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Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 06:38
by mary401339
I have been dealing with EPI for about 10 years with my own dogs and with dogs that come into our rescue organization. In fact, I made my own vet aware of it being a condition that was not exclusive to German Shepherds and other vets as well so testing is done on our rescues if they show the symptoms, avoiding unnecessary tests that are inconclusive.
I was under the impression that it is not an inherited condition. We have seen it in young dogs, older dogs, unrelated dogs. Just recently, our rescue took in 4 retired breeding females. We have received dogs from this breeder in the past. Last year one of the females tested positive for EPI and just this week, 2 of the 4 newly rescued dogs have tested positive and we are testing a third who has symptoms. Any thoughts about this? I find it unusual. They are not directly related. The breed for these cases is Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 09:37
by Jean
originally it was thought to be only German Shepherds and rough coated collies, and not considered massive

However over the years it has become apparent that ANY species of dog, cat, horse , or anything else with a pancreas can suffer with it

you might want to read this

https://diabetesindogs.fandom.com/wiki/ ... ufficiency

it is not recommended that you breed from an EPI dog male or female, and it is the $65million dollar question as to whether it is inherited, there is a lot of research going on and Olesia our founder has been involved for many years

Cavaliers are also known to have EPI as a problem

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 10:04
by Olesia711
As Jean stated... that is the 65 million dollar question!

we honestly don't know .... to date they have found "some" indication that genetics are involved, but that may not be the whole story... so we are also looking at environmental causes or something external triggering it... but we are still looking at genetics too.

to best understand what we know to date... go to the EPI Research page: https://epi4dogs.com/epi-research/.... and scroll down towards the bottom, specifically read... even the cat research... it will give you a better understanding of how genetics are involved but something else appears to be going on............:

2010 – EPI Heritability Research
Brief Communication – J Vet Intern Med 2010;24:450–452
Heritability of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in
German Shepherd Dogs

2012 – EPI Genetic Research (German Shepherds)
Current Status of Genetic Studies of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency in Dogs

2015 – EPI Genetics Research (Corgis) Association of DLA-DQB1 alleles with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in Pembroke Welsh Corgis

2021 (Sept)
Untargeted analysis of the serum metabolome in cats with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

we are getting closer to finding the answer, it's like peeling an onion, layer, by layer. My hope is that we will find an answer soon!!!!!!!!

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 12:11
by mary401339
Thank you for your responses. We have a good relationship with the breeder and she was concerned about the girl we took from her last year with the condition. I'll let her know that she may want to consider not breeding any related dogs. The females that we have are already spayed. It is just very unusual to have so many from one place at the same time. Thanks again. Mary

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 13:53
by Olesia711
the rule of thumb at this point in time is to NOT breed the same parents to each other if they produced EPI pups... but (for now) they can be bred (with caution) to a different partner.....

Over the years, my take on it is that EPI "appears" to be like high blood pressure.... some members from in the immediate family (same mom & dad) get it really bad, while others may be affected only slightly and yet others don't get it at all...... kind of crazy.

So something is going on... but we just have not found any definitive-across-the-board answers just yet.................

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 17:24
by Montgomery
I was told that in Montgomery's case it was likely hereditary and likely due to inbreeding. I was told that his sister, Marigold, who made it only to nineteen days, likely had it too. His older two half siblings both have digestive problems, though nowhere near as bad.

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 18:48
by Vanessade
I have a question, then. My dog has been diagnosed with EPI, just over a month ago. I notified the breeder as she is using his full sister for breeding, different litter but same parents. I’ve heard nothing more from the breeder but she was selling puppies from his sister, a couple of weeks back.
Is there something she/I could or should be doing to alert potential buyers to this?

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 20:44
by Olesia711
the best thing to do is just share with the breeder the "signs" of EPI and watch if any of the puppies start to develop them.
Unfortunately with EPI .. as of now... we have no idea who will develop it until AFTER the puppies are born and AFTER if / they show any signs...

There is no way to tell who will develop it.

so just share the following: (the main comments on the EPI Brochure : https://epi4dogs.com/brochures-dogs-and-cats/
Image

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 22:29
by Montgomery
If the breeder is registered, you should be able to report them to the Canadian Kennel Club, or whoever the authority is where you are.

Re: Is EPI inherited?

Posted: 17 May 2022, 23:38
by Vanessade
We got him from a breeder in the USA. I wouldn’t want to blame anyone if there’s no real evidence that EPI is hereditary. He is such a great dog in all other respects. If it is hereditary, that’s another matter. I just wondered what others thought about it.