Pancreatitis is possibly one of the most talked-about, yet least understood diseases we see in the UK today. There are two types: Acute and Chronic. Acute is where a dog is fine all their lives, and the next minute they are fighting for their lives. Chronic is a milder, but a longer-lasting version of the same. Let’s go through some critical aspects of this strange and unwanted disease: 

Signs

• Hunched back
• Repeated vomiting – a key symptom
• Pain or distention of the abdomen (dog appears uncomfortable or bloated)
• Diarrhoea
• Loss of appetite
• Dehydration
• Weakness/lethargy
• Fever (occasionally)

Causes

•  Not entirely clear
•  A high-fat diet is often blamed, yet sled dogs who eat high-fat diets are not pre-disposed. 
• A history of dietary indiscretion (a medical term for saying your dog will basically eat anything)
• Rancid fats and inferior quality ingredients in food. 
• Obesity – 70% dogs in UK overweight/obese, so this is a significant driver. Pancreatitis was rare, now common, like obesity in dogs. 
• Hypothyroidism (or other endocrine diseases)
• Severe blunt trauma, e.g. Road traffic accident. 
• Diabetes mellitus – sugar diabetes. 
• Certain medications or other toxins
  • These include steroids, cholinesterase inhibitors, calcium, potassium bromide, phenobarbital, l-asparaginase, estrogen, salicylates, azathioprine, thiazide diuretics, and vinca alkaloids.
• There may be a genetic predisposition
• Autoimmune disease
• Raw fed dogs can get pancreatitis if overweight, but generally less common in them, even on high-fat diets.
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Treatment 

Treatment is mainly focused on keeping the dog hydrated and managing the pain: 

• Fluids – dogs don’t drink when in pain
• Pain killers, but not steroids. Often opiates or paracetamol
• Sometimes omeprazole etc. to reduce acid from stomach stimulating the pancreas
• Probiotics – some papers say they are beneficial, some not. I generally use them in my practice.
• Digestive enzymes
  • definitely if pancreas not working well after an illness
  • can give the pancreas a ‘holiday’ during and after a flare-up
  • very safe 
• Bone broths with fat removed. Holistic vets will often rely on this in recovery from many disease processes, as well as pancreatitis.  

Thoughts from a Raw Feeding Vet

When I was at college, pancreatitis was really rare. Now I discuss it weekly. We used to think fat fed to dogs caused the problem, but now we’re suspicious it’s actually high carb foods like dry kibbles. Studies done on dogs fed raw food, then switched to a dry, high-carb kibble show the dogs have more fats (triglycerides) in their blood when on the lower fat, dry kibble! Yes, the high-fat raw diets gave less fat in the blood, giving less stress to the pancreas! 

If you combine these studies with the observation that high-fat-fed sled dogs don’t get pancreatitis any more then the average population and that pancreatitis been increasing for the last thirty years while the food corporations have been carefully minimising fat in food because of the obesity epidemic, it all suddenly makes sense; don’t feed ultra-processed foods and treats! 

The only choice, for me, is to go raw. Then you’re feeding your dog a low-carb, fresh diet with quality fats and ingredients. It won’t guarantee you’ll never see pancreatitis, as you can see from our long list of causes, but it will sure stack the healthy pancreas cards in your dog’s favour!