The pancreas is an enzyme- and hormone-producing gland that plays a critical role in digestion. Pancreatitis refers to inflammation of the pancreas. The disease is seen more often in obese dogs than healthy-weight animals.
Pancreatic Function
The pancreas has two main functions. It secretes the hormones insulin and glucagon that aid in the regulation of glucose levels in the blood. Second, it secretes enzymes to aid in digestion.
According to Dr. Alleice Summers, pancreatitis develops when the enzymes that are intended to be secreted are activated within the pancreas itself.
Pancreatitis and Diet
Pancreatitis is directly related to the dog's diet. Pancreatitis symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, depression, fever, dehydration and abdominal pain. In acute pancreatitis (when symptoms come on suddenly), these symptoms may occur shortly after the dog is fed a high-fat diet.
Raw Dog Food
High-fat diets have been suspected to predispose dogs to pancreatitis. Meat--cooked but especially raw--has a high fat content compared to commercially prepared dog foods. Veterinarians report an increase in patients with symptoms of pancreatitis after holidays when they may have been given (or helped themselves to) high amounts of table scraps such as turkey and ham.
Balanced diet
Feeding a raw food diet is complex and time consuming. Creating a well-balanced diet using raw meat is a complicated process that dog owners often cannot accomplish. It also tends to be more expensive than feeding a commercially prepared food.
Therefore, dog owners who attempt raw meat diets often inadvertently do not provide their pet with a balanced diet which can lead to long-term health problems like pancreatitis.
In Moderation
Raw meat should not be fed as the entire or even the main percentage of a dog's diet. In excess, fat from raw meat can very likely lead to pancreatitis in either acute (sudden, short-term with treatment) or chronic (developing over time and requiring long-term treatment) form.
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