One of my friends recently called me asking for help. Their dog wasn’t eating for three days, was vomiting and his tummy was sensitive and a little firmer than normal. As I was asking for more details to help the husband and wife they confessed that years back they lost another dog to pancreatitis and they feared the worst again.
It didn’t take me long to make a decision to write a blog on pancreatitis as I realize it’s one of the most commonly misunderstood conditions. Out of curiosity I decided to do a little survey on Facebook to see what your opinion was and it confirmed that after the topic of general puppy care, pancreatitis is the second most questioned topic.
From my point of view, pancreatitis in other words, the inflammation of the pancreas, is  a result of multiple factors but I have seen a very clear pattern. It is a very common disease in conventional veterinary practice, especially in dogs where processed foods are recommended. Before I start talking about the possible causes and how to prevent this serious and often life-threatening disease, I would like to mention a few important facts about pancreas and the digestive tract of dogs.
The function of pancreas
The pancreas is a digestive gland that produces insulin that regulates the blood sugar as well as the digestive enzymes necessary for digesting food. Pancreatic function and enzyme production is kind of amazing.  The pancreatic enzymes get activated only when they’re released from the pancreas, otherwise they would digest the pancreas itself.
Canines are clearly designed for digesting meat, bones, organs and some plant material, however, nature never intended dogs to eat heavily processed grain-based diet. When processed food is fed is that the pancreas gets simply overworked and it becomes inflamed. The inflammation itself can activate the digestive enzymes before they’re released in the intestines which can result in triggering the process of “self digestion”. The enzymes from the inflamed pancreas can also leak out in the abdominal cavity and damage the abdominal lining and other organs which adds to a serious and often life-threatening situation.
What I’d like to do first is to talk about the signs of pancreatitis, the most frequent causes, what to do, what to avoid and first of all how to prevent this awful condition from happening.
Symptoms of pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis is the most serious form and the onset happens relatively suddenly. Your dog would usually stop eating, start vomiting, diarrhea may or may not be present and there is usually a sign of lethargy, dehydration and the abdomen may appear hard-core firmer and sensitive to touch especially in the front portion of the abdomen. Pancreas is closely related to the stomach and is in the same area.
Chronic pancreatitis often presents with no symptoms. The only symptom of it is a slight elevation of pancreatic enzymes and I often see that  animals on a natural diet have a naturally higher pancreatic enzyme elevation no signs of  pancreatitis. These  dogs seem to be  fine and I would say that this is a prime example of a common problem. Our veterinary labs use reference values that are made for animals eating processed food and less knowledge of animals being fed raw diet which is a much healthier enzymatic system including pancreas production.
Diagnosis of pancreatitis
The best way to confirm your dogs diagnosis is by a blood test which consists of CBC, Chemistry panel and pancreas specific enzyme tests such as lipase and canine specific lipase which is the best way of confirming final diagnosis. An ultrasound examination for x-rays may be helpful to confirm the diagnosis and also rule out other causes of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and lethargy.
Causes of pancreatitis
- Since I started using and recommending raw and natural non-processed food the incidence of pancreatitis in my practice dropped sharply and I can’t even remember when I have seen the last case of true pancreatitis in a dog on a raw diet. I have seen some dogs with slightly elevated pancreatic enzymes but as I said this may be simply related to their pancreas producing more of the enzymes because it is healthy and strong and not because of pancreatitis.From my perspective processed food is the most common reason why pancreatitis happens.
- Another cause that is very rarely recognized relates to spinal injury or energy congestion at the thoracic lumbar junction. That point relates to energetically feeding the stomach and pancreas. When that segment is injured or congested, the pancreas gets weakened and I frequently see a tendency to pancreatitis. This is not common conventional knowledge. To determine that there is a problem in the stomach–pancreas association point, all you need to do is to feel along the region of the spine where the last rib begins and see if there is any sensitivity, increased heat or pain. This area can not only be a produced posing factor for pancreatitis but also gastric dilation–volvulus, the bloat.
- Other possible causes of pancreatitis may be your dog getting into garbage or feasting on a large amount of aggravating food. While some people say that high-fat diet causes pancreatitis, I see carbohydrates and mainly grain being more common causes.
- Nutrient and mineral depletion in the body is frequently underestimated and at times of soil and general food depletion. Minerals and especially micro elements play an essential role in enzyme production. To find out more about the role of different minerals in the body, you can click on the link here.
Treatment of pancreatitis
The truth is that no matter how much we think we know about pancreatitis, there may be other important causes that we simply do not know about and my general recommendation is to eliminate what the body doesn’t need, add what the body does need and deal with rebalancing the body’s energy through homeopathy, physiotherapy, intramuscular needle stimulation or IMS, chiropractic treatment and other holistic modalities.
The general treatment approach depends on how severe the condition is and I usually recommend doing the following:
- Proper physical examination
- Blood test
- Intravenous fluid support if there is a sign of dehydration or if we suspect that peritonitis, the inflammation of the abdominal lining is present.
- Checking the thoracic lumbar junction for any signs of congestion in correcting this through IMS -intramuscular needle stimulation or chiropractic treatment
- Fasting is very important and I recommend fasting for at least 48 hours. The goal is to rest the pancreas and most dogs can fast for much longer than a couple of days.
- I usually provide the following combination of supplements that appear to be very effective in most cases; nondairy based probiotics, a turmeric-based anti-inflammatory Zyflamend and a cleansing and balancing supplement called Chlorophyll complex (available only by email request). These supplements cleanse the body, reduce inflammation and also provide the necessary bacterial flora for the body in case of diarrhea.
- As a veterinarian trained in homeopathy I also use homeopathic remedies. If you’re interested in learning more about principles of homeopathy click here.
- I very much recommend massaging the spine in the thoracic–lumbar junction because it does promote the energy flow to the pancreas.
- Most textbooks recommend the withdrawing of water completely, however I learned that if the pancreatitis cases are moderate, the steps above should be sufficient and water deprivation and IV fluid therapy is not needed. Your vet may state that the situation is critical that you can’t go wrong with IV therapy. However if you do agree on such treatment you should insist that a picture video patch is supervised 24/7 because there are still clinics that leave hospitalized patients unattended at night which from my point if he is unacceptable.
What not to do
I mentioned before but the most important part of treating any disease is to eliminate what doesn’t belong in the body and provide the body with what it needs. From my perspective pancreatitis is not caused by antibiotic deficiency and if we look at it from the body’s point of view antibiotics are toxic substances that kill bacteria when  necessary but they are also toxic to the body itself. At times of pancreatitis, any additional toxic burden can be detrimental to the treatment outcome and  I  haven’t found antibiotics useful because pancreatitis is not caused by bacteria. Some people advocate that antibiotics have to be used to prevent secondary sepsis, bacterial spread. I find antibiotics most often detrimental to the outcome of pancreatitis because our goal should be to cleanse, support and not intoxicate.
I also find this to be the case of other drugs that prevent vomiting or suppress inflammation like steroids and Metacam. I find these drugs seriously violating the body’s own efforts of healing and they put the natural defenses to sleep. It is not any different than taking a sleeping pill at the time our house catches on fire.
This is not to discount the fact that most conventional practitioners try to do their best and I usually say that any effort to help is good unless we learn that certain treatment actually harms our patients. I can’t say this with certainty but I  feel that many dogs with pancreatitis could be saved if they weren’t poisoned in the course of treatment.
Pancreatitis prevention
This is the most important part of this blog. If you forget everything else, please remember that most cases of pancreatitis can be prevented by following these few simple steps.
1. Natural raw or cooked non-processed food appears to be the best for preventing pancreatitis. If you do feed processed food, you’re naturally increasing the likelihood of this disease and also the stomach bloat. In case of pancreatitis,  I also recommend  feeding NO beef, buffalo, lamb,  duck and  generally rich and more fatty meals . Beef, bison and buffalo especially have higher tendency to cause inflammation in the body.  I generally recommend feeding less of these meats even in healthy dogs.
2. Supplement your dog’s diet with essential supplements and remember that most supplements are made the same way. Over the years I have learned that synthetically made supplements are never as good as the natural alternatives made of whole food and herbs. Here are the supplements that I give to my dog Skai.
3. Make sure that your dog is regularly checked by an experienced animal chiropractor, physiotherapist or practitioner that uses IMS–intramuscular needle stimulation. I also recommend regular massage for any dog because it does promote the energy flow to the vital organs.
4. The last point comes without saying. Your dog needs to be happy and get out for frequent walks. And I mean real walks, not standing in the park and throwing a ball, which in fact can be also damaging and can cause back problems.
I hope that this article will be the answer to many questions that many of my readers have asked me on a regular basis and most of all that it will save you the trouble and hopefully  many canine lives. All I am asking of you is to pass it on if you find it helpful.
With gratitude,
Tags: abdomen, antibiotics, blood, can, canine, care, chiropractic, chlorophyll, dehydration, diarrhea, digesting, digestive, Dogs, enzyme, fasting, fat, holistic, homeopathy, i give, IMS, insulin, intravenous, iv therapy, lab, pain, pancreas, pancreatic, pancreatitis, pancreatitis in dogs, physiotherapy, probiotics, puppy, sugar, test, tract, treatment, treatment of pancreatitis, vomiting, water, zyflamend
Thank you for this article. I would appreciate your opinion on two other signs that I, as a pet owner, have noticed – (1) when a dog vomits, the food is often regurgitated in ‘sausage’ form; (2) What I call ‘the stomach stretch’ by the dog indicaing acute pain and which is generally linked to pancreatitis.
Good morning Dr. Dobias,
My Boxer girl had pancreatitis once and we are sure that she just went through another bout that we were able to treat at home the natural way. I have switched all of my dogs over to raw food and she is thriving. My only question is you say no beef and I have been giving them beef. I have also been adding Forta Floride in their bowls for there breakfast feeding to get some good bacteria . This is our second attempt at feeding raw and so far so good. If no beef, then what do you recommend. Thank you for posting such an informative blog. I love to read your stuff.
Regards,
Kerri Grant.
I usually suggest any other meats that I have not listed on the “do not give list” Mild meats like poultry are good for this stage, game meats are also good.
Thanks so much, Peter.
I am not sure the “sausage regurgitation ” is related to pancreatitis, in fact, I have had no clients reporting this, it is more common in cats. I do not sense that this would be specific for pancreatitis but would be curious about what others think. Laying on the side and stretching the abdomen may be a sign of comfort or discomfort. However, the increased heat, abdomen density and change in texture on palpation are the symptoms that I do see with pancreatitis. Thank you for great questions.
[...] Read more at Dr. Dobias Healing Solutions: Pancreatitis in Dogs – Holistic Treatment and Prevention [...]
Thank you so much for your response. Regarding the ‘sausage’ regurgitation, when I mentioned this to my vet at the time he said it was consistent with this condition. My dog was 16 yrs old at the time.
The stomach stretch I mentioned is done by the dog standing up and then ‘rocking’ back and forth – quite similar to that of a dog stretching after a sleep but with subtle differences; the legs remain stiff and the feet never leave the floor. Most of the stretch is done in the backward movement, like a bow but without the relaxed posture.
Thanks again.
Thank you, you can see that one can always learn, I have never heard sausage regurgitation being a specific symptom for pancreatitis. I will check that out. It is definitely not common. Thank you for this interesting info.
Thank you Dr Dobias for this informative article.My pug (2yrs old)is been diagnosed with pancreatitis.After 2 weeks of going back and forth to the vet, he’s still not doing well.im still taking him every 48 hrs to the clinic to give him an anti inflammatory injection…My question to you is this: What are the side effects of this anti inflammatory shot he’s administered? Will this help in the long run or is this just a temporary relief? What would be your suggestion as to how to treat my pug? He’s not vomitiing and does not have diarrhea and has a good appetite. Is it ok if im still feeding him with the pancreatitis?
I would need more information. I generally do not like using any suppressive drugs as they burden the body further. Side-effects depend on the drug type. This is a more complex question and many factors play a role, I would be happy to consult with you beyond the scope of this blog. I trust that you see that the safety of your dog is at stake.
Hi Dr.Dobias,
Thank you so much for this article. My little schnoodle had a bout of pancreatitis for the forst time this past weekend, and was put on IV for a couple of days. He’s home now, and eating small, frequent meals of Hills Prescription Diet i/d canned food. I would like to slowly begin switching him over to a kibble in the next week or so, but am not too impressed with the ingredients in the Hills food, which my veterinarian is recommending. I was wondering what you think of the Wellness brand Core Reduced Fat? I can’t really afford to feed canned exclusively, but I’m getting confused as to what he sould and should not have in his diet? I would consider Raw feeding as well, but I’m not comfortable enough in my own knowledge to do that yet. Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks very much, Shannon & Riley
Dear Riley, I would be very happy to help. In situations like these, the safest way is to consult with me. I trust that you recognize that this is a serious situation and your dog needs more personal attention than giving you a brief and incomplete advice on the blog. I need to know more about his history and current situation. You can book your consultation at http://www.peterdobias.com
with gratitude, Dr.Peter Dobias
Nadine,
Thank you for your question – I do not recommend beef, buffalo, lamb, duck and generally rich and more fatty meals. Clinically, I see dogs not doing as well on high fat diet and try to go leaner. In contrary, I have seen no issues with kidney disease and high protein diet. In fact, my own cat has had kidney disease which is very common in cats and she has done very well on quality protein raw diet. She is 19 years old and going strong.
Hello Dr. Dobias,
Thanks for posting this article, I found it very helpful. I have a 3 year old Boxer, whose levels indicated this morning that he has pancreatitis after a terrible attack last night. Everywhere I read states that it could be from obesity and poor diet. What could be the cause if those factors are not present? Brutus has been on a raw diet since I got him as a puppy, he is VERY active and recieves NO table scraps. He has always been very sensitive and has the symptoms of IBS, but I am now wondering if it has been pancreatitis all along as he has suffered from minor bouts of symptoms similar to last night’s episode. I will now be incorporating digestive enzymes and ALOE water to his diet.I only feed him raw beef, organs and organic produce, I know you said beef is not good, but in chinese terms he is a “hot” dog and can’t have chicken as it has caused hives. Duck and turkey are too high in calcium, as he had stones in the past. Any suggestions?
Thanks!!
Hi Katie, This is a little more challenging situation and a more detailed consult would be required. I would be happy to help if needed in a phone or skype consultation. I find that dogs do not respond to meat the same way humans do and many chinese medicine principles do not apply. However, I would be looking at the stomach point – see the blog on bloat and stomach – pancreas is affected by the same spinal point. Your dog has some spinal, back issues that need to be addressed.
hi there, i have a 10 month old lab puppy ho has never had any problems with her digestion is suspected to have minor pancreatitus. she still has normal energy, normal bowel movements, normal everything just she has been vomiting for the last couple days. she is being fasted right now until tomorrow. i had her to our vet this morning and he suspected it was from the raw bone i gave her a couple days ago. we have always given our dogs raw bones with meat and marrow as a treat. i can’t seem to find any theories on this other than what he told me this morning. my question is: is this a common theory and what can i give her and our oher 2 dogs to chew on that won’t cause issues?
I would read through these two posts to give you more info. Vomiting is a general symptom, many things may be going on. Perhaps these posts may help. http://www.peterdobias.com/community/2011/04/pancreatitis-in-dogs-holistic-treatment-and-prevention/ and http://www.peterdobias.com/community/0201/05/bones-can-be-as-expensive-as-diamonds/
I can personally attest to the effectiveness of ZYFLAMNED CAPS for use in dogs. I use Zyflamend liquid
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Gina
What a wonderful article, our lab/australian cattle dog/cross, is approaching 14, and was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis about a year ago…. after spending alot of money at the vet for meds etc., our income was lessened and we had to go it alone, very scary but what a difference, all natural diet with natural supplements no more prescriptions, lots of water and he has flourished…. I recommend a natural diet to anyone who will listen and will never buy “processed” for an animal again. As well the metacam made him completely dopey… not himself. He is doing great and we walk at least 2 to 3 hours a day, over Christmas I believe he had one too many treats and he seems to have upset himself… although the diet has been cleaned up for over a week, his stomach has not settled and each morning as soon as he eats snow…. he vomits? Is it the snow is it too cold, (he does just bite and swallow) or should we look to a fast? I have read excessive snow eating can lead to vomiting, but I would not consider the amount he eats excessive, and it just happens once a day about 3 hrs after he eats, he does not happen following dinner? What an awesome resource for pet owners, thank you for helping us and all of our family.
Thank you for this article. My dog Skipper, a 10 1/2 year old Schipperke, who I thought was completely healthy up until about five weeks or so ago suddenly became very ill and was in the hospital in intensive care for a over a week, and has now been home for a few weeks. He is diagnosed with pancreatitis, diabetes and kidney disease. He is presently on insulin and a bunch of anti-nausea medications, and subcutaneous fluids.
I want to get him onto a natural diet and off of all of the medications, and up until now have found it challenging with all of these conditions together. I had been feeding him chicken breasts, pasta and sweet potato and he was thriving, then all of a sudden he wouldn’t eat it and has been much more lethargic. I switched him over to beef so he would continue to eat, but I see you do not recommend it. I am working with his vet, she is great but not holistic and is very much open to Skipper having an allopathic vet as well.
Is this something you feel you could help us with in a phone consultation? Greatly appreciated!!
Oops, I meant that Skipper’s vet is open to him also having a homeopathic vet!
Dear Cynthia, this is one of the situations that I could help with. It may be unreasonable to see your dog reverting from diabetes, however, we can structure his treatment plan to reduce the need for insulin and help to protect his kidneys and pancreas. I would be happy to help. You can book a consultation on our website.
With gratitude,
Dr. Peter Dobias
My dog, Maggie, has had about 5 bouts of pancreatitis in the last 2 years. I’m a little surprised that my vet has never recommended raw food to me. Instead, we were switched to prescription dog food W/D. Since, I don’t really feel that this is working, they are now suggesting Royal Canin. Is this any good? Would you just recommend switching to raw food? Maggie is a 9 year old rat terrier/ Boston terrier mix and I’m not sure how she would take to raw food? Also what type of digestive enzymes would you recommend for her? Thank you!
I have a chiipoo and she has pancreatitis. She hasn’t really eaten all day. Now her stomach is making this wierd sounds lime she has an upset stomach. What should we do??
Mau, seeing your vet in this situation is the best solution.
Sherri, I would normally recommend switching to raw in patients that I consult with. It would be irresponsible for me to give you online recommendations here for such a serious condition. If you have someone who could help you with the switch , go for it. I do think it is safe but must be careful in giving you advice without consulting more. Starting with a species appropriate diet is the first step in all cases. It doesn’t mean that it is the only step needed.
Hi Dr. Dobias,
I spent majority of the evening and night watching our 9 year old German Shorthaired Pointer, Taylor. She is typically happy and energetic, but I noticed she barely touched her dinner yesterday evening and just seemed a little down. We sometimes call her my shadow because she follows me everywhere. Last night she just seemed ‘off’ to me. First she didn’t want her food, then she didn’t drink any water, and then she just couldn’t get comfortable when she would lie down. At 7pm she vomited the little food she had eaten. It seemed that she felt better after this, but then she vomited again at 10ish then 2 more times in the early morning hours. She finally fell asleep at about 330am, and continued to sleep through the morning until I got her to our vet at 7am. Walking into the clinic her tail was wagging and her ears had perked up. This wasn’t the case the day before. At 10am, the vet called with the info that she could have pancreatitis. I googled it, and that’s when I found your blog. The vet hasn’t done blood work yet because I asked him not to until I read more about it. She hasn’t vomited since about 3am. I read above about your combination of supplements that could be effective in this case. Would you think the supplements would work in her case?
Much thanks,
Shiloh
Shiloh, I check this blog only once a while so I trust that all went well. Blood work is a good way to determine what is going on and I would always do it as soon as possible. This is where conventional diagnostics do play an important role. IT is a condition that can progress very fast in some cases. I hope all is well.