A healthy and happy Labrador retriever.
Pancreatitis can affect dogs of any age. This illness can make an animal miserable with vomiting, loose stools and lethargy. This disease forms when the dog's pancreas begins to make active digestive enzymes that trigger the consumption of the pancreas, according to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. A normal pancreas creates inactive enzymes in the pancreas and active enzymes in the small intestine. This mix-up creates a painful condition that requires a managed diet and, often, veterinary care to resolve.
Balanced Diet
Vets focus on the fat content of a dog's diet when addressing and treating pancreatitis. This disease can affect your dog just once or become a nightmare with multiple recurrences. The easiest way to help your animal recover lies in following your vet's instructions to the letter. Extremely sick animals will be given intravenous fluids to combat dehydration. During this time, food is withheld to allow the intestinal tract to heal.
Fat filled foods inflame the pancreas further so this type of food should be avoided completely. This means Fido needs to stay out of the garbage and can't have table scraps. Some vets believe that this condition can be brought on by excessive consumption of table foods. After a flare up, it's very important to feed your dog what the vet suggests. Recovery time can last a few weeks or months.
Homemade Diets
If your dog table surfs for scraps, don't worry. Putting your dog on a very bland diet involves using people foods. Boiled rice and chicken breasts offer one of the simplest choices for a homemade diet. This diet is extremely low in fat to allow the pancreas recovery time. You also can add any low-fat proteins to the rice for variety. Try cottage cheese, egg whites or non-fat yogurt for variety. Proteins should be easily digestible to allow recovery time for the pancreas.
Feed your animal small meals each day during the initial recovery phase. Increase the amount of food gradually as time progresses. If making a homemade diet isn't an option for you, many vets offer special foods designed to treat animals with pancreatitis. It's best to follow your vet's recommendations regarding acceptable amounts of fat in the animal's food. Ask your vet the exact amount of acceptable fat in the diet as well as food options for your pet.
Prevention
Consult your vet for recommendations on commercial foods if you choose not to prepare the homemade diet. Your dog's recovery will progress based on his ability to bounce back from a bout of pancreatitis. However, do not continue feeding regular foods unless you specifically speak to your vet. This setback can instigate another flare up that will weaken the animal more. Prevent further attacks by focusing on the proper diet for the animal, as well as incorporating any recommendations from your vet.
Pancreatitis often attacks overweight animals so prevention needs to include weight management. Avoid high fat foods and treats and incorporate regular exercise into your pet's life. Excessive damage to the pancreas can result in diabetes so treating this condition seriously needs to be your first step. Diet changes offer the most proactive and effective way for an owner to care for an animal with pancreatitis.
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