step, patio chairs, fence, whatever he can dig up, whatever is lying around, plants, plant pots and contents, . The only thing he doesn't chew or destroy is his toys (what a good boy!)

He finds objects that I didn't even know that I had. Iv'e been a nervous wreck for the past four months. My older girl who was and is an angel just looks as if to say 'what ever has he done now'. You can see her shaking her head in disbelief LOL.

Vet thinks that he has probably eaten some rubbish which has kicked it off. We shall see. He does these things in seconds as I don't leave him alone outside and he waits until I have nipped to the loo etc inside or hanging up washing outside or have a chat with neighbour. He IS getting better..........

If it is pancreatitis say on raw its the best you can do for him. If you need help with this join one of the fb groups something like raw feeding uk there are people on there who manage there dogs really well with this problem and don't let the vet steer you towards commercial foods. 
hope it gets sorted soon

Thanks Furriefriend,

I have no intention of letting a vet 'sell' me a prescription diet. From what I understand with pancreatitis, that grains are a no no! I have just looked at Hill's prescription diet for this condition and it just appears to be a bag of maize. Who would want to stimulate the pancreas into dealing with carbs? And who would want to pay a fortune for a bag of cheap maize?

It is raw for him with his vegi's and fruit but he is not interested in anything at the moment. Hope the bloods come back normal. I do know how to prepare a fresh homemade diet for liver probs so I might try that meanwhile even though it would be cooked. I just want to get something down him.

He hasn't been wormed for 3 months and with him scavenging, I wonder if it would be safe at the moment to give him a worming tablet in case that is compounding the problem, but don't want to upset him even more. What to do mmmm...

Personally I would be careful feeding raw as a lot of it is quite high in fat which is the worst thing for the pancreas, when my dog had it initially I fed boiled chicken and rice or pasta with no biscuit treats either because of the fat content.  Dogs with pancreatitis can have a diet high in carbs as they actually cause the least amount of pancreatic stimulation. 

My vet diagnosed my dog with acute pancreatitis really quickly, blood test there and then and straight on a drip for 5 days and 4 nights. He took a few months to fully recover and had to have regular blood tests. That was 3 years ago and he's been fed low fat ever since. I'll never take a chance and feed him anything else, he was very lucky to survive. He became ill when we were on holiday and left him with a house sitter. Never found out what the culprit was but vet thinks a one off high fat treat would have been enough to set it off.

The dogs that I have know with Pancreatitis have been fed either Original tinned Chappie (not any of the new varieties) or a combination of that and value white fish and brown rice.

Yes, tinned Chappie ever since and now the occasional Butchers 'Lean & Tasty'. Probably not popular with many on here but he's well and happy.

I'm never without a few tins of Chappie in the cupboard; an excellent standby food.

Also when I have had puppies with upset tummies (you know they will eat anything, especially when they first go in the garden) then I have fed tinned Chappie original for a day even with very young puppies.

This will be fine as long as the pup doesn't have a fish allergy of course.

Has he been x-rayed to rule out obstruction if he is a chewer?

> Never found out what the culprit was but vet thinks a one off high fat treat would have been enough to set it off.

In my lifetime of dogs I've had 2 with pancreatitis.  100% I would agree that one high fat treat can be one too many.  When I had the first bitch diagnosed she was in hospital on a drip for a week to rest the pancreas.  I had a newly qualified vet after my old vet retired.  20 years later I have the same vet.  He was very interested in this condition and felt that it was beneficial for dogs with this complaint to stay on pancreatic enzymes.  Much later, research confirmed this, but, at the time, it was just his gut feeling.

My bitch who was diagnosed at 8 years old had the strictest diet bless her.  She was never allowed fatty dog treats, she got bowls of vegetables as her treat.  I was 100% going to make sure she was never as ill again.  I wouldn't feed raw due to the high fat content, and although she started out on a prescription diet, she got fed up of it after a couple of years.  For the rest of her life she had tinned Chappie, the original.  I count myself lucky that I listened to my vets advice on the enzymes, as I had her until shortly before her 17th birthday when she had to be helped to the bridge.

I agree that chappie is great for dodgy stomachs but I also know many who feed raw to dogs who have pancreas problems and have improved on the diet. True you have to know what you are doing and choose lower fat meats. Often dogs that have problems with proteins in commercial diets have a completely different reaction when the same protein is fed raw.
Its not easy to do a comparison as often you will be told your dog cant have for example chicken but when fed raw all is well. Same applies for pancreas problems
Years ago before I was aware of raw feeding I had a gsd with pancreatitis and she eventually settle to a diet of chappie.

Charlie still not well. Took him away on holiday with lots of meds - pain relief, antibiotics, anti nausia and tablets to make him eat, which he has done little of. Having said that, he loved having so much one to one attention, and when we went to the beach,  after barking at the waves to 'go away', he got up the nerve to venture in and he had a whale of a time. Didn;t want to come out of the water.

Got back on Saturday with the intention of taking him back to the vet today as he is still reluctant to eat normally, some days eating nothing. Before I could ring the vet this morning, Charlie collapsed and had a seizure. He is being admitted tomorrow for a bile acid test as it is looking like he has a portosystemic liver shunt. I'm in bits.

Has anyone any experience of this and if possible, a rough estimation of the cost of the corrective op should this be the diagnosis?

A good friend of mine's pup had this, I have his brother staying here with me this week, the op was done at Dick Whites Referrals in Newmarket to the tune of £8000.00 with tests and follow up treatments they had insurance for £4000.00 ..

Thanks Butler for your reply.

It appears that I am in trouble as my insurance is a max of £2000. I have no way of finding that sort of money.

Even though I have insurance, I am eligible for PDSA free treatment (donation asked for). I have only used them once in the past before insurance kicked in. Does anyone know if they could help in these circumstances, although I am assuming that the Charlie will need a referal to a specialist centre?

How are things with Charlie ??

Not good... He had a bile acid test yesterday, results in later this afternoon.

Fingers crossed for you both x

Fingers crossed for you both x