Pancreatitis in Dogs

Did you know that if your dog eats too much fat he could develop pancreatitis? We often think that our dogs will enjoy high energy, high fat treats but in fact they are not always able to digest these easily. Studies have shown that excess fat can over stimulate the pancreas and pancreatic enzymes leading to pancreatitis. There can be other causes of pancreatitis to watch out for, some dogs develop this over time, others through scavenging or weight gain.

If your dog shows signs of sickness, diarrhoea, weakness, abdominal pain and a hunched back these are the most common signs of acute pancreatitis. Milder symptoms can be nausea, loss of appetite, lethargy, and diarrhoea.

With severe symptoms veterinary help is needed quickly and even the milder symptoms will need veterinary advice as to how to manage the flare up.

Longer term, an easy-to-digest, lower fat diet (below 10% fat) like Dr. John Silver is recommended and close monitoring of body weight and condition to prevent any further flareups. High fat treats of course are out of the picture!