Our Experience with Pancreatitis and Personal Tips on Treatment that Worked
Pancreatitis is a serious illness in dogs and it often takes pet owners by surprise. Its onset can be sudden and many times pet owners assume that the fact that their family dog doesn’t want to eat or drink and is throwing up may be a passing thing. It could be, but it could also be life-threatening pancreatitis. If that’s the case, you need to act fast.
My experience with pancreatitis began when my 11-year-old Yorkie, McCarthy, started showing signs of ill health about a week after surgery to amputate two cancerous toes. He was doing relatively well after the operation, but then the lethargy crept in; he looked pale, and his eyes sunken. It was so out of character, he was usually active and demonstrated immense excitement whenever I picked up the leads.
He also refused food and water, so I took him to the vet and he was given anti-nausea and pain medication. It didn’t help, he licked his lips constantly, another sign of nausea; he ate grass at every opportunity and started throwing up through the night. I spent the evening Googling what could be the problem – I suspected pancreatitis.
The following morning we were back at the hospital, he was admitted and given medication and fluids intravenously. The following afternoon he was discharged, completely transformed and back to being his bouncy self, but a week later, the symptoms returned.
Back at the hospital, where they ran a batch of blood tests and found that his liver enzymes had skyrocketed. The specialist thought he’d eaten something that was poisonous, but he hadn’t. He was prescribed a cocktail of medication. I thought he was going to die, I had never seen him so sick, his listless, tiny body hung in my arms as I carried him. However, to my surprise, a week later he looked well, but it was fleeting, and we found ourselves back at the hospital once again.
The ultrasound reflected that his pancreas was extremely inflamed and finally a diagnosis was made – pancreatitis. He was prescribed chronic medication to make the bile less fat soluble, milk thistle to support his liver, and we continued with some of the other medication previously prescribed. I also had to change his diet, as the Hills food he was eating was not staying down. I prepared home-cooked chicken and some veggies and blended those for him; he still refused food. Initially, it is good to allow the pancreas to rest by withdrawing food and water for 24 hours, but after that, they need nutrition and hydration, so I had to force feed him the blended food with a syringe.
Our journey to keep him symptom-free began…
Further Information on Pancreatitis
Firstly, for those who are not aware of the pancreas’ purpose – it has a dual function in that it helps to digest food as well as control blood sugar. It is situated near the stomach. Pancreatitis occurs when this organ becomes inflamed, which could happen suddenly, as in McCarthy’s case, which is called acute pancreatitis, but it could also then become chronic pancreatitis. Some dogs have one bout and never again, others need specialised foods and careful management to prevent recurring bouts for the rest of their lives.
When the organ is functioning as it should, the enzymes from the pancreas only become active when they reach the small intestine, but in a dog who has pancreatitis, those enzymes activate prematurely when they are released, which causes inflammation and damage to the pancreas as well as the surrounding organs and tissues. The enzymes can even begin digesting the pancreas itself, which causes excruciating pain.
I knew immediately when McCarthy was having a pancreatic attack. I could see the pain in his face and he would hunch over and then begin to vigourously scratch his bed or blankets, it was as if he wanted to dig the pain away. It broke my heart watching him digging like a mad animal.
He remained on chronic medication and I fed him small portions of low-fat, home-cooked meals three times a day, but he still had recurring bouts of pancreatitis; even a visit to the vet or slightest form of stress started triggering an attack. I was at my wit’s end, but I continued researching.
The next option was a more natural one; I was referred to a reputable homeopathic vet.
Our Journey into Homeopathy
The homeopathic vet suggested ozone therapy and biopuncture with a range of homeopathic medication and high doses of Vitamin C. He also prescribed a live probiotic and homeopathic tinctures which I had to administer daily. A few days after receiving his first round of treatment, my dog was vibrant. The transformation was miraculous.
He regained his appetite and we moved over to Acana Light and Fit kibble with tiny bits of boiled chicken as a topping. He wouldn’t eat it otherwise. I continued medicating him with the prescribed medication, probiotics, homeopathic tinctures, and milk thistle a few times daily, according to the homeopath’s instructions.
We repeated the treatment with the homeopathic vet every two weeks initially and slowly progressed to every three weeks, then six, then eight. We continued in this way for two years.
The first few months post surgery were particularly bad and I believe the repeated bouts of pancreatitis caused much damage to his pancreas. However, after receiving treatment from the homeopathic vet, he only had two attacks over a 19-month period, but sadly, the last one — a few days before his 14th birthday — caused too much damage; it was also accompanied by hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE), which is a disease in dogs that is characterised by sudden vomiting and bloody diarrhea. The symptoms are severe, and if the illness is not treated, it can be fatal.
McCarthy’s symptoms began by him refusing food and displaying signs of nausea, but there were no other serious signs initially during that day, but during the night his symptoms worsened, and I took him to the vet early the following morning. He was losing a lot of blood and his breathing became laboured. The vet admitted him and administered intravenous fluid therapy (IV), but she called me an hour later to say he was battling to breathe and she referred him to the animal hospital. He was placed in an oxygen tank, had an ultrasound, which confirmed that his pancreas and intestines were severely inflamed, and they too administered a cocktail of the appropriate medication intravenously, but he sadly died 90 minutes later from toxic septicemia.
I was shocked at how quickly death could come. He was completely healthy between Monday and Wednesday, started showing signs of nausea during the day on Thursday, became severely ill during the night, and died the following morning. From commencement of symptoms to death was not even within a 24-hour period. Life is so fragile…
Symptoms
The purpose of this post is to warn other pet owners not to take the following symptoms lightly.
Acute symptoms of pancreatitis include:
a) loss of appetite
b) reluctance to drink
c) vomiting
d) shaking/tremors
e) depression and lethargy
f) abdominal pain
g) frantic digging in blankets or bed (a tell-tale sign when McCarthy had an attack)
Chronic symptoms of pancreatitis include:
a) vomiting or pain after eating (but not necessarily after every meal)
b) reluctance to eat or loss of appetite
c) reluctance to drink
d) weight loss
e) depression and lethargy
f) difficulty breathing
g) frantic digging in blankets or bed (my experience in McCarthy’s case)
Causes
The causes of pancreatitis are not always clear and are commonly debated. It has been said that high-fat diets are often the cause, but this has not been scientifically proven. However, too much fat can cause pancreatitis in older dogs, especially if they are overweight or relatively inactive. Dogs who eat scraps from the garbage are also more prone to pancreatitis, especially if the dog usually eats a low- to normal-fat diet, but then suddenly eats rancid fatty scraps or high-fat foods. There are also several medications associated with pancreatitis in dogs.
In McCarthy’s case, none of the above applied, as I never fed him or Higgy a high-fat diet and they both lead active lives. McCarthy was particularly active and ran six to ten kilometres with me on many occasions until he reached his senior years, then I tapered it down, but we still did many hikes and walked daily. The vets and specialists suggested that the cause in McCarthy’s case could’ve been the repeated anaesthesia required for the procedures leading up to his amputation surgery, and the surgery itself, which can wreak havoc with the functionality of the bodily systems.
Take-Away Message
Pancreatitis is a serious illness. I would like to warn other pet owners to err on the side of caution and take their pets to their local vet as soon as their dog displays any of the abovementioned symptoms. It could be a matter of life or death and one should certainly not take a wait-and-see approach.
Our canine family’s lives are precious and it is our responsibility to care for them to the best of our ability.
Stay informed, do your research, and always do what is best for your pets!
I’m so sad to read about your loss. I was reading through the article and thought he was gonna be fine. As a dog lover this kinda stuff gets to me all the time…
You are right that life is very fragile. We should be more aware of this sometimes…
Thank you for taking the time to write your journey about this serious topic and I will bookmark this for future reference.
p.s. You’ve got some sweet pictures of McCarthy.
Thank you for taking the time to read, reply to, and bookmarking my article. Yes, I also get affected by other dog lovers’ stories about their pets’ suffering or the loss of a pet.
I hope some of my insights can help other pet owners going through similar issues with their beloved pets.
McCarthy was the sweetest dog inside and out.
Wishing you much joy with your pets!
Great post and good info.
Our dog doesn’t have it now, but if he has it, we already know what to do.
Thank you so much for sharing this, this can help our Sammy so good, and perhaps save his life.
And I’m pretty sure that other people will be so happy with this.
Thank you for your comment Emmanuel – wishing you much joy with your Sammy. Enjoy and cherish every moment with him. When they go, the void they leave is huge.
Thank you so much for the article, it is really informative, before my first dog die, I named him Garfield he started showing all this symptoms but I never thought it was very serious until his leg started swollen before I could take him to a veteran it was already too late, my dog die a very Painful death it was so sad that I did not do anything about it. Assuming i know that was the symptoms of pancreatitis I would have already taken action. Thank you for this article i know it will help a lot of people. I will definitely share this site with my friends and family i believe this post will help them.
Thank you for reading my article Oloyede and for sharing a bit about your story – I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Garfield due to this terrible illness.
The purpose of posting about my journey with my beloved dogs is with the hope that some of my insights can help someone else to ease their pets’ suffering.
I appreciate you sharing my website with your friends and family.
So sorry for the loss of your wee dog and thank you for sharing this with us. It is so often the case that things like this are over looked because people just don’t know about it. I am glad that I am informed and hope this reaches other owners that may be looking for an answer to their dogs mystery illness.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post Terri.
Yes, I believe knowledge empowers us to do the best thing for our pets. Pancreatitis certainly is an illness that can easily be overlooked if the owner is not aware of the symptoms and the serious nature of this disease. Fast action is imperative.
Wishing you all the best with any animals you may have or adopt along the way.
Really very sorry for the loss of your lovely pet, “McCarthy”, I really feel the pain of having your lovely pet taken from you by death after 11 years.
My 1 year Rudo have been refusing to eat the whole of last week, we had to take her to the nearest Vet and luckily she was given treatment and was very quick to respond to treatment. The real cause of lose of appetite was not known, just hope it wasn’t a result of Pancreatitis. It seems the diseases is fatal if treated late.
Thank you so much, I had a lot of takeaways, the next time my dog show any of the symptoms of Pancreatitis you listed in this article, I will be very quick to respond.
Thank you for reading my post Ngonidzashe. My little McCarthy started the pancreatitis post surgery when he was 11-years’ old, but I was fortunate to still have him with me until just before he turned 14. His loss has left a huge void in my heart.
I’m glad your Rudo responded well to treatment. Please do keep a close eye on her and if she displays any of the symptoms mentioned in my article, take her back to the vet and perhaps request that they do an ultrasound on her. Please also be careful not to feed her a high-fat diet if it is pancreatitis.
Wishing you many more years of joys with your pup!
An excellent post, I’m so glad I found it. I have a friend with a rescued boxer who has been diagnosed with pancreatitis in the last 6 months. He also has severe food allergies and it is making him particularly difficult to treat. He currently is taking a range of medication as well as being fed 5 times a day.
He has fresh cooked rabbit or lamb as these are some of the only meats he is able to eat. My background is in human nutrition and I take a natural approach (our dog is almost vegan!) but I would be really interested to know exactly what the homeopathic therapy consisted of.
Milk thistle is brilliant for liver cleansing but it would be great to know more about the homeopathic tinctures and also how the vitamin c was administered. Thank you again for the post
Hi Kevin, thanks for reading my post and for your feedback. I’m sorry your friend’s dog has pancreatitis, it’s a terrible disease, but a dog can live for a long time if it’s diet and lifestyle is managed well. It does help to feed a pancreatic dog small meals a few times a day instead of one or two large meals. I would caution against the lamb though as that is a fatty meat, it’s better to steer clear of fatty foods with pancreatitis.
Yes, milk thistle is great. McCarthy was on Legalon, a clinically researched extract of milk thistle, which the specialist prescribed for him once we established he had pancreatitis. I gave him a quarter three times a day for a period of two years before he passed away. He was also on Ursotan which made his bile less mucky.
The homeopathic tinctures were a vast range mixed by the homeopathic vet specifically for McCarthy’s problems. Some focused on nausea and digestion (podophyllum), some on supporting the kidney function, some for liver function, etc. Too vast to elaborate on here, but a mixture best combined by a specialist in this field to target the problem according to the patient. Some of these tinctures, including the high doses of Vitamin C, were given via biopuncture, which is similar to acupuncture, but the needles have the medicine in them which is injected in targeted areas on the body. The ozone therapy was administered via his anus.
Just an aside on nutrition, I have recently been feeding my other 14-year old Yorkie organic vegetables and fruit with his Acana kibble and it’s amazing how its improved his well being. He has arthritis, but his mobility is so much better since including the organic fruit and veg into his diet.
Thanks Delilah, for this post. I guess we have to start watching what our dogs eat. And pay more attention to their diet especially if it’s an old dog. Thanks for highlighting the symptoms of pancreatitis. Older dogs are naturally less active. How do we differentiate when they are not feeling well from being slow due to old age?
Hi Juliet, thanks for reading my post. Before I answer your question, I wanted to mention that it is important to pay attention to your dog’s diet from the day you get your new family member, not only when it is an old dog. Good nutrition for our pets is very important, no matter their stage of life, as it is with us.
Regarding your question: If you’re in tune with your dog, you should pick up quite quickly when he/she is not feeling well. Not all older dogs are slow in old age, as with humans, they age differently and some breeds obviously have a shorter life span than others and there are many factors involved, e.g. arthritis, obesity, underlying issues, etc., but my little McCarthy was still running with me at 10 years of age, and even before he died short of turning 14, he was still walking daily, except on the days when he was ill of course, but yes, as they age, they tend to walk a bit slower or not as far and they sleep more, but if your dog looks particularly lethargic, pale, won’t eat, has pale or sticky gums, or is displaying uncharacteristic behaviour, eating grass a lot, vomiting, etc. it is important to pay attention. My dogs have always been completely intertwined in my life, so I know in an instant if something is off with them, I may not know what it is exactly, but I then pay extra special attention and observe them closely to ensure that if they display signs of deterioration, I then take them to the vet.
Your article literally broke my heart in two. I am so so sorry for the loss of your beloved McCarthy, and from what you wrote, you did everything and more to help your sweet baby, and it must have been a long and excruciating journey for you with much frustration and pain for you as well. I am so glad to have read this article, even though it was painful and without the happy ending I was hoping for, because our beloved Cyrus is our family, and I now know if he ever exhibits these symptoms, I will know what it might be. You had to do the trial and error throughout much of it trying to determine what could be causing his symptoms. God Bless you in your loss.
Thank you Babsie. Wishing you a joyful, healthy life with Cyrus!