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Diet

Finding the right diet for an EPI dog is usually the final piece of the puzzle to getting your EPI dog healthy….. however…. sometimes this is easier said then done!  Unfortunately not all EPI dogs respond equally to the same food. What we DO know is that usually if fiber content is kept to a minimum, most EPI dogs tend to do better.  This is why we suggest starting with a diet that is low in fiber content, usually 4% or less fiber content.  Sometimes when you use a food that is just 0.5% less in fiber content you will see a dramatic difference!  HOWEVER, each dog is is an individual and sometimes some EPI dogs do not do well until you actually give food with a tiny bit of grain in it.  We suspect  the variance from one dog to another may have a lot to do with the fact that each dog’s gut flora composition varies from one to another.

When a dog is first diagnosed with EPI, we further suggest feeding approximately 150% of what the dog would normally require, however, if possible…. try to feed smaller portions just more meals.  For example if you were only feeding your dog once or twice a day, try to feed less but more often by breaking the feedings down into three or four meals a day.  This is done only until the dog’s body replenishes most of the weight it has lost and is doing well.

More details on how to effectively feed an EPI dog are on the following pages.

2017 Nutrition and the EPI Patient – Dr. Anne Mosseler

Although this research is based on EPI mini-pig research it very closely aligns to the EPI dog and the research information is very useful to dogs with EPI.

Dr Mossler – EPI nutrients-2-2017