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Diet choices

Posted: 29 Jun 2022, 21:26
by healthypup30
Hello!
I am so grateful that I found this community.

My 6 yrs old Maltese, recently lost 20% of her weight and had soft poos. She was originally 3.8 kgs on her good days, vets were concerned she is a bit overweight so we started low fat diet (Orijen fit and trim kibbles) and thought initial weight loss was just kibbles working well. She was on this diet for a year but over the course of last month she lost 1 kg all of sudden and down to 2.7kg.

What was more concerning was that her poop got solid but she was passing yellow, oily liquid (not pee, not poo) without control. Went to 3-4 vets and no one could give us an exact reason why and blood test came out all normal. She had no stomach pain which was common with acute pancreatitis so we couldnt find right meds other than trying anti-biotics and stuff.

I found some articles about EPI and thought the symptoms were similar. Searched further and found this website!! I suggested that we test for EPI and we are now waiting for the test results to come back. Meanwhile, I asked if we can try a med while waiting and the vet gave us Lypex and a shot of cobalamin (thanks to this website!!!). This immediately stopped the yellow, oily liquid passing! Havent made much progress on weight gain but its been only 3 days so im hopeful that we will make good progress.

Read the recommended diets from the site. She has been on Origen fit and trim but because this is for weight control, i thought we need to switch to a different one. Before we knew about EPI, we tried to 1) switch to Origen Dog Original slowly and her poo wasnt good so we went back to Origen Fit and Trim and then tried to switch to 2) Ziwipeak which was very well know high quality dog food. But Ziwipeak is a bit high on fat, so i stopped as soon as i read low fat is the recommended diet from here!

Question:
- She used to eat boiled chicken breast, sweet potatoes, and other meats/veggies/fruits that are known to be good for dogs. Can EPI dogs eat these without a problem as long as its grain-free?

- To switch kibble, is there a recommended method on how to switch kibble effectively?

Thank you!!

Re: Diet choices

Posted: 29 Jun 2022, 23:08
by Olesia711
So glad you found our site and had her tested.... At least by properly testing her, you will know one way or another if EPI is the underlying condition.

Regarding the food... the reason why we tell folks to "start" with a low fiber content food is because once a dog is confirmed with EPI, they are placed on replacement porcine pancreatic enyzmes since the dog's pancreas no longer produces any or sufficient amount of its own pancreatic juices to digest the nutrients from food.(this is what Lypex is made of)...... the problem is that fiber "may" inhibit the efficacy from anywhere between 0% to 50% of the replacement enzymes you now need to give an EPI dog to sustain them. HOWEVER..... we have no idea from one EPI dog to the next EPI dog exactly how much giving them fiber in their food may inhibit each dog. SO we give a blanket recommendation to start with no grain or very low fiber content food.... and then once the dog becomes stable .....then.... if you want try introducing a food with some fiber in it.... like rice... as it may be okay or may not be okay.

Finding the right food really depends on the individual dog... but as a guideline, and if you decide to try kibble.... start with a food that has 4% or less fiber content... in the beginning..... then later.... you can add grain and see how it goes.

The home made food you used to give your dog would be great for an EPI dog "- She used to eat boiled chicken breast, sweet potatoes, and other meats/veggies/fruits that are known to be good for dogs. Can EPI dogs eat these without a problem as long as its grain-free?" YES!!! But usually once on enzymes... up the protein portion to about 50 to 75%... and then complete with the rest

Oh... regarding the fat.... before properly treating an EPI dog.... they usually have issues trying to digest fat- -so you do low fat until you figure things out... HOWEVER..... once on the replacement enzymes.... they should be able to eat normal amounts of fat just like any other dog UNLESS there is another health condition that recommends low fat. So if this is EPI, then she will be on enzymes, you shouldn't have to worry about fat content.... unless too much fat bothers her...............

My personal take on kibble vs. homemade is that homemade is ALWAYS better... just be sure that she still gets proper vitamins and minerals (give a quality doggie vitamin) and remember to supplement her with some kind of bone matter. Dogs need bone matter. I used to give pork bone meal, some people crush egg shells........

Please keep us posted on the test results and if EPI, we can help guide you to find the right balance of the recommended EPI protocol :)

Re: Diet choices

Posted: 30 Jun 2022, 01:59
by healthypup30
Olesia, I cannot thank you enough and you should be proud of the mark you are making on people and dogs' lives with this community you created! Sending you lots of love from another side of the world.

Re: Diet choices

Posted: 30 Jun 2022, 10:20
by Olesia711
ahh .....thank you "D" your lovely comment made me smile big time today!!!!

Please keep us posted!