Pancreatitis and diabetes in dogs: flare signs, food and recovery

Can pancreatitis cause diabetes in dogs?

The pancreas does two jobs. One part makes the enzymes that digest food, and another part makes insulin. Pancreatitis means the pancreas is inflamed, usually because those digestive enzymes switch on too early and start to damage the pancreas itself.

Pancreatitis and diabetes turn up together in dogs a lot. Repeated or long-lasting pancreatitis can destroy the cells that make insulin, and in some dogs that's how the diabetes started. Diabetes may also make pancreatitis more likely. Vets still debate which usually comes first, and for your dog it rarely changes what happens next.

What matters at home is that a flare can upset diabetes that was well controlled. An inflamed pancreas can make insulin work less well, and a dog who is vomiting or off his food can't eat the meals his insulin is planned around. That's why a flare in a diabetic dog always needs your vet, even when it looks mild.

If your dog has had pancreatitis, even once and years ago, tell every vet who treats him. It changes the advice on food, and it's one of the first things a vet thinks of when his sugar control slips.

Signs of a pancreatitis flare

The common signs are vomiting, not eating or only picking at food, a sore belly, diarrhoea, and being very tired or weak. Some dogs run a temperature or get dehydrated.

Belly pain is easy to miss. He may stand hunched, not want to be picked up, flinch or growl when you touch his tummy, keep getting up and lying down, or stretch with his front legs flat on the floor and his bottom in the air. Vets call that the prayer position.

Mild flares can be vague: a dog who is a bit quiet, eats less than usual or has loose stools. In a diabetic dog, sometimes the first clue is that his readings or his drinking change for no obvious reason.

A fatty meal, rich table scraps or a bin raid may be a trigger, but most cases have no clear cause. Tell your vet if he got into anything, and don't assume you caused it.

When it's urgent

Pancreatitis can be mild, or it can become life-threatening, and you can't tell which at home. In a diabetic dog, vomiting, refusing food or a sore belly all need a call to your vet now for instructions and to find out how quickly he needs to be seen.

Call before his next insulin is due if he hasn't eaten, and tell them whether he has already had it. My diabetic dog won't eat and diabetic dog vomiting explain why the insulin decision belongs to your vet.

Pancreatitis is one of the illnesses that can set off diabetic ketoacidosis. The signs often come together: vomiting, not eating, being very tired or weak, fast or deep breathing, and breath that smells sweet. Call your vet or an emergency clinic now. There is no safe way to treat ketoacidosis at home.

If a urine strip shows ketones, call your vet now, even if he seems well. If he also vomits, won't eat or is unusually tired or weak, go to a vet or emergency clinic now. Call ahead on the way if you can, but don't delay travel for a reply or another test.

If he collapses, has a seizure, is very weak, can’t stand, won’t respond or is struggling to breathe, go to an emergency vet now. The emergency page has what to tell them, and no emergency vet nearby helps if your clinic is closed.

What the vet will do

Your vet will ask what he's eaten, examine him and feel his belly. No single test proves pancreatitis, so vets put several things together: the signs, the exam, blood tests and often an ultrasound scan.

The blood test that helps most measures a lipase made by the pancreas. Clinics often run a quick version first and send blood to a lab to confirm it. Other blood tests check his sugar, ketones, hydration, kidneys, liver and blood fats. Pancreatitis can raise liver values too, and high liver enzymes in a diabetic dog explains what that can mean.

Treatment is mostly support while the pancreas settles: fluids for dehydration, medicine to stop the sickness, and pain relief, because vets assume a dog with pancreatitis is in pain even when he hides it. A mild flare may be managed at home. A dog who is vomiting a lot, dehydrated or unwell with his diabetes usually needs a stay in hospital, sometimes for a few days.

While he's ill, your vet will watch his sugar closely and may change his insulin until he's eating normally again. Follow the plan they give you when he comes home, and ask exactly what to do if he doesn't eat a meal.

Antibiotics usually aren't needed for pancreatitis. Your vet will decide whether anything else, such as treating raised blood fats or another illness, is part of the picture.

What to feed a dog with pancreatitis and diabetes

You may have heard that a dog with pancreatitis should be starved to rest the pancreas. That isn't how most vets treat it now. Food is usually held back only while vomiting can't be controlled, and feeding starts again early, often in hospital, because it helps the gut recover.

The food is usually a low-fat, easy-to-digest diet, given in small amounts at first. Your vet will tell you which food, how much and how often. For a diabetic dog, meals also need to fit his insulin, so ask how the feeding plan and the insulin plan go together while he's building back up.

A food chosen for diabetes may not suit pancreatitis, but the two diets don't always clash. Your vet will choose a complete food, decide which illness needs priority and plan meals around his insulin, and the answer can change as he recovers. Food after pancreatitis in a diabetic dog is the short version to keep handy.

Don't cook a low-fat meal from online advice. Home-cooked chicken and rice isn't automatically low in fat, and it isn't a complete diet. If you'd like to cook for him, ask your vet, and is a homemade diet okay for a diabetic dog? explains what that involves.

If he won't eat the new food, don't swap to something richer to tempt him. Call your vet. Not eating matters more in a dog on insulin, and they may have other options to help his appetite.

After a flare: keeping it from coming back

Some dogs have a single episode; others have repeated flares. Chronic pancreatitis means lasting damage to the pancreas and can cause further flares. If attacks come back, your vet may recommend a low-fat food for good.

Fat is the thing to watch. Keep the bin, the table and the barbecue out of reach, ask visitors and children not to slip him scraps, and check treats with your vet. Treats for a diabetic dog has ideas. A steady weight helps too, and so does staying on the same food once he's settled: should he stay on the same food? explains why sudden changes are best avoided.

Your vet may check his blood fats, especially triglycerides. Very high triglycerides are a recognised risk for pancreatitis, and miniature schnauzers are prone to them. Some medicines and hormone problems, including Cushing's disease, are linked to pancreatitis too, so make sure your vet knows everything he takes. Other medicines and your dog's diabetes explains why.

Repeated pancreatitis can also wear down the part of the pancreas that makes digestive enzymes. Vets call this exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. The signs are eating hungrily but losing weight, and passing large, pale, loose, greasy-looking poo. It's treated with enzyme powder added to his food, so tell your vet if you notice it. Diarrhoea in a diabetic dog covers other causes of loose stools.

The outlook depends on how severe the pancreatitis is and how he responds to treatment. Mild cases often do well; severe cases can be life-threatening. Pancreatitis can also make his sugar control harder. Ask your vet what that means for him. How long do diabetic dogs live? covers what the studies found.

What to write down and bring

Call first; don't delay to collect notes or readings. Once you've called, note when the signs started and how often, what he last ate, when he last had insulin, anything fatty he may have eaten, his drinking and any home readings.

Write down every food, treat and chew he has, including oils, cheese and meat fat, plus the names of his current food and any food prescribed after an earlier flare. Add any medicines and supplements.

Take your notes and readings. What to record for your diabetic dog's vet has a simple list, and the questions for the vet sheet helps you remember what to ask.