Homemade Dog Treats for Pancreatitis
While homemade dog treats for dogs with pancreatitis need to fit within the fairly strict dietary guidelines set by this condition, these don't have to condemn Fido to a no-treat lifestyle, or to boring, tasteless treats either!
There are a whole host of tasty, nutritious dog treat ingredients that are safe for dogs with pancreatitis, and if you keep it simple and know which ingredients to use (and which to avoid), homemade deliciousness is pretty easy to whip up.
- Choosing ingredients for dogs with pancreatitis
- Pancreas safe dog treat ingredients
- Ingredients to avoid if your dog has pancreatitis
- Ingredient substitution options
- Homemade dog treat recipes for pancreatitis
About Pancreatitis in Dogs
Most often the chronic form of the canine pancreatitis is a result of an acute pancreatitis episode, or repeated acute episodes, but chronic pancreatitis in dogs can also be caused by other health conditions, trauma, tumor, obesity, certain medications, inflammatory changes and more. Sometimes no reason can be found.
Acute pancreatitis in dogs is an emergency situation and needs to be treated by a veterinarian . With prompt, and complete, care the pancreas has the potential to heal and leave the dog with no long lasting effects.
But a certain number will go on to develop chronic pancreatitis (and may have either further acute episodes). Depending on how severely the pancreas is damaged other conditions can occur such as blood clotting problems and diabetes.
Ingredients for dogs with pancreatitis
Pancreatitis in dogs can be either acute, or chronic. It occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed and can be severe and life threatening in the acute form.
The most common cause of pancreatitis in dogs is related to diet.
High fat foods (especially human foods/tidbits) are the most common trigger for acute pancreatitis.
For example, if your dog doesn't usually get human food but suddenly gets bacon added to his breakfast that could cause a problem for his pancreas as it struggles to produce enough digestive enzymes to deal with the fat.
If your four legged best friend has chronic pancreatitis he will need to be on a low fat diet that contains easy-to-digest food, either temporarily or even for life.
This tends to make eating pretty bland, but luckily you can still make your dog homemade treats that taste great and are still safe for him!
The best, and safesty, diet for a dog with pancreatitis is one that is one that is easy to digest and
- Low in fat
- Moderate amount of lean protein
- Moderate amount of fiber
- Some starchy carbohydrates
- Fruits and/or vegetables
These rules hold true for treats as well as food, so when making your own homemade dog treats it's important to pay attention the the ingredients.
Safe Treat Ingredients for Dogs with Pancreatitis
Here are some of the best ingredients for homemade dog treats for dogs with chronic pancreatitis:
PROTEIN
Choose LEAN protein only because fat is a huge no-no for dogs with pancreatitis. Best example include chicken or turkey (skinless), egg whites, white fish and cottage cheese.
CARBOHYDRATES
The best choices are starchy carbs such as potatoes, sweet potatoes or pumpkin, rice (preferably brown), barley and oats. Oat or rice flours are recommended in recipes.
FRUIT & VEGETABLES
Vegetables such as carrots, green beans, peas, spinach, kale, cucumber, zucchini, celery, butternut squash are all great choices. Good options for fruit include apples, bananas, pears, blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon.
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS
There are other ingredients you can add to dog treats that are suitable for dogs with pancreatitis. They can add an extra boost of flavor, moisture and texture. Some options include bone broth, low fat plain yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, parsley, turmeric, flaxseed
Ingredients to AVOID For Dogs with Pancreatitis
There are several types of foods and ingredients that it's very important to avoid if your dog has chronic pancreatitis.
The first, and most obvious one is anything considered to be high in fat.
HIGH FAT PROTEIN
Avoid beef, pork, lamb, duck, egg yolks, whole milk, butter, full fat cheese or oily fish like sardines or salmon.
FAT
Dogs with pancreatitis need a LOW FAT diet so obviously fats are off the table, literally. No animal fats, vegetable oil or olive oil. Some other products like peanut butter are also high in fat and should be avoided.
CARBOHYDRATES & GRAINS
A safe diet for canine pancreatitis should be easy to digest, and some grains are more difficult than others in this respect. Whole wheat flour is best avoided (replace with oat or rice flour as suggested in above Safe Treat Ingredients section). White potatoes are not recommended.
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Again, digestibility is important. Some cruciferous veggies like cabbage or Brussel sprouts can be difficult for dogs to digest. Avocadoes are high in fat so should be avoided too. Peaches are also not recommended.
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS
Homemade dog treats that are safe for pancreatitis should also avoid salt, sugary foods such as honey or syrup, nuts, nut butters and dried fruit. Obviously artificial sweeteners are also a no-no.
While egg yolks are not good for dogs with pancreatitis, you can just use egg whites successfully in most recipes. Two egg whites is roughly the equivalent of one whole egg. If you don't like wasting the yolk you can use store-bought liquid egg whites and follow the instructions on the carton for equivalence.
Another good alternative is to make a flax egg (see this page to learn how to easily make chia eggs and flax eggs). Flax is a healthy ingredient for dogs with pancreatitis to this is a great option.
Ingredient substitution options....
If you have a favorite dog treat recipe, or find one you would really like to try, but it isn't designed with pancreatic problems in mind you may still be able to make it work with some simple substitutions.
EGGS
If your recipe calls for whole eggs, you can substitute with either a flax or chia egg, or simply use egg whites as opposed to a whole egg (because it's the yolk that contains the fat you're trying to avoid).
Two egg whites is the rough equivalent of one whole egg. If you want to avoid wasting the yolks you can use store-bought liquid egg whites.
There are several other simple options that are safe to use to replace eggs in your dog treat recipes including mashed sweet potato, mashed banana, applesauce and more. You can find details and more egg substitution choices HERE.
FLOUR
Many recipes use wheat flour, either whole wheat or white, and this isn't recommended for dogs with pancreatitis. However, you can usually use rice or oat flour instead, both of which are safe for dogs with pancreatitis.
For 1 cup of whole wheat flour you can use 3/4 cup of brown rice flour, or 1 1/2 cups of oat flour. Rice flour requires you to add extra liquid, and oat flour can benefit from the addition of a little baking powder. Check out this article for more specifics and other suggestions.
For a more detailed look at the different flours you can use to make your dog's treats you can also check out this page.
Recipes for Dogs with Canine Pancreatitis
Here are a handful of recipes from my site that are made with ingredients suitable for dogs with pancreatitis (a couple need a flour or egg substitution but that's easy to do!)
Also, although not every recipe on my Frozen Dog Treats page is pancreatitis-friendly, many are. You'll also find several suggestions for ingredient combinations that you can mix-and-match to suit your dogs needs.
You can even create your own unique dog treat recipe with whatever ingredients you prefer by using my Versatile and customizable dog treat recipe.
It will walk you through the basic method and explain how to combine/adjust different ingredients to make your own masterpiece.
And finally, if your dog has chronic pancreatitis and you'd like to take a closer look at making his meals yourself (and treats of course) these books are worth checking out:
- Homemade Pancreatitis Cookbook for Dogs by Dr. Doris Meany
- Pancreatitis Dog Food Cookbook by Dr. Sandra Pace
- Homemade Pancreatitis Diet Cookbook for Small Dogs by Laura Zander
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