Pancreatitis in dogs is not unlike that in humans. It is an inflammation of the pancreas. It can occur in a mild form or a severe form. It is more common in dogs who have been treated with cortisone in the past, diabetic dogs and dogs fed a poor diet.
The symptoms of mild pancreatitis are a loss of appetite, and so eventually weight loss, occasional vomiting, low spirits and diarrhoea.
Acute pancreatitis can occur quite suddenly with a bout of vomiting and a severe pain in the abdomen. Depending on how observant you are and how well you read your dog’s body language, you may not pick up on the pain very well. Diarrhoea can also be present.
But these symptoms are so common in other disease labels, such as food poisoning, that it is by no means conclusive. Blood tests, checking for amylase, and/or an ultra sound can be more conclusive.
A severe attack of pancreatitis in dogs can be serious. The dog can go into shock and the pancreas can be damaged. If diabetes is not already present, this can result. A severe attack can be fatal.
Repeated attacks are common.
You can prevent pancreatitis. It is not an inevitable disease. It does have a cause. Let’s examine some.
Veterinarians, along with doctors, tend to prescribe cortisone liberally. When it first appeared on the market, they were under strict instructions to use it only in life threatening situations, because it carried serious health problems. In the intervening years, it has not become safer. The warnings have simply been dropped. Perhaps they were rather inconvenient.
Most canine diseases and health problems are caused by a poor diet and the veterinary treatment does nothing to undo this problem. Rather it compounds it by suppressing the natural expression of the body under stress.
Few people would ever entertain the idea that they are feeding their dog badly, but this is what you are doing if you feed your dog virtually any proprietary commercial dog food, even that sold to you by your vet.
Most commercial dog food is high in fat. Fat is essential for the health of your dog, but not in the amounts that are typical in commercial dog food. Even that sold at butchers is typically all their discarded fat, sometimes coloured with beetroot juice.
A high fat content is unhealthy, not just for the pancreas. But this is only the start of the problem, with commercial dog food.
To improve your dog’s health, you first need to address the diet. By feeding your dog a quality, natural diet, you can reverse all the past health problems. This alone can negate the need for any veterinary treatment, including cortisone.
A poor diet is one of the main causes of all diseases, including pancreatitis in dogs. It comes before any other cause. Veterinarians will never understand this, because they are never taught the importance of diet. Veterinary research will continue to be carried out, all in vain. There will never be any breakthroughs, because they are looking in the wrong area.
13 replies to "Pancreatitis In Dogs And How To Manage It Naturally"
what can be done if a dog already has pancreatitis? my dog was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and type 1 diabetes three years ago. he has a very good diet with me, but i did not adopt him until he was four years old. he also had cancer, but we dealt with it ourselves. he is cancer-free now. we do everything naturally. i go to the vet for a diagnosis then treat my pets myself. i have spent countless hours researching natural cures for diabetes, pancreatitis, etc. he is doing well at the moment. frisky and happy.
if he were your dog, what would you do?
thank you,
peggy
First thing is to look at his diet. You say it is good, but don’t expand. Apart from getting that right, I would treat him homeopathically. You might find a homeopath near you from this list if associations. http://hpathy.com/homeopathy-organizations/
thank you. i will check it out.
skyler eats raw organic chicken w/vegetables, or warmed raw organic eggs, sometimes with cilantro, sprouts, or other greens, cayenne pepper, garlic and turmeric. raw marrow bones for chewing. berkey-filtered water, no fluoride or chlorine. supplements, herbs, msm, dmso.
he has nearly died twice – ketoacidosis. he has been doing pretty well lately, but yesterday he lost the use of his back legs briefly, twice. tonight again. and he seems to have high blood sugar at the moment.
Madeleine’s articles are great.Lots of good ,common sense knowledge .Please , keep them coming for the sake of our pets.Thank you, Ania .
You may need to get some extra help for him, as well as the diet. You may find this link useful for finding a homeopath. http://hpathy.com/homeopathy-organizations/
I have a dog with chronic pancreatitis. I am feeding her cooked ground turkey with garlic, and vegetables. Also cooked eggs she does not do well with raw foods. But no bouts in years now. She will eat a little grain free kibble in the evenings when she feels she hasn’t gotten enough food from me.
There is nothing healthy about grain free kibble.
I have a almost 2 year old staffy female who is desexed that has just been diagnosed with pancreatitis and was n the vet in a drip vet night. I only fed her raw food and bones. Occasional biscuits. I also had her at the vet 2 weeks before with allergies and she was put on cortisone tabs do you think that set her off with the pancreatitis? She had a lot of fatin her blood and the test for pancreatitis was positive? They told me to put her on royal canin gastro intestianal food and rice and chicken. What do you suggest? I thought I was doing the right thing with raw food. But I guess some of the chicken necks and lamb necks or chicken wings was too much but I varied what she ate. Also do you have any advice on skin allergies because I really want to avoided cortisone even though the vet told me it doesn’t cause pancreatitis!
Hi Kristy
Cortisone has horrible side effects and does not treat the cause of the problem. I suggest you contact a homeopath or homeopathic vet. Here is a list of global homeopathic organisations. You should be able to find someone near you.
http://hpathy.com/homeopathy-organizations/
Your diet may have been a little too high in fat, but is, I suggest, far better than any commercial brand. Vaccination is often the cause of many serious diseases. If this is the case, then good homeopathic treatment can undo the damage.
Thank you Madeline I went and saw a holistic naturopath that works with animals she put my dog on raw kangaroo and raw vegetables blended with vitamin c and epi gastro enzymes 30min before each meal. She was doing well for a day then had some stomach pain after I gave her a small amount of meat without the enzymes. I have given her enzymes this morning which helped but she has black poo is that just to do with the raw food or internal bleeding? She isn’t vomiting isn’t weak like the signs of internal bleeding. I am waiting to hear back from the naturopath. She is also on digesti plus.
I can see various problems with that diet, but it is certainly better than the normal commercial one. If you have problems, then it may be best to consult with the naturopath who recommended the diet.
Can you tell me what food you suggest and have great results with?
The best food is the evolutionary diet which I go into great detail in my ebook. There are many things you need to know, to get a balanced, nutritious diet.