Cj

[amholmesy]

Re: Cj

Hi Jen

Yes CJ just LOVES those jerky treats! How many do you give Pippa a day? I could not believe Spar had them I am going back today to buy the rest of them as they only come in small packets and sometimes Spar dont get things back in stock for ages.

Jane Yes his eye is a lot better thanks for checking on us! Hope Frnaklin is feeling better and that you got the time change sorted ok.

Louise
Thanks for your wishes too! I have been following your thread but have not had lots of time to post but I see you are having the same problem as me with weight and high numbers.

I have been emailing Marlies - specialist vet who has been helping with CJ and she says she would prefer if we could keep him on the Royal Canin Gastro Intest. Low fat dry food as its the best for for dogs with Pancreatitis - he has a mild form. The reason is that it is low fat and low fibre which is good for pancreatitis. However its higher in carbs than the diabetic food and thats why his numbers are higher. So I am going to give this food a chance over the next week but am increasing insulin to 5iu twice a day ( I also spoke to my vets about this and they agree). Marlies says that once you work out how many calories Cj needs then work out calories for new food and then adjust insulin as needed. She suggests see after 3 days but CJ takes a bit longer to adjust so I will see after 4-5 days and then increase again by 1/2 unit. If after 10 days or so his numbers are not a bit more stable then its time to change food to diabetic or weight control as she suggested even though they are higher in fibre.

I also emailed Royal Canin here in SA and they have been very helpful providing me with number of calories in each food we are looking at changing to and % of fibre and fat etc.

SO Louise maybe you should contact the supplier of the food you give Munchie and see what they say .

The real problem is that he is probally not getting enough insulin so maybe talk to your vet and increase by 1/2 a unit like I am doing. remember to just change one thing at a time so if you change food dont change insulin straight away. If food is same for 3-5 days and he is still very high then I would up his dose slowly. Maybe you need to get a food lower in carbs? Just a few thoughts for you.

Thanks everyone! will see how my little monkey pirate does over the next few days on higher dose! Fingers crossed!!!

xx

[amholmesy]

Re: Cj

Hi everybody

Just wondered if any of you are doing home cooked meals and taking into account pancreatitis as well as the diabetes??

The food CJ is on now is just too high in carbs but the diabetic food has too much fibre which is also not good for him.

Thanks
xx

[LuvMyMunchie]

Re: Cj

Hi Ann-Marie,

I see we have similar problems with our dogs again. My Munchie was just diagnosed with mild, chronic pancreatitis for the first time ever after his diabetes diagnosis last month.

I have been doing a home cooked diet that was formulated by a veterinary nutritionist from U.C. Davis since 2008 as Munch has hypertriglyceridemia but never had pancreatitis prior to now. It contained next to nothing as far as fiber goes but is quite high carbwise and not diabetes friendly because it had lots of white rice. It was extremely low fat. He had an attack of mild pancreatitis anyway.

I am currently trying a commercial food that is lower in carbs than his former home cooked Rx diet but also contains more fat than I like. For whatever reason his numbers are even worse now but I know he has a long way to go with insulin. He started turning up his nose at this food in the morning so I'm back to the drawing board again.

Juggling more than one health issue and getting the right food is challenging. What's good for diabetes isn't always so great for GI problems or allergies. My only suggestion would be to consult with a canine nutritionist who would take health conditions into consideration and help you balance out the food and vitamin content.

Louise

[jesse girl]

Re: Cj

my jesse is on a partially raw diet lean beef heart hard boiled eggs processed collard greens and cooked yams with added supplements minerals and vitamins

jesse did have sever pancreatitis i am starting to think the diabetes itself is causing the pancreatitis so the better the regulation the better the outcome for that so it maybe finding a food that is best with regulation and lower in fat

jesses diet has worked for her

[amholmesy]

Re: Cj

Thanks Louise and Jesse Girl

I was just with the vet and we decided that if after one more week on the dry food he is on for his pancreas his numbers do not improve ( we are increasing insulin tomorrow) then I am going to try the home cooking. There is a homeopathic vet about 1/2 hour away who will work out a balance diet on home cooked for him with all nutrients he needs so my vet suggested trying her if we dont have any luck with the dry food.

Its such a problem the pancreatitis as it restricts the food we can give them - most diabetic foods have high fibre which is not good for our boys or girls!

Will see how it goes and let you all know. Thanks for replying.

xx

[LuvMyMunchie]

Re: Cj

Wish you lots of success with the home cooking if you decide to go that route. It can be a lot of work but will be well worth the effort when you see positive results with CJ. Glad you will have someone formulating a balanced diet for you. There's an abundance of not necessarily healthy diets floating around on the internet, some of them quite antiquated and not up to today's doggie nutritional standards.

Louise

[momofdecker]

Re: Cj

Anne Marie, I was wondering if you've considered feeding a home cooked diet for a temporary period, say two weeks, to ease the pancreatitis? Then transition back to dry food for the diabetes? Seems if the pancreatitis is in the mix, Cj's bg numbers may bounce around a bit depending on whether the pancreatitis is flared up or not. Will your vet be re-testing to see if the pancreatitis has cleared at all?

Decker's pancreatitis test numbers went from 404 in late June to 57 (normal range) at his re-test in August. But we found that with Decker we still have to water down his dry food and let it set so it's good and soggy - otherwise he will be very gassy after eating.

[amholmesy]

Re: Cj

Thanks Louise ,
I just hope the increase in insulin works and I don't have to go the home cooked route. But I will if I have to!! Hope your Munchie is feeling better and his nos are coming down.

Holli thanks for your advice . Cj is oing ok with the pancreatitis at the moment (fingers crossed ) its just that Marlies the referral vet who specialises in pancreatitis wants him to stay on the low fat and fibre diet ie royal canin Gastro intestinal low fat dry food. She thinks I will be able to regulate him eventually on this food. I am worried because of the weight loss but am willing to try for another week then I will try home cooking for him. His pancreatitis is not flared up at the moment but no he had not been checked since I was there about 2 months ago.

I agree about watering down the dry food I mix in some heated up chicken broth and he loves it. I have downloaded the book you suggested raw nutrition lew Olsen so will have suggestions for the homeopathic vet when I go to see her re CJ's diet.

Thanks for checking on us I have been following your thread on Decker but don't know enough about steroids and all the side effects to comment. Hope that it helps your boy to feel better which in turn helps you to not stress so much about him. Thanks again. Xx

[jenny]

Re: Cj

Hi Jen

Yes CJ just LOVES those jerky treats! How many do you give Pippa a day?

xx

Hi Anne Marie, Pippa gets upto 4 of the little squares per day! So pleased that CJ and Toffee love them too.

Hoping too that the increased insulin helps to get his numbers lower and some weight back on. I have no experience of home cooked, and would just be worried for you that Mr Picky would run you ragged with the extra work and him changing his mind about what and what not he will eat, sounds like it would be complicated, but I know what you mean and if its the way forward them you will manage it!!!. Great though that CJ has such a good team of experts looking after him.

Come on CJ, lets have you regulated, or at least a bit fattened up by christmas! I month to go laddie.

Hugs to you both, jen xxx.

[Judi]

Re: Cj

I'm with Jenny, here is to hoping CJ fattens up before Christmas! hugs, Judi

[amholmesy]

Re: Cj

Jen and Judi

Thanks yes I really need to fatten him up! Just started the home cooked food for him tonight! He vomited the dry food up this morning so I just decided to go for it . Went out and bought all the supplements he needs ( from book holli suggested raw nutrition for dogs by lew Olsen ). From health shop. Then bought chicken livers and all stuff that they recommend for sample diets. He loved the food this evening even with all the vitamins and enzymes and fish oil and Vit e and Vit b complex and spiralina and calcium and Vit c and the list goes on .... And on.....but he ate it and did not vomit! Yeah... Hope it lasts ..

Decided not to tell the vet until I know he is going to continue eating it and he keeps it down .i reduced his insulin by .5 just in case and will check him before bed. There is no carbs except low GI ones like courgettes and brocolli spinach etc so it's going to be better for him and the low fat and fibre will help his pancreas.

Work in progress as they say here

Xx
Ps he still gets the fish jerky thanks Jen. Have been giving him 4 pieces as well same as Pippa.

[Linda1]

Re: Cj

Hope the new diet works for CJ!

[amholmesy]

Re: Cj

Thanks Linda

Me too!! It's a lot of work but worth it if it makes him feel better and gets his numbers down . Hope jake is doing ok.
X

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Cj

Hi Anne-Marie,

I saw a posting of yours over on Franklin's mum thread, and thought I would share a link that I use regarding a low Glycemic foods.

I give Abby a dehydrated food that has no grains, and I did a lot of research of low glycemic foods that I could add to her diet that would level out her curve. I currently give millet, but lentils is another that has high protein, but low glycemic. For Abby, I didn't think it raised her enough, because she has a tendency to drop after she eats.

http://www.lowgihealth.com.au/glycem...list-of-foods/

I initially had tried Quinoa and Lentils, and she would raise to quickly, so I knew I needed a higher Glycemic food to stop her drop.

So glad that Cj loves his food. I know when I home prepared Abby's foods she too loved it, but she really likers her dehydrated food as well

Barb

[amholmesy]

Re: Cj

Thanks Barb

Yes I noticed the same with CJ he is dropping a lot in Hour 3 even with 2 feeds am and pm ( to help pancreas). I gave him a little barley last night but it did not raise him enough, I will try and get the millet today. How much do you give Abby? Glad Abby likes her dehydrated food it sounds a lot easier than home cooking. I just need to get into a routine but I am cooking veggies just before he eats - its getting it all together and early in the morning !!!

By the way what is dehydrated food? You really seem to have it all under control with Abby Thanks for your tip on the millet I really appreciate it will let you know how it works for CJ. xxx hugs