What is pancreatitis in dogs and what causes it?

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, a small organ tucked near the stomach that does two big jobs: it makes enzymes that help digest food, and it produces insulin. When it gets inflamed, those digestive enzymes can start acting inside the pancreas itself, which is painful and makes your dog properly unwell.

It shows up in two forms. Acute pancreatitis comes on suddenly and can be a genuine emergency. Chronic pancreatitis is the slower, grumbling version that flares up over time.

The classic trigger is a big hit of fatty food: the Christmas ham, leftover sausages, a hunk of roast fat slipped under the table. Plenty of cases have no obvious cause, though. Other things linked to it include being overweight, some medications, high blood fat levels, and a few breeds seem more prone (miniature schnauzers get mentioned a lot). Signs to watch for are vomiting, a sore or hunched belly, going off food, low energy and sometimes diarrhoea. A dog holding a praying position, front down and bum up, may be trying to ease belly pain.

Here's the important bit: if you think your dog might have pancreatitis, especially a sudden nasty episode, that's a see-your-vet-promptly situation, not a wait-and-see one. Early treatment genuinely makes a difference to how well dogs recover.