The pancreas is a gland that produces insulin and a number of enzymes involved in the digestion of fat, carbohydrates, and protein. The quality of dog’s diet may continually strain the pancreas causing the organ to become inflamed. The canine digestive process was designed to rely on enzymes and other probiotic elements in the foods they eat. However these elements are not present in modern dog foods creating the conditions in dog’s digestive process that overtime result in the onset of various chronic conditions including pancreatitis.
Inflammation in the pancreas can additionally occur as a sudden acute problem, particularly in overweight dogs on a high-fat diet or those that suddenly scavenge some fatty food. Certain antibiotics, anti-epileptic medicines, and diuretics can predispose dogs to pancreatitis. And some infections and parasites may also be contributory factors. A common mistake dog owners make is to avoid a professional diagnosis to a drop in their pet’s physical steadiness. Identifying the early stages of chronic disease typically allows lifestyle changes that remedy the conditions causing the health issue.
Pancreatitis causes pain creating symptoms that a fairly apparent. Affected dogs develop pain in the front area of the abdomen so that they sometimes adopt the “praying “ position, where they lie down at the front end but lift up their back legs to try to relieve their pain. The inflammation can be so severe that it damages the pancreas and other organs, makes the affected dog very weak, and induces severe vomiting. Other symptoms, relating to secondary problems in other parts of the body, include labored breathing and jaundice.
Diagnosis is based on blood tests that generally show an exceptionally high level of enzymes amylase and lipase in the blood. For this reason adding a probiotic into the dog’s diet with pancreatitis may cause abrupt nausea resulting from the additional enzymes being added to already high levels. Therefor the initial treatment should target relieving the inflamed pancreas, after enzyme levels return to normal adding a probiotic dog supplement into the diet reduces strain on the pancreas preventing regression.