The pancreas plays an important role in digestion. When this organ becomes inflamed, it’s called pancreatitis. The warning signs of pancreatitis aren’t always obvious. Your dog might throw up a few times in a day or seem lethargic. Or they might be lying down and refusing to eat. Not even their favorite treat can get them up and moving. If you suspect your dog may have pancreatitis, call your veterinarian or emergency vet immediately.
In This Article
Sometimes, pancreatitis is mistaken for less serious conditions. But since this condition can be life-threatening, it’s important to know the signs and act quickly. A suspected case of pancreatitis needs to be addressed by a veterinarian right away. Read on to learn about pancreatitis in dogs including the symptoms, causes, and treatment options.
What Is Pancreatitis?
Let’s start with what the pancreas does. “The pancreas is a small gland nestled between the stomach, liver, and gall bladder that helps your dog digest food and control blood sugar,” says Dr. Kelly Hood, DVM, in-house veterinary expert at Pet Portraits and consultant for California Dog Kitchen. The hormones released by the pancreas regulate your dog’s appetite and aid in digestion.
The pancreas also produces enzymes which break down sugars and fats. When the pancreas is functioning normally, the enzymes become active only when they reach the small intestine. In a dog with pancreatitis, however, the enzymes activate when they’re released, causing inflammation and damage to the pancreas, surrounding tissue, and other organs.
“When this happens, it leads to a lot of pain, which can cause your dog to vomit and also subsequently result in a loss of appetite,” she says. “In severe cases, the pancreas may start to digest itself, leading to serious health problems.”
What Are the Symptoms?
Pancreatitis can present in two ways: acute and chronic. An acute attack of pancreatitis means that it comes on suddenly, with no signs of the condition previously. Acute pancreatitis can cause damage to other organs if the inflammation spreads, potentially becoming a life-threatening situation.
Chronic pancreatitis is a condition that develops slowly, over time, and often without obvious signs of illness. This condition may result from repeated bouts of acute pancreatitis. Both acute and chronic pancreatitis can be mild or severe and cause pain.
Symptoms of pancreatitis include:
- Hunched back
- Repeated vomiting (either several times within a few hours or periodically over several days)
- Pain or distention of the abdomen (dog appears uncomfortable or bloated)
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Dehydration
- Weakness or lethargy
- Fever
Monitor your dog if they show one of these signs, and only infrequently. But if you notice more than one of these signs at once, contact your veterinarian. Timely care is critical to recovering from pancreatitis.
Keep in mind that dehydration is a serious and life-threatening condition that requires immediate veterinary care. Repeated vomiting or diarrhea can put your dog at risk of dehydration, which is when there’s greater fluid loss than fluid intake. Fever, along with metabolic issues such as kidney disease, can also lead to dehydration.
Dry mucous membranes such as gums are a quick way to check for dehydration. If your dog’s condition worsens or their diarrhea becomes bloody, dehydration can become an emergency. Have your dog examined by a veterinarian if they are lethargic, refuse to drink water, or can’t hold down water.
What Causes Pancreatitis?
One of the major causes of pancreatitis is feeding your dog a high-fat diet. Even just one large helping of fatty food in one sitting may be enough to trigger an attack of pancreatitis. In fact, the day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for pancreatitis-related emergency vet visits.
Dr. Hood recommends that you avoid giving your dog table scraps and ensure that garbage containers are sealed properly. If your dog is showing any signs of abdominal pain or a lack of appetite, the last thing you want to do is feed them fatty food. This is one of many reasons that giving your dog human food, as tempting as it may be, is not advisable.
Moreover, she notes that certain breeds with higher fat levels in their blood are more likely to develop pancreatitis. In some cases, there may be a genetic predisposition. For example, Miniature Schnauzers and some of the smaller toy and terrier breeds have a higher risk of pancreatitis.
Aside from genetics, other causes of pancreatitis include:
- A history of dietary indiscretion (meaning your dog will eat anything)
- Obesity
- Hypothyroidism (or other endocrine diseases)
- Severe blunt trauma
- Diabetes mellitus
- Certain medications or toxins
“Some medications and underlying health issues can also trigger pancreatitis,” Dr. Hood says. These include cholinesterase inhibitors, calcium, potassium bromide, phenobarbital, l-asparaginase, estrogen, salicylates, azathioprine, thiazide diuretics, and vinca alkaloids.
How Does a Veterinarian Diagnose Pancreatitis?
“As a vet, we can diagnose pancreatitis via the symptoms displayed, including pain in the mid to upper abdomen, medical history, blood tests, and ultrasound,” Dr. Hood explains. The vet will begin by taking your dog’s medical history and conducting a physical examination that includes their gums, stomach, heart, and body temperature. They will palpate your dog’s abdomen to see if there’s any pain or tenderness.
The vet will perform blood tests to measure pancreatic enzyme levels. An ultrasound or radiograph will help determine if there’s any inflammation in the region of the pancreas. They may also recommend using fine needle aspiration of the pancreas to confirm that your dog has pancreatitis. However, it’s important to note that negative results do not rule out pancreatitis since the inflammatory response may be confined to a particular location and, therefore, missed by this diagnostic test.
“Since there are other illnesses that cause similar symptoms, we might require multiple tests to properly confirm pancreatitis,” she adds. Because fine-needle aspiration requires anesthesia, it may not be justified in severe cases of pancreatitis. The combination of clinical findings can help your vet arrive at the most appropriate diagnosis.
What Are the Treatment Options?
Although there isn’t a direct cure for pancreatitis, mild cases have a good prognosis, and most dogs recover with timely care. When treating pancreatitis, the first consideration is managing pain and intervening to prevent further complications. The most common treatment and management options are:
- Intravenous (IV) fluid therapy in severe pancreatitis
- Vigorous monitoring of a worsening condition
- Antiemetic medication for vomiting to prevent dehydration
- Resting the pancreas by withholding food and water for 24 hours
- Antibiotics to treat or prevent a bacterial infection since the gut is compromised
Long-term management of pancreatitis includes:
- Vigilant monitoring of fat intake and not allowing table scraps
- Use of a prescription diet of gastrointestinal-supportive low-fat, or ultra-low fat, food
- Feed smaller, more frequent meals instead of one large meal
- Have amylase and lipase (which are digestive enzymes) levels checked by a veterinarian regularly
When treating dogs with acute pancreatitis, for a long time, the commonly-held advice was to withhold food for two to four days. However, we now know that it’s better to provide food sooner, especially if a dog has stopped vomiting but still does not want to eat. This is now recommended only in rare cases, when a dog fails to respond to more aggressive anti-vomiting treatments.
For dogs with severe cases of pancreatitis, feeding tubes can be helpful and there are now some more straightforward and effective options. Specifically, nasoesophageal tubes, which are thin tubes placed through a dog’s nose, are often used without needing sedation. Esophagostomy and gastronomy tubes are other options that do require anesthesia for placement, but when used appropriately, can offer more flexibility in the types of food you can feed a dog during treatment.
Accordingly, the treatment for pancreatitis depends on the severity of the condition. “Mild cases may only need rest, an anti-emetic, and a low-fat diet,” Dr. Hood says. “Severe cases require hospitalization, IV fluids, and medications for pain and nausea.”
How Do You Prevent and Manage Pancreatitis?
“The best prevention is to keep your dog away from trash and fatty foods,” Dr. Hood says. She also recommends booking regular vet checkups to help catch early signs of disease and ensure your pup is healthy. Early intervention can also help prevent complications if your dog becomes ill.
If pancreatitis is caused by diet, “you can lower the risk by feeding a low-fat diet and avoid giving your dog table scraps,” she says. “Don’t let puppy eyes fool you and create a habit of giving your dog leftovers.” Keeping your dog at a healthy weight will reduce inflammation overall.
Be mindful of the treats you’re feeding your dog. A high-fat meal can trigger a recurrence of pancreatitis even if it wasn’t the initial cause of this condition. Some dogs may need to be on a veterinary prescription diet for the rest of their lives.
In addition, supplements may be used to prevent or manage pancreatitis in dogs. For example, fish oil, although high in fat content, is thought to lower blood lipid levels, especially when given with vitamin E. Make sure to speak to your veterinarian before giving your dog supplements.
Similarly, some vets believe that digestive enzyme supplements with pancreatin can help some (not all) dogs by reducing the work of the pancreas and inhibiting pancreatic secretion. These come in over-the-counter strength as well as prescription strength. However, it’s important to note that pancreatitis is a serious condition and that home remedies aren’t a substitute for veterinary care.
This article is intended solely as general guidance, and does not constitute health or other professional advice. Individual situations and applicable laws vary by jurisdiction, and you are encouraged to obtain appropriate advice from qualified professionals in the applicable jurisdictions. We make no representations or warranties concerning any course of action taken by any person following or otherwise using the information offered or provided in this article, including any such information associated with and provided in connection with third-party products, and we will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages that may result, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death.