[Would you believe it’s Weruva?!]
I suddenly needed a low fat dog food. My blue Weimaraner Maisie was just diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. She had two bouts of throwing up one day and I immediately took her to the vet because she is not generally a thrower-upper. Blood work and an ultrasound showed several of her organs are inflamed, along with the pancreas. A low fat diet is the first line of defense in this situation. Those of you already struggling with pancreatitis with your dog know it is deadly serious – there is no “wiggle room” for allowing any high fat item.
My veterinarian recommended a prescription canned food because it is labeled as “low fat,” which I understand. It is the doctor’s only sure way of knowing an owner is complying with the life-saving admonishment to feed low fat only. But I was stressing out. I didn’t want to become dependent on a prescription diet that has ingredients I don’t feel good feeding. I know a lot of people have this misgiving, as well as discomfort with the high cost of those prescription diets. In addition, Maisie has atypical Addison’s disease, so she is a very picky eater. I mean “Toy Poodle picky” because of this condition! And many prescription diets are far from delicious, based on what my dogs have always told me.
I checked the fat content of the prescription diet labeled “low fat” and it was 7.4%. I didn’t look at any of the super premium canned foods because they usually have a high fat content. Fat provides calories for energy and it’s also what can make food (for any of us) taste good. Tasting good is vital for Maisie or she simply won’t eat – true for many dogs with pancreatitis, which can make eating a challenge. But high fat could literally kill her. My sweet Golden Retriever, Roma, died of pancreatitis five days after a misdiagnosis, even on IV antibiotics. So I was really between a rock and a hard place…or so I thought.
The answer to my problem sat right in front of me! I had a couple of leftover pouches of Dogs in the Kitchen food from Weruva, which had sent some for the Pooch Party before this year’s 8th Annual NY Dog FIlm Festival – and for the filmmakers’ sWag bags. Weruva has been my choice of human-edible cat food on my show DOG TALK® (and Kitties, Too!) which Weruva has sponsored for a decade – but I thought their dog food was for little dogs, like my sister’s two Brussels Griffons, who eat only Weruva. I checked the leftover “Goldie Lox” package of Dogs in the Kitchen food and to my delighted astonishment I discovered the fat content was only 3%. Miraculously lower than the therapeutic low fat prescription food! Plus, Maisie went nuts for the flavor – just one small 3 oz package made a cup of kibble go down the hatch at warp speed!
The news about the fat content got even better when I went to Chewy and ordered a couple of cases of 14 oz. cans of Weruva dog food. The Marbella Paella had crude fat content of only 1.4%. I was so happy I forgot the price tag ) (yes, it’s steep, but when you see what’s in it – and what isn’t in it – the price makes sense).
So there you have it, pancreatitis sufferers! I found a delicious, nutritious dog food with incredibly low fat and ingredients good enough for you to eat – and it was right under my nose!