What soft food for small dogs with no teeth and pancreatitis?

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!

Yes, this is a great food to give a dog with pancreatitis. It is actually my first choice. I would recommend doing small meals every 4-6 hours and see if your dog can keep that down. If you're feeding the canned food do about 3 tablespoons to start and then slowly increase the amount you are giving him until he is recovered. If you're feeding the dry food do it in half cup increments and then slowly increase the amount you are giving him if he is able to keep it down. I would not recommend adding milk to the diet as this could further irritate the stomach. I hope this helps. Best of luck. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there. If you just need something to give her for a short time (up to a week or two), you could feed her plain boiled chicken and rice - this is bland and very low in fat, and shouldn't upset her stomach while you're waiting to be able to get her prescription diet again.

The current recall has been confined to a specific range of the hills canned/wet diets and if she has been doing well on the active longevity kibble with no flare ups of pancreatitis I would be very slow to consider changing as this may trigger relapses which may be more difficult to control as she is getting older. A very low fat and restricted diet is recommended in pancreatitis patients, this is difficult to prepare accurately at home over the long term to maintain a correctly balanced diet. My preferred choice in such patients is royal canin gastrointestinal low fat or calibra gastro-pancreas but many light and senior diets are also ok in stable cases

Usually I recommend a low fat gastrointestinal food for pancreatitis as it is easily digested with minimum fat content. Royal canin does a feline wet GI food. Hills and specific do a similar option. You can get these from your vet. If your cat also has deficiency in pancreatic enzymes these may need supplemented.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The soft stools are not normal. Also, the most important thing is to feed a low fat highly digestible diet. My own dog has a long history of pancreatitis so I have been through this for a long time. The best diet out there for dogs with pancreatitis is the Royal canin gastrointestinal low fat diet. I would recommend that you consider switching to a more balanced prescription diet like that one. There is no known benefit in feeding a grain free diet. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the problem is since I do not have the lab work in front of me. If she is having symptoms of pancreatitis she most likely needs medications to help relieve these symptoms along with initiating a low fat diet. I would also want to know why she is now developing pancreatitis and at her age, I would strongly recommend an abdominal ultrasound if she is not improving. Prescription diets like Hills low fat I/D might be the best for her long term. If you have not initiated a bland diet, please follow my guide below. If there is no improvement or she worsens, you should take her back to your veterinarian for a recheck, further diagnostics and treatment. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed. 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.