# Mini Schnauzer diet change due to pancreatitis



## lovesmyschnauzers (Mar 4, 2010)

I have an almost 4 year old white mini schnauzer, Riley. He has always been on a diet of Orijen 6-Fish. He never eats any table scraps and gets only Mother Nature dog treats. He recently was diagnosed with pancreatitis. His veterinarian said to put him on a low fat (5-10% crude fat), low carb diet. I bought California Natural Low Fat food, and Gentle Digest to help with digestion. I also found Wellness Core Weight Management which has low fat. BUT, I would really like to start making home made food for him. If anyone has experience with this type of thing...I'd like to know 1) If there is anything important I need to know about pancreatitis that my vet didn't tell me. 2) Does anyone have some low fat, low carb recipes that I can make from home for Riley. Thanks for your help!


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

I have nothing for you on home cooking. But, I happened to have a lot of articles and whatnot on canine pancreatitis from veterinary conferences. I thought this paragraph from one article would interest you.

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Dietary Management of Canine and Feline Pancreatitis
Atlantic Coast Veterinary Conference 2002
Kathryn E. Michel, DVM, MS, Dipl ACVN

Currently the recommendations for canine patients experiencing mild pancreatitis is to restrict food and water only in patients with significant vomiting and to return oral intake with a carbohydrate-rich, digestible, low fat diet as soon as possible. Recognize that most of the truly low fat diets currently available for dogs are weight reduction diets. They are often high in fiber (and therefore not very digestible) and are designed to be calorically restricted. This would make them a poor choice in a patient that had experience some deterioration in nutritional status during the course of their illness. There is one prescription diet that is the exception to this, Waltham Canine Low Fat. It comes in canned and dry versions and is incidentally the lowest fat dog food available making it a good choice for the convalescent pancreatitis patient.

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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

I have several clients that have dogs that have had recurrent issues with pancreatitis. Most are Miniature Schnauzers, although one is a Miniature Poodle. ALL of them, without exception, feed their dogs Hill's I/D (Intestinal Diet). They even feed their other dogs in the house the same diet. I see these dogs every month, some of them for years, and I have never thought that they looked sick or unhealthy.

The disease is painful and dangerous and if this Rx food keeps them looking and feeling good, then I can say it must be working for them.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/pancreatitis/

Also check dogaware.com. There might be some info on there. I would then look on dogwise for books on cooking specific diets targeted towards different health conditions.


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## kcathey (Mar 2, 2010)

Yes, DogAware has an absolutely great section on Pancreatitis and home diets for its support. Mary Straus, dogaware's owner, is the nutritional writer for the Whole Dog Journal. Two of my own vets have reviewed her information on gastro and pancreatitis issues, and wholeheartedly support her views and advice.

Causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatitis 

There is a section about half way down the page on "What to Feed In the Beginning". At the top of the page, she also links to other articles she's written for WDJ on Healthy Low Fat Diets, Sample Low Fat Diets, and Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Hope this helps - I've had schnauzers since 1981, and Mary's advice has been some of the best I've used along these lines.

For some sample low-fat recipes for pancreatic dogs, also on Mary's DogAware site, take at look at THIS PAGE. Toward the bottom you will see four sample diets compiled by Steve Brown. author of See Spot Live Longer, and Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet - Healthier Dog Food the ABC Way. These are the type recipes that I use for my Solo (though I don't feed raw bones), and he thrives on it. I'm also very careful to analyze his diet and balance his requirements over running two week periods against the NRC requirements to make sure that I meet or exceed all his requirements for various amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. (I'm a CPA and a habitual number cruncher, so it comes naturally... LOL)


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