Pancreatitis in the dog. Dr. Dan explains.

Hi everyone!


I hope you and your dog are well. Today I am talking about pancreatitis in the dog. Pancreatitis is a very common disease for dog to have. Pancreatitis is inflammation of and pancreas.



The pancreas is a very important organ for the dog. The pancreas has two major functions. The pancreas helps digest food that the dog eats, and the pancreas produces insulin that helps manage the blood glucose of a dog.


The cause of most pancreatitis cases are not known, but we do believe a high fatty meal or unhealthy meal may drive the development of pancreatitis. Pancreatitis will cause abdominal pain and nausea in the dog. This will cause the dog to vomit, not want to eat or drink and they may be restless from the abdominal pain.



If your dog has pancreatitis, a veterinarian is need to treat the disease. Pancreatitis can be very serious and gone untreated it can be life threatening. A veterinarian will hospitalize your dog for a few days. Based on the symptoms and lab work, your veterinarian will give IV fluids to help hydrated, stomach and intestinal medications for the nausea, and possibly antibiotics.



Once a dog recovers from pancreatitis, a vet likes to keep dog's with a previous case of pancreatitis on a low fat diet long term. We believe this may help prevent the dog from getting pancreatitis in the future or again.


Pancreatitis is diagnosed with lab work like a cPL. The cPL is a blood test that tests for the canine pancreatic lipase enzyme. If a dog has a positive cPL test, there is a very high chance the dog has pancreatitis. Other tests should be completed like a full lab panel, x-ray, and ultrasound to make sure the correct diagnose is reached and to make sure nothing else is missed.



I really hope this video is helpful, guys. I hope you are all well.


*As always guys, this content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with your local veterinarian for all your pet health needs.