Feeding Pets with Pancreatitis

by Lori Cameron June 30, 2021

Pancreatitis can be managed much easier when feeding a raw diet. The primary cause of pancreatitis in dogs is diet and stress. Foods that are high in fat and/or highly processed are hard for your dog to digest, and stress causes high levels of cortisol in the body (the stress hormone).

Feeding Pets with Pancreatitis

A pancreatic attack happens when the pancreas releases excessive amounts of digestive enzymes. The release of enzymes is so high that the enzymes actually begin to digest the pancreas itself, causing excessive pain and inflammation, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea.

Pancreatitis is a very serious health concern as the pancreas has two very important functions in the digestive system.

It secretes insulin which is important to regulating and balancing your pet’s blood sugar levels
It produces and secretes digestive enzymes – amylase, lipase, and protease

Feeding a diet that is void of all digestive enzymes and high in carbohydrates and preservatives is the largest contributing factor to this disease.

Most commercial pet food is lacking live enzymes as the heat used during cooking and the preservatives added to the food, render the food void of natural enzymes. This requires your pet’s pancreas to make an unnatural abundance of the digestive enzymes necessary to digest food. The cumulative effect of an overly processed diet, plus factors such as genetics and environment are all contributing factors to what causes the pancreatic attack.

The change in enzymes necessary for meat protein vs high carbohydrates can create an imbalance and lead to a pancreatic attack if done too quickly. For this reason we HIGHLY recommend dogs transition to the raw diet with a Probiotic and Digestive Enzyme supplement. The solution and insurance to preventing a pancreatic attack is to offer a diet rich in naturally occurring digestive enzymes, including highly digestible animal proteins and low in carbohydrates.

Supplementing with Freeze Dried Beef Pancreas

For dogs with an already damaged or diseased pancreas, offering Thrive Bovine Pancreatic Enzymes as a regular supplement to the raw food diet is essential to preventing future attacks. Historically, dogs ate the entire digestive tract of their prey including the pancreas, which contains an abundance of naturally occurring digestive enzymes, including amylase, lipase and protease.

Dietary and Lifestyle Modifications

Dogs with pancreatitis also benefit from a modified raw food diet that will help manage this condition better.

Recommendations include the following:

Choose raw meals with less than 10% fat (listed below)
Avoid higher fat proteins and excess red meats
Include a Digestive Enzyme with all raw meals - THRIVE Bovine Pancreatic Enzyme and Raw Fermented Goat Milk are great options
Feed your pet regularly, a minimum of 2x per day
Exercise your dog regularly

Best Low-Fat Options (all under 10% fat) are as follows: