My BT has been rather ill, and was spayed on Tues, due to a close pyo, also the vets think she may have pancretitis, and will have to go onto a low fat diet, at the moment she's on Chicken & Rice, she's a fussy eater at the best of times, and will go without food up to 3 days until something takes her fancy, shes also loves raw chicken ,and thinking about changing her to a raw diet, would it be suitable for a low fat diet, and what complete foods is there about to suit her???

Many thanks
Fiona

Royal Canin make a specific product for this.

Thanks very much Isabel.

Fiona

It looks a bit pricey but I think with medical conditions you have to get it right.  I believe with humans this can be a very painful condition if allowed to flair up so I suppose it would be the same for a dog.

Hi Fiona- sorry to hear your girl has been ill. :-(
My parent's Boxer got pancreatitis and we almost lost him a few years back. He is now solely on chicken and rice & veg- thats it. He very, very rarely gets treats unless they are super low fat. The vet warned us that not keeping a strict eye on his diet may mean we would lose him. I can't see any problem with raw vs cooked chicken- especially if she is fussy and actually likes raw. Please be extra vigilent in removing the fatty skin though. IMO a dog with pacreatitis should be kept as trim as possible, slighty underweight would be preferable to slighty overweight. This is just my opinion- but since my parents changed our boy's diet we haven't had any sign of a relapse. If you could find a complete designed for your situation (which she likes) and mix with raw chicken/turkey every now and then you may be onto a winner. If not then I would stick to boiling up chicken and mixing with rice and veg.
***Lots of hugs and kisses to your girl***

> My parent's Boxer got pancreatitis and we almost lost him a few years back. He is now solely on chicken and rice & veg- thats it. He very, very rarely gets treats unless they are super low fat. The vet warned us that not keeping a strict eye on his diet may mean we would lose him.

Poor boy, we had a bitch (a mongrel) years ago with this, we nearly lost her too. We fed her on chicken & rice alternated with the special tinned food from the vets (which was chicken & rice based). She lived to be nearly 16 years old with no further problems with her pancreas :) We did have to be very carefull about her diet and vigilant for any changes in the colour of her poo & changes in her drinking habbits (increased frequency and she had to go to the vet for a check up).

To the OP, I hope your girl makes is well soon.

Hi Kenya, this is what my boy has, he was really poorly after this New Year, he was in out of the vets for about 4 months, he was put on Royal Canin High Digestive Low Fat variety, but was still being really bad, we decided to go ahead with a biopsy in April, this also highlighted that he had another condition IBS, after a 2 or 3 weeks on a cocktail of antibiotics and other tablets one being a human drug to stop the stomach making acid and they changed his food to Royal Canin Sensitivity Control, he finally turned a corner, and has only had to return to the vets for check-ups. 

He sometimes has the occassional off-day, but a new vet which we now see tells us to feed him through it by offering something different, but bland, ie mashed potato with some salmon, tuna or raw eggs just to get something in his stomach, and once we can get him to eat something he is back to normal, he also has some doggie anti-acid tablets to take if he has an off day.

If you have any other questions I may be able to help.
Jane

I know someone with a 15 year old bitch with Pancreatitis and she is fed a mixture of chappie and white fish a with brown rice.

>He is now solely on chicken and rice & veg- thats it.

I'm really curious on how dogs manage on such a limited diet? Does it help the pancreatitis,but does it throw up up other problems,such as nutritional deficiencies etc etc

I imagine this condition must be a nightmare to control :(

Ktee, when Floyd got this condition he was only 10 months old, I was worried about putting him on the Low Fat High Digestion variety as he obviously hadn't finished growing or developing, for the first few months of him being unwell, the vet didn't seem to think it was a problem, when he was at his worst and constant 3 days at a time staying in at the vets with nothing to eat, only on a drip, when we would come to pick him up, he was literally skin and bone, his backbone, ribs and hips were really prominent. 

Though he did put weight on with the Low Fat diet it didn't help him to fill out.  I was glad when they changed his food to the Sensitivity (Fish & Tapioca) variety as he really seemed to come on leaps and bounds with this (literally).  We have to be very careful what we give him to eat, treats to him are a tin of Tuna or Salmon mixed in with his food.

The new vet has told us we can start to try other foods, and perhaps game is another variety, so I did get a nice venison bone with a good bit of meat on the bone for him 2 weeks ago, he was out in the garden all morning with it until he had finished with it, but I am worried of starting anything off, so my butcher is going to have a venison bone ready for me every 4 weeks just to see how he goes.

Jane

I asked the vet the same thing when we were told to restrict his diet that much. His bout of pancreatitis was so bad that the risk of it returning far outweighed any deficiencies he might dispay. He was also eight years old when he became ill, so obviously not growing anymore (thank god) so we didn't have to take that into account. He has been on his diet for two years now and is still going strong- nice and slim, shiny coat and bouncing everywhere like most Boxers do. So it seems he has managed just fine but I would say that a limited diet like that for a younger dog would throw up some issues.

I don't know if I am correct in saying this, but I think Boxers are more prone to this condition than other breeds. We used to have our boy on quite a high protein/fat diet which is what caused the problem- possibly something to keep in mind if you are lucky enough to be owned by a beautiful Boxer.   

K'tee asked "I'm really curious on how dogs manage on such a limited diet? Does it help the pancreatitis,but does it throw up up other problems,such as nutritional deficiencies etc etc"

Jet (our large labrador with beautiful body and very little brain) was diagnosed with pancreatitis at the age of 5.  He too was placed on a diet of tinned Chappie and rice, or white fish and rice.   We followed this diet for him for the next 10 years.    For a labrador, he was on the lean side, but otherwise he looked and was the very picture of health.

His diet did succumb to the occasional dustbin/golf club kitchen raid (aided & abetted by his partner in crime, Border Terrorist Tramp) - and it was only on these occasions that he would be off-colour.

Jane put me on to the "Feeding" board as my Westie who is 9 is now in hospital undergoing tests as they suspect she has pancreatitis.  It has helped a lot reading through all your posts and made me feel guilty as I often give her treats off our dinner plates.  She is a good eater anyway (not at the moment - she is so poorly she won't eat anything) and has never been overweight.

The house is very quiet without Lucy although I have two other dogs - and I shall be glad to have her back!

I am at the moment feeding my 5 month old sheltie who has an ultra sensitive tummy on Hills Science Puppy Kibble mixed with their ID Chicken & Rice Diet (wet) food.  Maybe this is the sort of thing Lucy will have to have in future (not the kibble!)

Snowflake

Currently I'm feeding my BT on chicken, rice, white fish, natural yogurt, and some Royal Canin low fat diet, which she seems to like, also I give her Antepsin before feeding, and she is doing great, she also has raw carrots, broccoli with her meals.
The vets tries to sell me Hills, wouldnt feed it to my ferrets!
The RC seems to be a much better diet.
She actually has put weight on, and seems so full of life, might try it myself!! lol

It is 4 years since my Toy Poodle collapsed with pancreatitis, she was in excruciating pain.  She spent a week in the veterinary hospital on a drip, no food or water, to rest the pancreas.  The Veterinary Journal out at the time, had an article on this condition, recommending pancreatic enzymes for life.  She is fed twice a day, with Pancrex added to her food - but Tryplaze does the same thing.  She came home with strict instructions on her diet, and I admit that she doesn't have any treats or fatty food.  But I still have her, which is the important thing.  I was worried, as she was a fussy eater, but she has the tinned version of Hill's ID and I buy the dry as well.  The tinned is fed twice a day.  When the other dogs get treats, she has the dry as treats.  Misty was 16 in September, and I am 100% strict about her diet.  She does sometimes get Chappie with her enzymes, as she enjoys the yukky smell!  

>5 month old sheltie who has an ultra sensitive tummy

Stories like these are becoming more and more common :( You would think a 5mth old dog would have a robust digestive system,not a sensitive one...

Not having a pop at you snowflake,yours is just one of many posts i read with a similar story.
It's just really disheartening when i hear of young dogs already experiencing problems.

Ktee

I think Shelties are renowned for having sensitive tummies - so I have been told by the breeders I know.

My Westie has always been robust.  She hasn't in fact though got pancreatitis but is being treated for a horrible gastric bug (haemorragic gastroenteritis) and this is her third day in the vet, on fluids.  She is not out of the woods yet though.  I have never known her have anything like this before.  She normally has got over upsets in a day or so.  I am hoping that my other 2 dogs don't catch it.  Lucy is in isolation in the vets.

Snowflake

I'm really curious on how dogs manage on such a limited diet?

A third carb, protein and veg from pure sources is a far better diet than a lot of the commercial foods out there that dogs manage on.  I would far prefer to be feeding my dogs that than some of the well known brands of completes.