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 dogâs pancreas.
A healthy pancreas produces insulin for a dogâs 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 donât 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 dogâs pancrease doesnât 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 thereâs 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 dogâs 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
Thereâs some evidence that gut flora may have an impact on inflamation of the dogâs pancreas
Improving your dogâs ratio of good bacteria through canine probiotics supplementation may assist with treating or preventing canine pancreatitis