Spring 2017 Saber Tails 75
Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America
Cont’d from previous page
benefit of transfusing plasma into dogs with acute pancre-
atitis, unless the dog is exhibiting coagulation problems.
• Anti-emetics are recommended for all dogs with acute
pancreatitis. Clinical signs of nausea include licking of
lips, swallowing attempts, and obvious aversion to food.
Anti-emetics should be given even to those with no overt
signs of nausea or vomiting because this may encourage
voluntary eating.
• Pain should be managed. It is safe to assume that all dogs
with acute pancreatitis are in pain to some degree. In or-
der to manage the pain with the appropriate analgesics, it
is important to determine the level of pain that the dog is
experiencing. A dog with mild pain might be responsive
to his/her surroundings, but be unsettled. With moder-
ate pain, a dog might be reluctant to move and may flinch
when his/her abdomen is palpated. A dog in severe pain
may be non-responsive to surroundings and may scream
or snap when palpated. Most referral veterinary hospitals
have pain management specialists who can assess the level
of pain a dog is experiencing and prescribe the appropriate
combination of analgesic agents.
• Food and water should be offered early in the recovery
phase. The role of nutrition in treatment of acute pancre-
atitis has changed over the past two decades. It was previ-
ously thought that pancreatitis patients (both human and
animal) should fast in order to ‘rest’ their pancreas. Cur-
rent recommendation is that dogs with mild acute pancre-
atitis be allowed to eat voluntarily. If the dog does not eat
for five days, then a nasogastric tube should be inserted
for enteral feeding of a liquid diet. Dogs with severe acute
pancreatitis should receive interventional food as soon as
possible. Generally, during recovery from a bout of pan-
creatitis, a low-fat diet is given for a period of time after
which a regular diet can be reintroduced (unless the dog
has high serum triglyceride levels). Once a dog has had
pancreatitis, the chances of a recurrent event is high. The
dog’s diet must be monitored vigilantly and his/her treats
selected with care.
D
ottie was 11 years old when she became agitated,
started pacing around the room, and began to bite
the wooden knobs on a dresser. She then stretched her
body out with her rear in the air. She was taken to the vet
immediately. Blood tests indicated an acute bout of pan-
creatitis. Ranididine (Zantac) was given to reduce stomach
acid production and she recovered over the course of a
week. The cause of her attack was never known, but her
family kept her on a low-fat diet as a precaution. Whenever
her mom thought she might be have another attack, she
was given the Ranididine and it never recurred. She is 14
now and a hearty eater who loves her walks and a cuddle.
L
essons from the hounds. What can we learn about
pancreatitis from our beloved hounds? Several mem-
bers of our collective pack suffered bouts of pancreatitis
after a high-fat feast, either a cup of chowder or some pup-
py food or a delicious home cooked meal with too much fat.
For others, there was no known dietary indiscretion, but it
is reasonable to assume that fat was a contributing trigger
since switching the dogs to a low-fat food and closely mon-
itoring all foods and treats prevented recurrence. Many af-
fected dogs can have good quality of life if their pancre-
atitis is caught early and treated with special diets and/
or medications for the rest of their lives. For other dogs,
the inflammatory storm rapidly spread to other organs
and the most advanced veterinary care was in vain. We
hope that research into the causes of pancreatitis in dogs
and development of specific treatments will, in the future,
increase survival of those suffering severe acute attacks.
Abraham is our elder statesman at 17 years old. His
first bout of pancreatitis occurred when he was 11. His
mom noticed that he seemed uncomfortable walking and
wouldn’t lay on his tummy, which was his usually resting
position. The emergency vet gave him pain meds and per-
formed tests that revealed signs of pancreatitis. The vet
put him on a bland, unappetizing canned dog food, which
Abraham totally rejected. His mom experimented with a
modified Dodds’ liver-cleaning diet and Abraham’s appe-
tite picked up. To this day, he cannot tolerate any fat in his
diet. He gets three meals a day of a super low fat kibble
mixed with white fish, dry curd cottage cheese, and baked
sweet potato. Sometimes he gets boiled chicken instead of
fish, canned pumpkin instead of sweet potato, and some
jasmine rice. Sounds yummy to me! Abraham’s family sur-
mises that his attack was triggered by his habits of root-
ing through the kitchen garbage and eating poop. They
are vigilant on both accounts and, with his diet controlled,
his chronic condition has been managed. Abraham has had
a very active life, with Rally Advanced and Utility Dog
titles. It is wonderful that he can rest easy in his senior
years, knowing that most of the delicious cooking in the
household is for him.
References:
AKC.org health article. December 17, 2015. Pancreatitis in dogs – symp-
toms, causes, and treatment. (http://akc.org/content/health/articles/pan-
creatitis-in-dogs/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_
campaign=yourakc-20161226); LaRusch J. and Whitcomb, D.C. 2011.
Genetics of pancreatitis. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology 27: 467-474.;
Mansfield C. and Beths T. 2015. Management of acute pancreatitis in dogs:
a critical appraisal with focus on feeding and analgesia. Journal of Small
Animal Practice 56: 27-39.; Watson, P. 2015. Canine and feline pancreatitis:
a challenging and enigmatic disease. Journal of Small Animal Practice 56:
1-2.; Watson, P. 2015. Pancreatitis in dogs and cats: definitions and patho-
physiology. Journal of Small Animal Practice 56: 3-12.; Xenoulis, P.G. 2015.
Diagnosis of pancreatitis in dogs and cats. Journal of Small Animal Practice
56: 13-26.