lol, I know!  That's kinda what I said, ratties are just cuddle bums!!  But then she kinda looked for other ways to figure out if he was unually cold, like asking if he sits on tile or linoleum (which he refuses too!) ... I think being cold was a symptom for the thyroid problem...

Bless his heart!  I'm so sorry he's dealing with some health issues (and you too).  I have an underactive thyroid and take synthroid every morning.  I can't really tell a difference, as I'm still overweight, cranky, and moody.   But, thanks to having hot flashes, I'm not cold all the time. 

I hope he gets to feeling better soon.

About the pancriatitis, I had a bichon who had chronic pancriatitis, and my vet put him on Canine I/D which really worked.  I gave him the dry forumula, and he loved it.  I also discovered that whenever I was stressed out, Sammy would get one of his pancriatitis attacks, usually mild, but his first attack was the most concerning.  It happened on a weekend and I had to bring him to the 24-hour emergency vet clinic.  Basically, what I did for him, over the years, was to never, I mean never, feed him ANY people-food or anything (even dog biscuits) except his own Canine I/D.  Then, in a 4-year timespan, he may have had 4 attacks, all mild.  But, again, if I remained calm, and kept him on the Canine I/D, he never had an episode.

Posted By kimrose on 03/26/2008 12:13 PM
Thanks Brittany I may just call a holistic vet, that's a good idea... can't charge for a phone call right?!

Before I found this site and learned about foods, Mic was eating Pedigree... I went through a lot of food changes before we settled on EVO, he just has allergy issues and was having lots of problems...

My Sasha saw a holistic vet and she's the one who told me to home cook her food. I can't understand why your vet says no people food - does he sell the I/D there or something? Even my own regular vet said, when Sasha had pancreatitis attacks, to only give her white rice and chicken breast - that's people food!! You just have to be careful of fatty foods when babies have pancreatitis!

Sent! 

Kim, is the food your vet gave you Hill's Canine ID?  I just looked it up on their website....to put it bluntly - it's gross.  Lots of corn and chicken by-product meal...

http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/products/productDetails.hjsp?PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524441760640

For the Nutritional Management of Dogs with Gastrointestinal Disorders.

Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders affect the stomach and intestines, causing painful symptoms and problems with your dog’s overall health. Some of the more common symptoms include vomiting, regurgitation, flatulence, weakness, diarrhea or constipation. Prescription Diet® i/d® Canine dog food is a highly digestible formula created specifically to help manage dogs with GI disorders. There are several types of GI disorders that affect dogs, including colitis, constipation/diarrhea, gastroenteritis and pancreatitis. The nutritional formulation of Prescription Diet® i/d® may also be useful for pets with a variety of conditions.

Mitzy's Mom - thank you for taking the words right out of my mouth!!  AND FYI - ethoxyquin is a known CARCINOGEN!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/toxicology_of_bha.htm

It's why I NEVER feed Science Diet and try to deter people who do.

Wow,  that's alot for you and Mic to deal with.  I'm with you on the prescription i/d food,   I had to feed Oscar two cans of it during his recent illness and I was less than impressed.   It didn't smell good at all but I had no problem feeding it since it had a purpose and was temporary.  I couldn't feed it for the rest of his life though.  I would stick to the vets plan for 3 weeks and hope it helps.  Hopefully his blood test results will improve by then.  If your vet ends up recommending prescription food for life,  I would seriously consider a consult at  http://www.betterdogcare.com/      She is very educated about nutrition and animal care and can tailor a specific diet for Mic, whether it be commercial dog food or home prepared.  Her prices look reasonable too, certainly less than multiple trips to the vet. Also, you could probably get some good advice at her chat site/board,   http://www.ourdogsonline.com/  , in the nutrition forum.  I've found lots of good info there. Hopefully the pancreatitis was a one time thing and not chronic.  And I'm with Sue on the people food.  I'm sure that the vet says no to it because some people would be giving fried foods or roast beef with gravy, or other fatty food so it's just safer to say no to all people food. Also, if you haven't already done so, get a copy of the blood test results.  It's good to have that info at your fingertips if you want to do research or if you get a consult,  they'll want that info too.  Good luck to you and Mic.

wow, you make it sound so easy!!

NO ONIONS!  And you can add fruit, too.  Sasha liked blueberries and bananas and strawberres.  But NO GRAPES, either!!

Kimrose asked what a pancriatitis "attack" is like.   Actually, that's just my wording for it ("attack".  The symptoms I noticed were, wining alot, tail down or between the legs, not really eating or drinking, and acting "clingy".  Basically, it's painful for the dog.  Sammy's first attack was very painful, but over the 4 years since that first one, I learned to recognize the symptoms early on, so those subsequent occurrences never escalated.

My vet did blood work, and put Sammy on the Canine I/D.  The vet also said it would be ok to give Sammy 1/2 a Pepcid at the first sign of an attack to help calm his tummy, but I would definitely check with your vet first, before doing that with your doggie.

- Wendy

good grief, I just read my post and noticed that a closing parenthesis result in an emoticon!