My dog has IBD, pancreatitis, and heart disease. What treatments help?

I am very sorry you are dealing with these issues and differing medical approaches to Zoe's care. The short answer is that pancreatitis is a disease which can be approached in many ways, and none of the advise given is wrong. Only different opinions. I personally prefer hills ID low fat for pancreatitis or boiled boneless chicken breast and steamed rice. Pain relief medication, medication for diarrhoea and also anti-nausea medication are all very helpful medications to treat pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can be a chronic disease and dogs need a change to their diet for a week, months, to even for life. It depends how well Zoe's pancreas heals in the next few weeks. I personally have never had to surgically treat a pancreatitis case, and find medical control the best course of action. The cases I have seen usually present with acute signs which require a short hospital stay to stablize. The dogs then go home with some degree of chronic pancreatitis which may or may not present with flare-ups and return visits to the hospital. I hope this is helpful and that Zoe feels better soon.

Poor Quinton! Pancreatitis can become a chronic issue. Switching the diet to the Low Fat food may help. You will also need to make sure he does not eat ANY human food or get into the garbage. Any treats need to be extremely low fat. Some dogs with chronic pancreatitis benefit from daily antioxidants for dogs. Some may need a daily steroid but most don't. Make sure Quinton drinks lots of water daily. Here is a link about pancreatitis: https://www.petcoach.co/article/pancreatitis-inflammation-in-dogs/ If this trend continues, your vet may want to look for an underlying condition such as Cushing's Disease. I hope this helps and that he starts feeling better quickly.

Hi and thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would stick with a low fat prescription diet such as Hills I/D or Royal Canin Low fat gastrointestinal. Continue this diet until your one pet is over their pancreatitis episode. Then you can slowly transition them back to a senior diet which is typically lower in calories and higher in protein and carbs. My top brands are Royal Canin, Hill’s Science Diet, Evo or Eukanuba. Best of luck with your fur babies and their new diets. Take care!

Most cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) require hypoallergenic diets composed of hydrolyzed proteins (proteins broken down to the point where they will not stimulate the immune system). These diets are prescription based and include Royal Canin Ultimano, Royal Canin HP, Science Diet Z/D and Purina HA. In some cases of IBD, a dog can tolerate a novel protein diet (one protein source and one carbohydrate source) after a period of time on a hypoallergenic diet. Some novel protein diets are prescription based (such as Science Diet D/D), but others are available over the counter (such as Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet). Most cases of IBD also require some form of corticosteroids for management in addition to the diet change. Before making any changes in Peaches' diet, be sure to consult her vet to make sure this is appropriate for her case. I hope this helps!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Feeding a high quality, high fiber, low fat, and low allergen diet will be important. Hill's HA or z/d are good places to start, and then you can introduce other foods in slowly, one at a time, to determine what food is causing the allergy. Some dogs do well on Hill's HA, ID or ZD and just remain on that food strictly their whole lives. You can talk to your vet about different immuno-suppressive drugs that can be trialed. Immuno-suppressive drugs have side effects, so using as few drugs as possible is ideal. Also, since Scooby has urinary crystals, you will need to get a food that will help with the crystals as well, especially if you are going to start on immuno-suppressive drugs. Best of luck with Scooby!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Cosita! There are several diets available that do not require a prescription. Most of these are labeled “light” or “lite”. I recommend Hill’s Science Diet I/D food. You can also consider giving dog-friendly probiotics. If Cosita does not eat, you can offer her some plain boiled chicken and white rice (no bones, skin, or spices) which should be gentle enough on her intestinal tract and low in fat. I hope this helps and that all is well!

Honestly, with pancreatitis a dog needs a super low fat diet and the only ones that fulfill this are prescription diets. I would recommend canned and dry Hill's i/d low fat. If this was his first bout of pancreatitis he may only need to be on this for a short while. If he has had multiple bouts of pancreatitis then he needs the super low fat diet for life. Hope this helps. If you have more questions please feel free to post again. Best wishes!