Feeding Dogs With Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease affecting the pancreas, whose symptoms vary depending on the course, the amount of pancreatic tissue affected and its cause. Broadly speaking, treatment is symptomatic and dietary.

The dietary side is based on reducing pancreatic juice secretion as far as possible. That secretion is stimulated primarily by the amount of fat in the diet and, to a lesser but not negligible extent, by the amount of protein.

The higher these are, the more fluid the pancreas will secrete, which could bring on an acute episode in chronic pancreatitis or a relapse after acute pancreatitis.

Guidelines for Choosing a Commercial Product for Dogs With Pancreatitis

The typical profile of the patient presenting with this is fairly consistent: usually middle-aged, overweight dogs. In principle the nutritional approach is simple, since it is really just a matter of restricting fat and protein, the latter moderately.

In principle a light formulation would be a very useful option, since as well as avoiding relapses it will help our dogs maintain a normal weight; the sheer variety the market offers, though, makes it hugely important to be well informed when choosing a diet for our animal.

Low-fat, low-protein products support our animals' wellbeing, but now it is time to put numbers to these statements. The recommended percentages for each nutrient are:

• Protein: 23%
• Fat: 13%

These are based on the fat and protein content of prescription kibbles specific to intestinal conditions. They will not necessarily work in absolutely every animal, but they will work in most (this will then depend on individual sensitivity).

You can use this information to look for another product that matches the required characteristics and is not described here simply because it is more accessible, cheaper, or you simply prefer it.

Prescription Kibbles

These are products made specifically to cover the feeding needs of an animal with a particular condition. In the case of pancreatitis there are no products specific to this condition, since it falls under intestinal prescription products. The options indicated, with their respective manufacturer, are (in alphabetical order):

• Advance Gastroenteric: Has more protein and fat than the others (25.5% and 12.2% respectively). It may be prescribed and would be suitable.
• Hill's I/D: "Prescription Diet i/d Canine Sensitive is a unique solution to help manage digestive upset and food sensitivities." That is the claim on their own website. As mentioned, it is not specific to pancreatic problems, but its low-fat, moderate-protein formulation prevents the disease from developing.
• Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Low Fat: Less fat and less protein than the previous one (22% protein and 7% fat). It makes similar claims to the previous one; it is not pancreas-specific, but it works for this case.

There are undoubtedly more prescription manufacturers suitable for this condition, but these are the most accessible, since they are fairly well known and easy to get hold of. What is more, these are very likely the ones our vet will prescribe, so they are entirely valid, though they are not the only options, as we will now see.

Suitable Options That Are Not Prescription

These are options I would recommend outside of prescription for this condition:

• Symply Light Senior: 23% protein and 10% fat. Its small amount of fat makes it a hugely interesting option for dogs of normal weight or overweight. It is also a formulation with good-quality ingredients that make it fairly digestible. The problem is that this is a brand with very little presence in Spain and can be hard to get hold of.
• Lily's Kitchen: Broadly speaking this is a brand that sits between 22-25% protein and 11-13% fat. Within this brand, for the digestibility of its proteins, I would recommend Chicken & Duck Dry Food, with 23.5% protein and 12% fat. It too uses good-quality ingredients. It is also an easier brand to get hold of than the previous one, but I would still recommend it second, since its fat content is a little higher.
• Nath Weight Control: 26% protein and 7% fat. It is the only product in this brand I would recommend for this case, since the rest have considerably more fat.

Commercial Wet Food for Pancreatitis

With this kind of product a problem arises in knowing how much fat and protein it actually has. The percentages are often given on an as-fed basis, that is, including the moisture. So in a product with 10% protein and 80% moisture, that percentage on a dry-matter basis will be far higher than that 10%.

Since there are many options that can prove suitable and will be similar to the ones above (prescription and non-prescription), to make choosing easier we are going to leave a table so converting from as-fed to dry matter is instant.

Percentage of fat or protein as fed Percentage of moisture Percentage of fat or protein on a dry-matter basis X 70 3.33 times X Y 75 4 times Y Z 80 5 times Z

It seems that wet food can use higher protein values than dry food; for example, Royal Canin Low Fat wet uses 30% protein on a dry-matter basis and Hill's around 25%. As for fat, which is more important to reduce for this disease, Hill's sits at around 13% and Royal Canin Low Fat around 8%. Both formulations would allow wet feeding without the disease appearing.

If you want to consider products other than prescription ones, the dry-matter limit values we should set are 25% protein and 13% fat, to be able to guarantee they will not disagree with our dog.

Home-Made Cooked Food for Dogs With Pancreatitis

Given that this is exceptional feeding for a medical situation, it is best to ask our vet to formulate it using the ingredients we can access most easily.

Broadly speaking there are a number of guidelines they follow:

1. Use lean cuts of meat. That is, with no skin or fat, removing as much as can be trimmed off by hand.
2. Giving more weight to carbohydrate sources: Because of their use in human cooking, I favour tubers, since their cooking times are fairly well known and they are very digestible.
3. As with a home-made diet for a healthy dog, avoid seasonings or marinades on the foods to be given.

Raw Food for Dogs With Pancreatitis

This dietary option is entirely contraindicated for animals with pancreatitis, for a number of reasons:

1. Formulations, whether commercial or found online, are extremely high in protein and fat, precisely the nutrients that need restricting.
2. Raw carbohydrates are either indigestible, such as tubers, or poorly digestible, such as grains, so if these are increased in the formulation, it encourages abnormal digestion and other problems such as diarrhoea can appear.
3. The microbiological load of these foods, not being cooked, can be dangerous for the pancreas. Under normal conditions this organ can prevent infections travelling up the pancreatic duct thanks to the action of the fluid it secretes itself. In this case, though, we have a pancreas that is already compromised combined with food carrying more microorganisms than usual, which together make for a major risk factor.