Oh.

Actual causes are unknown yes, but risk factors are basically, things that have happened prior to diagnosis that may be causing it.

So, causes are unknown. Thanks for admitting that. And thanks for pointing out that you're a technician and not a vet. The symbol in your avatar and the way you were talking had me confused.

You mean the VT symbol, meaning Veterinary Technician? And I'm sorry, I didn't realise I wasn't able to retain any medical knowledge from school and my job.

I feed my dog table scraps. That sounds like someone was feeding their dog an entire gourmet meal.

Sorry to hear that. I did read in one of those articles, that if a dog is accustomed to a low fat diet and then suddenly is given a high fat diet, it can bring on this disease.

Other risk factors included lack of exercise and obesity.

So, if I were you I'd look into other factors to see if they might be causing your problems. Did you get more than one opinion?

Maybe. But I didn't recommend that anyone feed their dog a high fat diet. I think equating the term table scraps with a high fat diet takes a bit of a stretch.

I think what shaz was trying to say, was that because of a about of pancreatitis, her dog could not tolerate anything BUT low fat foods, or else it would trigger it. Sounds like the low fat diet came out after that issue. I could be wrong, though.

You eat a lot healthier than many people apparently! LOL!

Thanks! Good night. I'm logging off now.

Exactly right Sariss. I probably made more of a point of it than intended.
Although when feeding most scraps you have to think about not just what the food is, but how it was cooked. A piece of chicken that has just been boiled is fine, but a piece of chicken that has been cooked in a frying pan with butter is not good.

Things like brocolli are great for dogs as long as you haven't put anything on them... I don't know about anyone else, but to me plain brocolli is just yuck, it needs to at least have a little salt on it... but with salt, it becomes no good for a dog.

Unless you are an extremely healthy person a lot of scraps will contain fats or salts.

And back to the original topic, a young puppy does need certain foods and certain ratios of nutrients for it to grow correctly.
We don't know the breed but if it is a large or giant breed protein is your worst enemy.

And thank you De Maria, it's not a fun thing to live with, he did die young for his breed (11 years old) but he had a good life overall.

I just had a question to Shaz, because I just wanted to know more about it, but why is protein a large dog's worst enemy? Is it okay if it is in the hard food already? And is that only if they are a puppy or at any age is that true? Thanks!

No probloem, large and giant breeds should have no more than 23% protein content in their food.

The more protein, the faster the dog grows. Because large breeds have so much growing to do you don't want it to happen to fast. Bones growing too fast can cause deformities in both the actual bones and the joints.
It won't 'stunt' their actual growth, it just slows it down and extends the amount of time they are growing for. A large breed may not finish growing in height for up to 12 months, whereas a smaller dog would be finished by around 8-9 months.

Edited to add - This is only while they are growing, once they have reached their maximum height (by around 12 months) they do fine on a higher protein food to start putting weight on them as by this age they can also start undertaking more rigorous exercise and will be burning off more calories.