# Pepper has pancreatitis. :(



## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

Oh, SO sorry to hear Pepper is ill....I am so glad Pepper has you for a mom to take care of him. Betwixt you and the vet Pepper will be fine, hang in there.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

We had a miniature schnauzer for 12 years that suffered from pancreatitis. I had a Jack Russell for 11 years that died from pancreatic cancer. My chihuahua, "Emilio" that I have now has chronic pancreatitis. He is very well controlled. We keep him on a low protein/low fat food, keep his weight down, and no table scraps of any kind. When he does occasionally have a problem, usually I just withhold food for 24 hours and give him something for the pain. He is usually fine in a couple of days at the most, but his attacks are nothing like his first one.

I myself have had pancreatitis. I was put in the hospital for 10 days. It was the most painful thing I have ever been through! (I have had gall stones, kidney stones, and had 3 babies with no epidural and labors totaling 72 hours) and one c-section.

Hopefully it is something you can control with diet. Make sure to keep pain pills on hand. I hope Pepper is back to feeling better soon!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Hope to hear He's on the mend soon! It is the worse feeling of helplessness when our children or animals are ill!
I'll send a message 'upstairs' to the Boss for His help! 

Keep us updated!


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## Qarza (Feb 23, 2013)

Sorry so to hear of Pepper's illness. I hope he has a speedy recovery.


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

I had a miniature schnauzer that suffered from an episode of acute pancratitis when he was almost 6. For the rest of his life (he passed away after he turned 10), he had to stay on restricted diet. It's a scary experience for me and very painful one for him. He lost 2 lbs (10% of his body weight) overnight and lost 1 lb per year till the end of his life. 

Low fat diet is important. DogAware.com Articles: Pancreatitis in Dogs

Sending a lot of healing vibes to Pepper. Let us know how she does.


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## Petitpie'sDH (Mar 22, 2013)

I'm so sorry that Pepper is sick. I don't have any experience with pancreatitis, but it sounds like you and your vet are doing everything that can be done. Sending prayers for Pepper's quick recovery.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Thanks for the support everyone.  And thanks for sharing your experiences, that helps me a lot! 

She did well last night, no symptoms really other than she is very tired. She went back to the vet this morning. They're going to do some more bloodwork to check on things and continue with fluids/medication. I'm hoping that she will be well enough for me to take her home for good, I know she will be more comfortable in her own bed. I'll keep y'all updated.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Glad to hear she's doing better! My friend's border collie just had it too over Christmas; he had to spend a couple of nights at the vet's and came home with a pain patch, but has been in great shape ever since. So I hope that's the case with Pepper too; hope today is a better day for her. p.s. the border collie LOVED the special food from the vet, lol!


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

I remember the first day my schnauzer came back home from the hospital. He had his first accident since he's housebroken at 10 weeks. I still remember the guilty look on his face  He was kind of weak for the first few days and then bounced back pretty quickly. I was very careful about his diet and he never had any pancreatitis drama since then. 

It's definitely manageable. You might need to be more careful since you have a multiple dog household. He was my only pet so that made things easier.


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## PonkiPoodles (Feb 25, 2009)

mom24doggies said:


> My older dog, Pepper, came down with a pretty bad case of pancreatitis last night. She had been vomiting some throughout the day, but that isn't unusual for her as she occasionally overeats or gets into the trash. Then she refused her supper and I immediately knew she was seriously ill, as she has never ever turned down food in her entire life. Rushed her to the EV, they put her on an IV for dehydration and made her comfortable. Her regular vet diagnosed her this morning. She was there all day today, but got to come home tonight. I'm taking her back in the morning for more IV fluids, antibiotics, and pain medication. Hopefully she will be able to start eating again mid-day and I can take her home for good. If she can't hold food down by tomorrow afternoon, they're going to do an ultrasound to see what's going on.
> 
> Poor girl.  She is pretty out of it tonight, it hurts to see her all drugged up and confused. Hopefully she will feel much better tomorrow!
> 
> If anyone has any experience with pancreatitis, I'd love to hear about it. I have no experience with it at all.


oh that is awful... so sorry to hear that, I hope she feels better soon!

Ponki has pancreatitis and right after she was diagnosed I think we probably where at the vet 5-6 times a month. If it wasn't for a dear friend of mine who told me to immediately take her off all dogfood (due to the fat content) she probably wouldn't be around today. I've read a million articles and have tried a thousand remedies and I'm happy to say she's been healthy as a horse for the last 3 years. You just need to find a balance in the diet and basically watch every single thing that goes into her mouth. I've seen that low fat content diets works wonders.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

PonkiPoodles said:


> oh that is awful... so sorry to hear that, I hope she feels better soon!
> 
> Ponki has pancreatitis and right after she was diagnosed I think we probably where at the vet 5-6 times a month. If it wasn't for a dear friend of mine who told me to immediately take her off all dogfood (due to the fat content) she probably wouldn't be around today. I've read a million articles and have tried a thousand remedies and I'm happy to say she's been healthy as a horse for the last 3 years. You just need to find a balance in the diet and basically watch every single thing that goes into her mouth. I've seen that low fat content diets works wonders.


 That's what my research has been telling me....what have you found that works as far as diet? The vet said this was a pretty severe case, I'm positive she's going to need a special diet. Plans are already in motion to make double sure she never gets into the trash anymore or gets any handouts from people. (My grandparents especially like to give her treats, no more!) she's such a scavenger it's going to take some effort, but I know it will pay off. 

She is doing very well today, she finally accepted some food late last night and it helped her feel much better. She felt well enough to protest about taking her medication this morning, so that's good lol. I still took her in to the vet for the day, just so they can observe her for one more day and remove her IV catheter, and tonight she will come home for good. They called and said she's continuing to improve, she's even started whining at them to be let out. Which is annoying for them, but it means my Pepper girl is back!


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## PonkiPoodles (Feb 25, 2009)

For the first couple of years I home cooked everything which has really helped as far as getting it under control, but that is a tedious job especially if you work full time.

Ponki is also allergic to wheat and grains… and I’ve found lately that she does not do good with anything that has chicken in it either, so she’s on a pretty limited diet. I’d be happy to send you some recipes as far as what to cook if you are interested in home cooking.

I currently have Ponki on a 1/4 cup dog food and 1/4 cup home cooked. I use Blue Buffalo's Life Protection Lamb and Rice Formula which has glucosamine in and even though it's min 12% fat - mixed with homecooked food she does really well on it.

Anything else I give her – I read the label carefully and make sure the fat content is below 5% and has no wheat, grain or chicken, which rules out just about everything at the petstore. 
She's done really well on the Wellness Core - Reduced fat formula dog food for a while in conjunction with home cooked food, but after a while I saw her skin got really dry probably because of the lack of fat in her diet she was on and then switched her to the Blue I have her on now. It's pretty much a long process of trial and error and just testing one little thing at a time and having them under constant surveillance as far as what they eat.

I can also send you a list of things to avoid if needed. Did your vet recommend anything as far as diet was concerned?


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Thanks so much PonkiPoodles, I really appreciate your help.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Wow, does one bout of pancreatitis mean the dog is susceptible for the rest of it's life?


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## Oreo's Mommy (Dec 18, 2012)

How is Pepper feeling?


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

CT Girl said:


> Wow, does one bout of pancreatitis mean the dog is susceptible for the rest of it's life?


Theoretically, yes. At least the owner has to be very careful about the fat content and protein level of the food that s/he is feeding.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Thank you schnauzerpoodle, I did not realize that. It is horrible to think one garbage raid could result in a lifelong problem. With a toy it probably would not take much.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Pepper is now almost 100%. She's regained her "spark", she's playing with me again, eating and drinking well, and yes trying to consume every morsel of food she can find lol. I'm just having to be super vigilant. 

I really hope this is the only attack she has, but I recognize it may not be. She's old, her internal organs just don't work the way they used to. I'm very pleased at how well she pulled through this....for a 15 year old she's doing extremely well. If this is the only issue she has, I'll be grateful.


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