[sondraham]

I am taking my GSD to the vet next week to run a trial of enzymes because I am convinced he has EPI, I had him tested when he was a year old and everything came back normal, now he is 8 and had bloat surgery 2months ago and I do not have money to spend on more test, so I found a vet that is willing to try him out on them. Does he look skinny to you? he has lost 8 pounds since surgery and I cant get the weight back on him plus he is ravenous all the time

 

[BowWowMeow]

How are his poops? Has he been tested for parasites recently? What is he eating?

If you do want to try enzymes (and I would rule out other things first) then you can buy them from here: Home - ENZYME DIANE

 

[LisaT]

My Max, who is 80 pounds now, stayed forever at about 65 pounds after his bloat surgery. Enzymes brought him up a couple of pounds, and he still needs them today, but he didn't start gaining weight back until he was on doxycycline for an extended period of time. He must have had some kind of bacterial issue going on. It didn't show up in any tests either - I was treating him with doxy for an unrelated issue and noticed that he started gaining weight - he put on 10 pounds while on doxy that first time. The standard, Tylan for SIBO, didn't seem to help at all when I tried it earlier.

 

[sondraham]

He has been having mucous in his stools everyday for the last week, he has been dewormed last month, I have four vets I go to and only one is willing to give me some enzymes with out doing the bloodwork again, I hope it works. I am feeding him The honest kitchen mixed with meat that I cook for him also Peanut butter sandwiches, treats, green beans, canned TOTW. Was trying to get weight on him in the beginning so I was feeding him all the time, since he is still ravenous it is a deeper issue, so I am feeding him 3-4 small meals a day and need to find a good food program that works with EPI dogs

 

[Stosh]

Can he eat satin balls? Or does his meat need to be cooked?

 

[Renofan2]

I have a female with epi, sibo and low b12. She dropped to 48 lbs ealier this year, even with enzymes. Although test did not show she had a sibo flare up we added tylan to her food and started feeding her 4 to 5 meals per day. She put 8 lbs on in 10 days. She is back over 60 lbs and is full of energy. Not sure, but I think the mucus in the stool could be sibo. Possibly Tylan could help?

 

[LisaT]

Mucous in the stools is inflammation in the gut - enzymes typically will not address that. A diet change might help, but with the weight loss, I will bet that you are looking at both a bacterial and absorption issue.

I would try either Tylan or doxycycline, both you can purchase through someplace like lambert vet. Btw, you can purchase some weaker enzymes without a script to see if they work too.

 

[BowWowMeow]

I agree with Lisa. I would nix the pb though just in case he does have trouble with fat.

Also, why are you cooking the meat? I would just give it raw if you're feeding THK already.

Btw, Rafi doesn't do great on that food. He does better on ground raw. He was having trouble with his weight and also having mucousy poops and it took me forever to get his diet straightened out but once I did that stuff cleared up.

I used herbs to deal with his issues. This stuff worked great: Vibactra Plus ? - Products

 

[jaggirl47]

I agree with the others, sounds more like SIBO. I would discuss with the vet treating for that before treating for EPI. If it is underlying SIBO, the enzymes will do absolutely nothing.

 

[sondraham]

I have considered it might be SIBO, but he has some EPI symptoms such as constant gas, ravenous, now he is trying to eat his own stool and cant get weight on him, maybe he has both. Would he have to be on Tylan powder forever? I have tried raw in the past and his system always get messed up so I have to transition slowly which is why I am cooking the meat right now, and when I feel he is stable enough to handle the switch I want to get to the raw point but for now any change in diet would not be wise until we figure it out.

 

[sondraham]

Also how do I test for SIBO? or do they just start them on Tylan powder?

 

[Ohio48]

Also how do I test for SIBO? or do they just start them on Tylan powder?

EPI in Dogs

Please check out this site. I learned much there.

 

[jaggirl47]

SIBO is tested by a cobalamine/folate blood test. My dog had all of the same symptoms you mentioned and I thought he had EPI as well. He didn't. It was SIBO the entire time. It can actually mimic the same symptoms as EPI.

Tylan - 100g | Pet Supplies, Horse Supplies, Dog Supplies | KVsupply.com

Tylan is fairly cheap and can be bought without a prescription.

 

[sondraham]

I took Kenny to his holistic vet to be looked over because of my concern of EPI and it seems the bloat surgery opened a can of worms! The visit was good and I feel allot better about his health in general. First off he is down to 69lbs the lowest he has ever been he went into surgery at 78lbs, this is a intense surgery that takes time to recover, Dr. Silver put him on a month plan so I am cooking a home prepared diet of just white rice and turkey adding Rx biotic, Rx clay, PancreaPowder Plus, and some chinese herbs Pulsatilla Intestinal after a month we will look at him again and go from there. Also he did have some clostridium in his stool which is a SIBO problem and we are treating him for EPI since his test from when he was 1 depicted a mild case, but they never treated him at my old vet. His stools have been normal for two days its a miracle!! Will post pics when he starts gaining weight

 

[Hansel & Gretel]

I am new to EPI and still learning. But I think if Kenny has EPI you don't want to give him rice as it has too much fiber.

Glad to hear his poop is getting better.

John

 

[Tinker]

To make sure whether your dog really has EPI you should get him tested immedietly. The signs really speak for EPI but it might also be another disease. The best test that is currently on the market to diagnose EPI is the fecal elastase 1 test. It has a high sensitivity and specificity, your dog does not even need to stop the enzym therapy. Neither does he need to fast for 12 hours. The fecal elastase 1 test is being used by many veterinarians throughout Europe, but I dont know if it is being used in the USA.