Remi’s EPI Journey – Seeking Guidance

[Tuckaboo Pam]

WHAT A CUTIE!!!! Her poop looks good!

You have made me feel inferior ---I only have an EPI shelf in a kitchen cabinet!

A good rule is, don't mess with success, at least for awhile.

GREAT JOB!!!!---Pam

[Chance]

Well done! Looks like Remi is definitely improving!

I have a very similar shelf thing on my kitchen counter. But I gotta say it's not as well organized as yours! lol

I do need to find my kitchen counter again

[rivers]

Yeah, she is definitely improving thanks to this website and community

And solid Advice as always, thank you (I wont mess with it, for a while (when we have some more weight on, I will start to fine tune:))

I am Sure this station wont stay this organized TBH (But its deffo helped us to get on top it and feel less overwhelmed
Will keep you all posted and thank you so much

[Olesia711]

Hi Rivers, thrilled to hear that Remi is doing so well.... but i have to admit.... when i saw the picture of REmi's medical supplies AND the excellent notes that you are keeping i burst out laughing... and showed my hubby your picture... he used to tease me for keeping a journal like you do along with ALL the meds. We had an entire cabinet dedicated to "the dogs" WELL.... today i was able to show him that yes, others do indeed keep wonderful records regarding our dogs and have an in-depth supply of meds for them. We care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO... as mentioned earlier....stay the course. The typical mantra is if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Also... those poops look REALLY good. The fact that the poos get a little looser as the day goes on could be simply from more activity, and not having enough time to "bake in the oven" .... in short... the transit time is not long enough and that is usually because the gut flora needs a little adjustment... which you are already taking care of with the pre+probiotics. And... sometimes it is that there is some ingredient in the current diet that simply doesn't agree with the dog's digestive system .. OR... what many of us fail to realize is that sometimes it is nothing more than that there is too much of a particular ingredient in the diet that is just too much.

In short... you are doing a great job and HUGE congrats with Remi's weight gain!

[rivers]

Haha yeah deffo care and perhaps a little overboard tbh but keeps me on on point
Thanks again for all the advice and will keep you posted

[rivers]

Hi all,

A little update on Remi. We were seeing steady weight gain over the past weeks, with her weight rising to 27.6kg. However, at today’s weigh-in, she had dropped slightly to 27.3kg, which was surprising as she’s still on 150% of the target weight for a 30kg dog (split across four meals of 136g each).

A couple of things have changed recently:

1. B12 Supplement:
About 10 days ago, we switched her B12 supplement to one that includes the intrinsic factor, tailored for EPI dogs. I give her 2 capsules, split between her morning and evening meals. I’m wondering if this change might be contributing to the slight drop, but it could also just be a normal fluctuation. (Product link: https://chemeyes.co.uk/product/vitamin-b12-capsules/)

2. Poop Consistency:
I’ve noticed that her first poop of the day scores well (around a 2 or 3), but the second is softer, and by the third, they’re noticeably looser. Has anyone else experienced a similar pattern, and if so, what adjustments did you make, if any? She’s currently on this pre & probiotic supplement—10g total, split between her morning and evening meals.
(Product link: https://chemeyes.co.uk/product/probiotics-for-dogs/)
Would it be better to split the pre/probiotic dose across all four meals, or perhaps all in the first meal?

3. Food:
Currently, Remi is on Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EN Gastrointestinal Dry Kibble. I’ve heard that some EPI dogs don’t always do well on prescription foods long-term, so I’m considering switching her food. She’s also begun losing interest in meals 2 & 3, so a change might help boost her interest as well.

I’ve been looking into Millie’s Wolfheart Dog Food (https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/dog-food) and have emailed them to ask if they have experience with EPI dogs. I’m particularly interested in a food that’s low in fiber (under 4%) and free of peas as a carb source. Once she’s stable, I may trial this food to see if it helps with weight gain.

If I decide to switch, would a slow transition over a week be ideal?

4. Exercise Adjustment:
I’ve recently increased her walks again, but considering the slight weight drop, I may try reducing her exercise to see if it helps with weight gain.

Curious to know if anyone has tried Millie’s Wolfheart or has any other food recommendations that have worked well for their EPI dogs?

Lastly, for anyone who has seen small weight fluctuations—has your dog experienced similar drops like this? I’m not overly worried but hope to see her weight back on the rise next week.

Thanks again for all the support! Your insights have been invaluable in helping us manage Remi’s journey.

Take care,
Rivers & Remi

[Olesia711]

First , i must say, Remi is such a cutie!!!!!!!!!

Regarding Millie’s Wolfheart..... yes, i do remember some EPI parents using this food and it was most agreeable with the EPi dogs. However that being said... companies change formulas, and add that to the fact that a food that may agree with one EPI dog may not agree with another EPI dog. ... so you never know until you try it. But my personal opinion would be to try to.

REgarding how to transition over... some dogs are fine with introducing them to a new food all at once, but other dogs will get an upset tummy... so erring on the side of caution.... day 1 give 25% new food, 75% old food. day 2 give 50% new and old food, day 3 give 75% new food, 25% old food, day 4 give 100% new food.

REgarding the itty bitty weight loss... it could be nothing more than more exercise, or... it could be that SID/SIBO/dysbiosis is getting a little bit out of control (remember ALL dogs with EPI have SID/SIBO/Dysbiosis- -we just need to try to keep it in good control).....if this is what is going on... changing the food probably will help BUT ... in the meantime.... go ahead and give a pinch more enzymes. for example, if you are giving 1 tsp powdered enzymes per 1 cup of food... give 1/4 tsp more.... Slightly increasing the enzymes when there is a slight issues "usually" helps get things back on track. The other thing that it could be is that REmi might just do better with the enzymes when they ARE incubated. Chemeyes enzymes are not enteric coated where enteric enzymes are never to be incubated, but rather CHemeyes enzymes are powder. Many EPI dogs just don't do as well on powdered enzymes unless they ARE incubated... and i am guessing since you stopped incubating powdered enzymes is when REmi started losing weight? Anyway... this is could be another reason why REmi lost a little bit of weight... and the poos are not optimal..... or not.... but worth going back to incubating to see if that makes a difference.

[Cheb1313!]

Hi River and Remi

I am new to this website only this week. My boy nearly 4 year old German Shepherd suffered with a GDV 7 weeks ago and also had to have his spleen removed due to the fact that they couldn't stop the bleeding . now over the last few weeks since his op he has lost a considerable amount of weight pre op weight was 37.5 KG when I took him to the vets this week he was down to 33KG and then last wed the dreaded diarrhea, ( he has always suffered on and off with Gastro issues)Hes a German LOL!

So we had bloods run , but before the vet said that he was 98 positive it was EPI, so since Tuesday he has been on Creon 25000 plus B12 supplement and a course of metro- Tylan we cannot get here in Aus ( I am originally from the UK )- he seems to tolerate Metro but he's only on it for a week as he had blood in his stool.

Alf also suffers from Hotspots over here which is worse with the Kibble so I used to only use kibble as a padder and use Rice - but I have been told that rice is sometimes not tolerated in EPI dogs or ones with Gastro issues .

Before his diagnosis he was on :

2 meals per day 1/2 cup ivory coat Turkey kibble, two serving spoons of Rice, cooked Kangaroo mince or Beef mince , Chicken or Basa fish fillet, a bit of grated carrot or celery or spinach

Soo... upping his meals means he is now on four meals per day and getting through 2.5 cups of Kibble split in them four meals ( the dishwasher is constantly on and he's costing me a small fortune )

So he is now eating :
rotating : 3/4 cup kibble- I now have him on Taste of the wild High Priarie which sits at 4% fiber, 1 cup of cooked Roo mince, or steamed Basa fillet and either a handful of spinach or a tablespoon of mashed carrot - I was just advised on here about the amount of vegetables that I was giving him also because of the fiber - He has always been a boy that loves his veges raw or cooked. he also loves blueberries.

I have over the last day introduced in two of his meals a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to try and combat a few of the itches .

I have reduced his exercise down- we used to go for about 45 minutes in the morning and the same late afternoon not really from an energy point of view as he is still gang-busters! - just because one thing I will say that with all the feeding ( if you are feeding four meals per day you just need to be mindful that you are giving 2 hours each side of exercising otherwise you do run the risk of a GDV as you have a German and they are prone for it . That morning when I rushed my boy to the animal hospital here , was even outside of that 2 hour window, so it can literally just happen and you dont know why - We now think that the EPI has come on for him as a result of when his stomach twisted it put a huge amount of strain on his Pancreas .

Its been a very stressful week for me, but in the short space of time I have seen a great improvement so far - when we go out for a poo I literally hold me breath saying ' please make in a nice one !!- Olesia has been absolutely fantastic and same as you if it hadn't have been for this website, i not too sure what I would have done xx

[rivers]

Thank you Olesia, incredible advise as always, will try re-introducing the incubation again and looking at changing the food and see how we get on. One thing I have noticed is as she has lost interest in the food a little bit she is not quite cleaning out the entire bowl (as in the residue of kibble juice at the bottom of the bowl), I supsect this is where she is not getting the whole Enzyme allocation - So i think upping the Enzymes a smidge and re-introducing an incubation period (even if small will allow it to be absorbed better into the kibble). Also the food change down the line should get her more interested in food again to get up to that Weight Target (but I am gonna wait to hear what they say and recomend as hoping they have an understanding of EPI).

And wowzers Cheb what a Journey you have been on, wishing you all the best on what has already been a challenging series of events. So glad you found Olesia and the Forum (really not sure what we would have done without at it, we were very lost and confused up until we did). I also share your thoughts on evey time they go too poop (and preying to the poop gods for a good one:)

[Olesia711]

HI Rivers..... do let us know if going back to incubating the enzymes helps and upping the enzymes just a tiny bit....

And yes... we have ALL been known to pray to the poop gods ... for a "good one"