11/22/2024
📢 A tip from (sweet) Tater about the upcoming "howliday!"
He was researching Thanksgiving because it'll be his first one 🤓 and found out that extra tasty food can be really dangerous. He'd like you to be sure to avoid sharing things like deep-fried turkey along with the usual Hard No, pet-toxic foods and cooked bones!
🧐 What is pancreatitis?
Acute (sudden onset, typically what vets see around this holiday) and chronic (recurring, chronic condition) inflammation of the pancreas. This is VERY painful and life-threatening! Permanent damage or death can occur, it's important to know the signs and get your pet emergency care immediately if seen, and best to avoid.
🤢 Symptoms
Most commonly, nausea, vomiting, fever, lethargy, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and decreased appetite. Dogs might stay in a "play bow" type position, head down and front paws out, rear end up as though standing, trying to alleviate pain. Severe symptoms include acute shock.
😟 Recovery?
Along with age and general health, depends on how severe the attack and how quickly treatment was obtained, as it causes digestive enzymes to go at other vital organs. Best results: dogs recover over two to three weeks and do not have chronic pancreatitis or other organ damage. Some dogs will recover but require lifetime management for chronic/relapsing pancreatitis. Unfortunately, severe attacks, delayed treatment, and underlying health issues can be fatal.
🍔 Causes
Though some cases appear out of nowhere, most are triggered by FATTY MEALS and corticosteroid use. While a lifetime of fatty foods can result in an attack, sudden, large fatty meals (consider the actual size of your dog's stomach compared to the "treats" you're giving) are likely to trigger an acute attack. As seen too often around indulgent meal based holidays, like Thanksgiving! 🦃
Please, treat feeding holiday fare you might think of as safer as seriously as you would cooked bones, grapes, chocolate, alcohol, and the usual list of toxic/dangerous foods! It might be a lean meat, for instance, technically, but not after we're through making it extra tasty. Avoid it entirely and give pets safe treats just for them, take extra care with elderly and toy sized dogs, keep guests on the same page and monitor children. We're all thankful for our pets, let's keep them with us and healthy for a long time to come! 💜
