Pancreatitis in Dogs

Research shows that pancreatitis in dogs is one of the most common illnesses owners face.

Pancreatitis is a painful, potentially deadly inflammation and swelling of a dog’s pancreas.

A healthy pancreas produces insulin for a dog’s body, as well as unique enzymes that aid in the digestion and absorption of fats and proteins. These enzymes would be dangerous to the pancreas, but the organ has internal defenses that protect it.

These defenses start to collapse when the pancreas is inflamed and swollen, which can make it start to be broken down by its own enzymes.

The pancreas is very easily damaged and is also slow to heal.

Although rare, dogs that recover from acute pancreatitis may have recurrent bouts of this diseases and even develop chronic pancreatitis.

Naturally, you don’t want this to happen to your dog. Fortunately, studies haven shown that there are plenty of ways to diagnose and treat pancreatitis in dogs before it becomes a major health issue, and sometimes, prevention is also possible

How to Prevent Pancreatitis in Dogs?

There is no absolute preventative measure for acute pancreatitis in dogs

However, a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise, feeding good dog food and doing it the right way, and keeping the dog hydrated is the best way to go about this.

Staying away from junk foods and all the medications that may cause pancreatitis is advisable. Steroids such as prednisone can be triggers.

If your Fido displays any symptoms of pain or persistent nausea, it is important to get him to the vet.

Diagnosed early, dog pancreatitis and its associated diseases are much easier to treat than late developments of the disease. Dogs who receive good treatment often achieve fast and full recoveries.

Dog supplements

Certain supplements for dogs exist that may help with either preventing acute pancreatitis in dogs, or assisting in controlling the effects of chronic pancreatitis

Digestive enzymes

Giving digestive enzymes to dogs may be one of the ways to treat and possibly prevent pancreatitis in dogs

Studies have shown for certain pancreatic enzyme supplements to be very effective in treatment of pancreatitis in dogs while others were not at all effective

Ezyme supplements for dogs that have demonstrated the best results include:

• Festal

• Panteric Granules

• Cotazym

• Converzyme

Supplements with pancreatin may help with ensuring that a dog’s pancrease doesn’t get overloaded. There is some evidence showing that pancreatin may work best on dogs with pancreatitis

As the research shows, pancreatic enzyme supplements for dogs are highly individualistic. Your dog may or may not respond to supplement treatment. If there’s no response, then another enzyme supplement may be used instead as long as there are no adverse effects.

Omega-3s

Originally in practice I told clients to NEVER uses Essential Fatty Acids for a dog with pancreatitis.

It turns out that I was WRONG!

Fish oil supplements may also help dogs with acute pancreatitis.

Although efficacy on chronic pancreatitis is unknown, research has shown that fish oil given to dogs can help with lowering blood lipids and assisting with pancreatitis in dogs

Choosing dog food with added enzymes and a healthy balance of Omega-3s and -6s is a good idea, but adding additional fish/krill oil supplements to a dog’s diet may increase the chance of faster recovery or prevention. The healthy omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory, and actually normalize fat metabolism.

Vitamins

Studies suggest that antioxidants for dogs may assist with canine pancreatitis. Vitamins given to dogs work well alongside other pancreatitis treatments.

A growing body of research shows positive effects of Vitamin B12. It seems that giving Colabamin (Vitamin B12) to dogs helps with pancreatitis recovery

Antioxidants such as Vitamin E and Vitamin A have also shown positive signs in dogs with pancreatitis, but further research is required

Probiotics

There’s some evidence that gut flora may have an impact on inflamation of the dog’s pancreas

Improving your dog’s ratio of good bacteria through canine probiotics supplementation may assist with treating or preventing canine pancreatitis