Remi’s EPI Journey – Seeking Guidance

[rivers]

Hi there

I wanted to share an update and ask for a bit of advice. Remi has been doing well on her 150% feeding plan with Purina Veterinary Gastro Kibble, split over 4 meals. She’s gone from around 24kg to 28kg, which is fantastic, and she looks so much healthier overall (couple of more recent pics attached).

However, over the past couple of days, she’s started to lose interest in her food. I actually think this could be a positive sign, as it might mean she’s reached a comfortable weight.

Given this, I’m considering a few options, and I’d love any insights or experiences from you all:

Option 1: Drop her to 125% of her target weight’s food amount and reduce to 3 meals (or possibly even 2).
Option 2: Try switching her food to something more appetizing, aiming for 125% over 3 meals with a new, tastier kibble.
Option 3: Maintain her current weight as her "healthy" weight and transition her to 2 meals a day at 100% of this amount, aiming to maintain her weight.

While I’m pleased with her current weight, I was initially aiming for 30kg to give her a little buffer. But maybe she’s reached a good plateau, and I just need to adjust her diet to reflect this.

The Vets are very happy with her improvement and weight (prefer them on the skinny side I think)

Poop-wise, everything is still solid, though her third poop tends to be on the softer side. I wonder if this is another indicator that she’s reached a comfortable intake level.

Would love to know if anyone has experienced similar weight plateaus with their dogs or has thoughts on adjusting meal sizes and frequency.

Oh and I did go back to incubating the enzymes, but honestly, I didn't see much difference. Wetting the kibble has been the most effective way to get the enzymes to stick well.


Thanks again for all the support—it makes this journey feel a lot less overwhelming!



Take care,
Rivers & Remi

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[Olesia711]

Hi Rivers,

Oh WOW... Remi is looking good Such a pretty girl... thanks for sharing the pictures!

The first step when they are no longer interested in eating when fed 150% is to reduce the food slightly... so your plan to reduce the food to 125% is an excellent plan... or... instead of feeding 4 times a day, just feed 3 times a day.

DO NOT reduce to 2 meals a day cause that is too much of a reduction at this point in time.

HOWEVER...... over the next few weeks.....do watch the poos closely..... and see if they get even softer or larger or if you start noticing ANY SID/SIBO/Dysbiosis symptoms.... i went back and read all the posts on this thread and i am wondering now if it is the food that Remi is on that is not exactly optimal for Remi..... cause it seems like she might be flirting off and on with "possible" SID/SIBO/Dysbiosis (via stool condition) so maybe the underlying issue is that the food keeps it not really agreeing 100%. IN the past you had mentioned MillieHeart.... can you buy the smallest bag possible and slowly introduce it to Remi - -watch the poos and see if you notice a difference.

The other reason why i am suggesting that the food "might" not be optimal is because even though our 1st suggestion would be to start decreasing the 150% of food when they stop showing 100% interest in the food... is because another indication of SID/SIBO/Dysbiosis is also when they stop showing 100% interest in their food.

SO... this fading interest in the food could be either or....

[rivers]

Hey

Thank you, yeas she really is looking better, and I’m thrilled with the progress so far.

Your advice is incredibly helpful as always.

I'll drop her down to 3 meals at 125% of her target weight amount, as suggested. I’ve never been a big fan of her current food it just looks so plain, there’s the pea ingredient as well as chicken (see below for a quick comparison of ingredient) I’ll order a small bag of Millie’s today and plan to do a slow transition when it arrives. Fingers crossed that this will help keep her on track and more enthusiastic about mealtimes!

Thanks again

Best,
Rivers & Remi

For comparison

Millies Ingredients:
Composition: Freshly Prepared Trout (22%), Sweet Potato (14%), Potato, Chickpeas, Dried Lamb (11%), Dried Fish (11%), Tapioca (10.5%), Lamb Fat (4.5%), Lamb Gravy (1.5%), Tomato Pomace, Salmon Oil, Minerals, Joint Pack (Glucosamine 177.5 mg/kg, Methylsulfonylmethane 177.5 mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 125 mg/kg), Mixed Herbs, Dried Apple, Burdock Root, Dried Camomile, Dried Carrot, Dried Cranberry, Dried Dandelion, Aniseed & Fenugreek, Dried Seaweed, Dried Peppermint, Yucca Extract

Current Purina Gastro Ingredients:
Rice*, corn, pea protein*, dried poultry protein*, dried beet pulp, digest, soya protein, coconut oil* (4%), minerals, pork fat, mono and diglycerides, soya oil, fish oil, chicory inulin. *Highly digestible ingredients

[Tuckaboo Pam]

I'm placing a hefty bet on the new kibble being a big hit!

No grain, no poultry. I hope she loves it, and I hope it shows great results.

The bat costume is killing me!!! None of my pups will tolerate Halloween costumes, sigh.

Take care, and keep us posted!

----Pam & Tucker & Nina

[jilbert57]

What a beauty!
Keep up the good work, I hope a change of diet helps!

Jill