My senior dog is vomiting after dental surgery. Is it pancreatitis?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor guy! Pancreatitis can cause vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia and belly pain. It is a cause of vomiting and diarrhea but it isn't the only cause. Other causes are: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infections, toxin ingestion, IBD, food allergy/intolerance or reaction to eating something outside or a new treat/food/people food. Since he has been low grade vomiting now for 2 days it is best to have him seen soon if it continues. It is encouraging that he is eating. I would be sure you fasted him for 12-24 hours then resume feeding with a very bland diet of boiled chicken or hamburger with rice. Make the meals very small. Only offer small amounts of water. If he is lethargic, won't eat and the vomiting continues even on a low grade scale he should be seen before the weekend. I hope this helps and I wish you all the best!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to say what the cause could be as there are many causes of these symptoms. With Piper's age, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. She may be dehydrated from vomiting and may need fluid administration to help rehydrate her. I would recommend having her blood tested to ensure there are no systemic changes that are abnormal that could be contributing to the vomiting. If you are unable to get to the veterinarian right away, I would withhold food for at least 8 hours and then initiate a bland diet as outlined below. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further! GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Hello there, I'm sorry to hear about Dozer's pancreatitis diagnosis. I would caution that the food you prepared sounds too rich. Changes in diet and new additions of food are often a cause of pancreatitis, so any new additions need to be extremely bland. I generally tell people to boil chicken and white rice with no seasonings or additional ingredients whatsoever as an initial bland diet after GI or pancreatic disease. Another option for bland food is a prescription GI diet from your veterinarian. Feed the bland diet for an entire week, or 2-3 days past when Dozer is completely recovered, then slowly taper him back to his normal kibble or diet over a week long period to avoid re-injuring the pancreas. As far as his bad breath, ask your vet about whether he could benefit from a dental cleaning at his recheck appointment. I hope this is helpful! If you're hoping to get more in depth information or want to discuss his current entire treatment plan, that would be something we could do in a consult. Thanks for choosing Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that he is not feeling well. The symptoms you are describing could be due to multiple possibilities. If you have recently switched his food or added in a new treat it could be dietary indiscretion causing this. If this were the case, I would withhold food for 12 hours and introduce a bland diet as outlined below. If, however, there has been no recent switch to his food and he has been on the same thing his whole life this is likely something else. My recommendation would be to have a veterinarian take a look at him and run some testing such as blood work to see if there are any concerning changes that need to be addressed. If you are concerned about money, then you can start the bland diet as outlined below but if the vomiting and lethargy persist for more than 24 hours I would strongly recommend he be seen by a vet. CareCredit is a good option to look into. This option will allow you to put Veterinary expenses on a line of credit specifically for that purpose and you will pay Care Credit on a monthly basis. I would call and check to see if the vet clinic accepts Care Credit First. If he is one that choose toys and things that he shouldn't, then there is a chance this could also be a intestinal foreign body obstruction. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any other concerns. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend initiating a bland diet as outlined below. As long as she is not lethargic then this is fine to monitor for at least 24 to 48 hours. If there is no improvement or the symptoms worsen then I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate Diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I will be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Pancreatitis is a very tricky disease and has two diatcint presentations. There is the acute form where they are incredibly sick, non stop vomiting or dirrhoea and require hospitalisation for intensive support. There is the second form which is chronic and requires home care and support. Potentially lifetime changes to food types which are bland and low in fat. Here is an amazing resource to understanding pancreatitis in 5 minutes; https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-minutes-to-understanding-pancreatitis-in-dogs/ Pancreatitis requires a change in food, you can do as your vet prescribed and I recommend 1/3 chicken and 2/3 white rice. Fed Ina umiaks portions to your regular dog food, for at least one week. You can also check out home cooked diets here https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-create-a-balanced-homemade-diet-for-your-pet/ A simpler option for you would be hills I/d low fat which can be purchased from your vet or online. I am happy to discuss this further in a private consult or if you would Like to post as many questions as you need on the forum we can continue to support you as much as you need.