Rosie's Adventure with Canine Pancreatitis.

src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnneuj6bYmDT3vshZyOp9sWUFRWGCWoo-tMBAEg6B1CO1lP-FZa0upkwAe3Y9NZWCPO3LewwuXTsAvpjMEY0aUzrPTHagjnfqVshPDiGWHBrHE3j0KVRp_VF6Dlgjn-1oRsygEyMa497A/s320/rosie.jpg" width="320" />

My dog, Rosie, suffered her first episode of canine pancreatitis in late November of 2012.  A Sunday of vomiting, and watching her in such pain, followed by 3 days in the vet’s Clinic on IV for fluids. The vet tech told me that for many dogs, this would be an issue the rest of their lives, always right on the surface, waiting to appear again. It was like that with us, we’ve been through 3 episodes since then, and I’ve researched and researched, learning everything I could about it.

Rosie was nine years old that first time, 27 lbs, a Mixed Jap Chen and Bulldog. She was a little overweight, middle aged, spayed and had been on cortisones for different allergy issues over the years….all the right things to have pancreas issues.

I went online and researched for days. I learned German Shepherds are especially prone to this, and found a forum for owners of shepherds with pancreatitis. A world of info there!

As each episode came, I’ve learned to recognize the signs; excessive licking of the lips, yawning, laying rolled up in a ball (some dogs “hunch” over, I noticed that in Rosie’s mom who lived across the street for years, she also vomited frequently, probably chronic pancreatitis. I wish I had known, she lived to be 20, but in how much pain?). If I pull out the leash to walk, she’ll head behind the couch instead of the front door. Her breathing is fast, heart rate up, all the things that say something is out of whack.

Our miracle with this issue has been an herbal supplement called Phytomucil. Phytomucil is a safe and effective treatment for constipation, diarrhea, gastrointestinal inflammation, coughs and vomiting. It is an herbal tincture containing four important herbs: marshmallow root, licorice root, plantain leaf and slippery elm bark. You can buy it online, but here in Austin, the wonderful people at Healthy Pet  in SW Austin have started stocking it. They were also helpful in helping me find the right dry and canned foods, Candidae Chicken and Rice,  for Rosie.
https://www.petherbsdirect.com/products/phytomucil-liquid-for-dogs-and-cats-1-oz-animals-apawthecary?variant=33353143050

Rosie gets this every morning first thing and last thing at night.  I cannot emphasize enough how this has changed her life. One owner gives his Shepard this 20 minutes before every meal.

Food: I bought every high dollar, high fiber, low fat food…all of them at least once. My vet finally said that some of those gourmet foods were just too rich even if they said low fat. She was right. Rosie is highly allergic to wheat, corn and fish, so we have hunted hard to find the right food.  No human food, ever, at all, ever again.

Here’s what works for us:

After Rosie vomits, nothing but water for at least 24 hours after the last episode. Rest the pancreas. I have a small syringe that I will use to get water down her if she is not drinking it.

I boil skinless, boneless chicken breast in a large quantity of water. No seasonings, no salt!!  The broth is important because she will drink it sometimes when she won’t anything else, helps keep her hydrated. I mince the chicken breast, a small amount in a larger amount of water (a table spoon of breast, about ¾ cup of broth to start). I over boil rice (½ cup rice to several cups of water, bring to a boil, simmer for 30-40 minutes, cool.) and use the rice water with the broth. With each meal, I start adding more rice and chicken slowly over the next few days.  She will be on about 6 “meals” a day at this point. As she improves, I’ll drop in some dry food, just a few pieces at a time at first. Then we move up to a canned food, mixed with the over boiled rice, more rice than food. Small amounts of food offered several times a day.

More carbs than protein seems to be the general thought. Over cooked potatoes works as well. Just no seasonings, no salt, nothing. Bland and boring. Rosie's highlight of fun food is now her canned dog food.

Her “normal “now is this:

Morning: .5 dropper of Phytomucil. 

  Breakfast is a couple of table spoons of rice, mixed with a couple of tablespoons of Candidae Chicken and Rice canned wet food. I have to mix it well, because when she’s feeling good, she won’t touch the rice without the wet food on it. I give it about 20 seconds in the microwave (warm food is easier on the pancreas but not too hot), then stir it.

Mid-morning, she is offered about ½ cup of Candidae Chick/Rice dry dog food. Sometimes she eats it, sometimes she doesn’t.

In the afternoon, she gets the Rice and wet food combo again.

In the evening, another meal of the dry dog food is offered. She usually eats it at bedtime, like she did before she became ill. She’s a night owl, I guess.

Throughout the day she gets a couple of dry biscuits that I know won’t irritate her digestive system.

Bedtime, another .5 dropper of Phtyomucil.

Remember, anything different can set off another bout. She had a bout of spring allergies this year as usual, and needed an antibiotic. Yesterday on day 5 of the antibiotic, I noticed her symptoms starting up. Broke out the chicken and broth from the freezer, small meals with at least 3-4 hours between them (she was hungry!), but today she seems better. She slept well, breathing is normal, no licking of the lips waking me up this morning. Started her back on the antibiotic at half dose to finish it off the next two days. It’s all a balance when you have a dog with pancreas issues. It’s always there if the dog is chronic.

My neighbor’s dog came down with pancreatitis about the same time Rosie did, but had only one episode. Read someplace that a virus can kick it in, possibly they stuck their noses in the same place on their walks…who knows? 
A very helpful link with good info on this issue: http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjpancreatitis.html

I hope this has some information others might use when facing this crisis situation with your dogs.

UPDATE 12/26/2013 

Rosie is hanging in. Made some new discoveries about things that help her maintain her health and a better quality of life. 

Apple Cider Vinegar! Her ears were getting yeasty like dogs with spaniel ears are prone to do, much less one with some  health issues. Didn't want to put vinegar right on the irritated flesh, so I started adding a teaspoon a day to her food at first then bumped it to two....and since that day I started her on  the apple cider vinegar about 6 weeks ago, we have not had one episode of pancreas troubles, not one!  Sometimes I hear the tell tale sign of the rumbling stomach, but a dose of phyotmucil seems to calm her stomach down. Her energy is up, her coat is shining, it's really been a wonderful comeback for her.

Also changing her diet somewhat. I think that the everyday of chicken and rice has become one of her allergy problems. Have her now on a bison/sweet potato can and dry food from Natural Balance Limited Ingredient. I add more carbs by chunking up sweet potatoes and cooking them, adding a few chunks to each meal. She won't eat a piece of sweet potato by itself, but with the dog food mixed in, she loves it. She still is on several small meals a day, do not want to overload her digestive system and that tender pancreas at any time. But now, since she's been doing better with the apple cider vinegar, she can have some dry dog food, and she loves it! That's generally her "midnight snack" a few minutes before bed time. 

UPDATE 9/5/2014

Rosie is hanging in there! she's now 11 and getting a little slower but still manages to race out the door with her compadre, Barney the chi. She is back on the Chicken and Rice diet, only seems to occasionally have issues. Heart worm meds, or flea meds in her system can cause her to lose her appetite for a day or so. Mostly she is back to normal in 24 hours. Still getting 4 meals a day. I've learned to dose out the canned food by tablespoons and freeze it so it stays fresh. Use the mic to defrost it, and add her overcooked rice to room temp. With the amount of rice and food she gets, you'd think she'd be over weight or constipated, but she is not. Losing weight, slowly, but enough for me to know the pancreas is still in charge. She still gets Phytomucil at least twice a day. Sometimes I can her her tummy rumble at night, and a quick dose of Phytomucil means a few minutes later, she's sprawled on her back, sound asleep. Still giving the Apple Cider Vinegar once a day.

UPDATE 11/30/2014


Rosie had blood work done last week. The good news is that the pancreas totals are great, totally in the normal range! The bad news is that her liver numbers are off the chart.The ALT ( liver enzyme ) was well within normal limits at last testing, and this time the value is twice that of high normal. She is 284 and the high normal is 118. She is active and pretty normal. A little less interested in long walks, and a little spacy at times (but she's 11 and 1/2 years old!) and occasionally seems a little down. I have good pain meds and nausea prescription meds as well as her herbal Phytomucil ones. Looking at adding Milk Thistle to her herbs. Will be checked again in 3 months.

I've done some research and I'm removing the rice from her diet due to the fact that rice can contain arsenic and since she is so small, it could be overwhelming her liver. I'm replacing it with sweet potato and pumpkin but continuing her Candidae Chick/Rice wet and dry dog food. I scoop out tablespoons of wet food, and freeze them, then put in a plastic bag. I'm now doing the same to cooked sweet potato, mashing it with a little orange juice to keep it from turning black. She's getting a little rice occasionally, but not near what she was getting before.

03/28/2015

Such good news! Rosie's liver numbers have come down, her liver function is good! and her pancreas numbers remain in the normal range! I took her off the rice, for the most part, and learned that if you use the rice that it needs to be rinsed several times before cooking. We used sweet potato for a while until one day she said no. Done with it. I think that's when she was healing....we went through a period of her not eating at all because she is now on dog food only....she actually was gaining weight!! so now it's measured amounts of dog food, the occasional chicken bite and treats...she's not impressed but she looks great!!

03/08/2017

Been quite a while since I updated this blog! Rosie is still doing well, she's occasionally in the middle of a pancreas flare, but not near as often. Dr Leary put her on a canine probiotics med and that has helped immeasurably! Now we deal with other aspects of an aging dog (she'll be 14 next month!),...itchy skin, warts, achy joints....but she can still hit that door to run off a squirrel in the back yard, and altho now we "stroll" rather than walk to the park, sometimes she breaks out in full trot!

07/07/2018

I lost my Rose on April 18. Her digestive self was holding up well, her joints not so well, but the thing that put us over the edge was the advancement of dementia. She was a bright, smart sunshine of a girl, and she deserved to be remembered as such. I miss her so.