How to Treat Pancreatitis in Canines

Canine pancreatitis is a disease where a dog’s pancreas becomes inflamed. The inflammation causes enzymes to leak and this can cause severe intestinal damage. Treating pancreatitis is important to help prevent further damage. It is important to know that pancreatitis should not be treated without consultation with your veterinarian. Pancreatitis symptoms can be similar to that of other stomach conditions and can only be diagnosed by a veterinarian.

Instructions

Mild Cases

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Withhold food for 24 hours for mild cases of pancreatitis. Mild pancreatitis is often caused by eating fatty foods. This allows any foods that are causing the symptoms to pass through. Essentially, this cleanses your dogs digestive system.




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Reintroduce food to your dog after 24 hours. Make sure that the meals are very small and that you give them to your dog frequently.




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Do not give your dog any kind of high-fat food while it is recovering from pancreatitis. Fatty food might be the reason that your dog developed pancreatitis in the first place and would be counteractive in helping your dog recover.

Moderate to Severe Cases

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Withhold food for 24 to 72 hours for moderate and severe cases of pancreatitis. Sometimes it may be necessary to withhold food even longer than 72 hours.




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Be prepared to leave your dog at the veterinarian. In these cases in which food is withheld for more than 24 hours, your dog will stay at the veterinarian for observation. Intravenous fluid therapy will be necessary to keep your dog hydrated. Dogs that cannot have food for five to six days need nutritional supplementation, which involves having a tube placed in the small intestines to administer food. In severe cases, a plasma transfusion may be needed.




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Make sure that the veterinarian office has your phone number. You will want to stay informed on how your dog is doing. If your dog takes a turn for the worse, your veterinarian will need to be in contact with you to determine what action to take. For legal reasons, veterinarians may need permission from the owner to treat the pet even with life-saving measures, such as transfusions.

Medication and Special Diets

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Give your dog medication that your veterinarian prescribes. Antiemetics, or antinausea medication, may be given to help treat pancreatitis. Other medications may include antibiotics, antacids and analgesics. If your veterinarian does prescribe medications, be sure to follow the directions precisely. If you are afraid you might forget, write notes to remind yourself.




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Follow a special diet if prescribed by your veterinarian. Dogs that are prone to pancreatitis will often be placed on a special diet. The diet will be low in fat and fed only in small amounts.




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Maintain your dog’s weight. Dogs are more susceptible to pancreatitis if they are overweight. A diet high in fat should be avoided also because dogs that have had pancreatitis before can be more prone to get it again.