I have a business relationship with a nice woman who has a 10 year old JRT diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis.

The dog had a serious bacterial or other type (parasitic maybe) intestinal/stomach infection (sorry for the vagueness here, but I only talked to her once about this)which resulted in a long distance trip to an emergency care animal hopital, and eventually ended in surgery. The dog had gallstones (removed), and has had other prior surgeries to remove gallstones.

The dog is recovering at home now, but has been diagnosed w/ chronic pancreatitis. Vet has recommended Science Diet low-fat and low-protein formulation. The dog has been home for 2 weeks now and is not himself yet.

Does anyone have any other recommendations for this dog's diet? I did a search here on pancreatitis but didn't come up w/ anything useful.

Is this woman open to seeing a holistic vet? For something like this, and given the dog's history, that's probably where I'd go to find a better diet alternative. I'm sure there has to be one

Yes, I'm sure that there has to be a better alternative to SD also. I'll ask her re the vet, and in the meantime, I'll see if I can dig up anything useful on the internet...

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

I have a business relationship with a nice woman who has a 10 year old JRT diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis.

The dog had a serious bacterial or other type (parasitic maybe) intestinal/stomach infection (sorry for the vagueness here, but I only talked to her once about this)which resulted in a long distance trip to an emergency care animal hopital, and eventually ended in surgery. The dog had gallstones (removed), and has had other prior surgeries to remove gallstones.

The dog is recovering at home now, but has been diagnosed w/ chronic pancreatitis. Vet has recommended Science Diet low-fat and low-protein formulation. The dog has been home for 2 weeks now and is not himself yet.

Does anyone have any other recommendations for this dog's diet? I did a search here on pancreatitis but didn't come up w/ anything useful.

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

Lew Olson has a very good overview there (diet too), and she is terrific.

I will also go through Mary Strauss's articles, but I can't until tonight.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

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

Lew Olson has a very good overview there (diet too), and she is terrific.

Connie, thanks! Coincidentally, I just found that article myself and emailed her the link. Looks like a simple, good diet. I also expounded a bit on the evils of SD. I think she will appreciate this info. That website looks very interesting. I will be checking out more on it when I have the time...

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

That website looks very interesting. I will be checking out more on it when I have the time...

Lew Olson is wonderful -- in the Mary Strauss category of excellence in canine nutrition info, IMHO.

Lew Olson has helped me solve diet and supplement issues for a number of dogs over the years, she's great.

I used to be on an e-mail discussion group dedicate to EPI. It was very informational . It's was almost over welming . I lost the site information during my move and divorce .

My first K9 partner had EPI (11 years ago) . The vets put him on "perscription" Science Diet . Forgot the 2 letters after Science Diet . I think it was ID or LP. It was a low fat dry dog food. Along with the enzymes . I had my doubts about Science Diet from the get go but I tried the Vet's advice.

My K9 was a very high energy , tall and long GSD . Had a more MAL personality. Because of this I had a big problem keeping weight on him . His stools were good but his weight was low and his coat was awful . I then did a 50/50 mix SD and a premium Dry dog food with a higher fat content . I also found through trial and error that wetting the food , adding the enzymes and lettting it sit for 10-15 minutes before feeding worked better.

A common problem with EPI is getting the right balance of enough food and enough enzyme . You have to watch the dog's stool carefully(fun) .

I fed 3 times a day 2-3 cups each feeding . Varied day to day .

The dogs weight came back on (was always on skinny side though) and his coat improved .

It seems like dogs with EPI have there own unique problems related to feeding them and their diets are all different . That's the trick finding the right diet for your dog . Talking to more people who have dealt with EPI helped me . Through all the info I founds nuggets of advice that I combined that worked out for my dog .

It's a pain but when you get the feeding right the dogs can live a very happy problem free life .