EPI how do i put weight on her? - Page 1

I have a 5 year old gsd rescue, she was diagnosed 2yrs ago with EPI. She is currently on tryplase & raw pigs pancreas and a good dry compleat food.

I dont care what it costs i just want to get some weight on her. 

any tips would be great thanks. 

I too have an EPI dog. Getting weight on and keeping it on is one of the great challenges with these dogs. I feed a commerical raw diet with Pancrezyme. If I see her starting to drop weight (when she does, she looks like an abuse case!!), I'll up her patties at both meals( from 2 to 3). I also add cottage cheese- roughly 2 heaping tablespoons to her food. This seems to get the weight back up. Remember with some of these dogs, they will always be on the "light" side. As long as their activity level is good, they're bright and happy and the stools are good, they're probably doing ok. The things to look for are the basics for any dog - not being themselves, not eating, and so. Another thing is to watch the stool - I don't think I ever in my wildest dreams would have thought I would spend as much time looking at poop in the yard!!!  I don't know if you've checked her for worms but you may want to look into that as well - these poor dogs don't need any unwanted renters stealing their groceries!   BYW - there is an excellent Yahoo Group that is for EPI dogs - they are a wealth of information and are very good at helping each other.

Pay the extra money to get the Viokase V powder. For some reason it seems to work better than some of the others. Don't forget to support the gut w/ probiotics as well. Get horse/cattle probiotics at feed and grain stores - more reasonable but also have acidopholus on hand for when needed. Bit of yougurt never hurts . Make sure to get the plain WITHOUT that damn ubitiqous (sp) High fructose corn syrup which is put in EVERYTHING today ( found it in boullion cubes - can you believe it).  When the stool lossens if washes out the good gut bacteria which is why the need for the probiotics.

Some dogs w/ time can take a little less of the powder so make sure you're not giving too much as too much will cause runny stools as well as too little. Good luck.

I don't know how PROZYME compares to what you have been using but I have used it full time on all my dogs since the 80's when a breeder/ show handler recommended it. I have seen great results putting and keeping  weight on. I would give it a few months to work.   http://www.prozymeproducts.com

You might also want to research Total - Zymes and Total - Biotics.  Never used it but I understand from those who have it worked well. Just an FYI.   http://www.petenzymes.com/

 I do not know about some products, I know I don't want to use anything with maltodextrin or sugar/sucrose or the sort in an enzyme supplement, and I really REALLY don't want to go on about vetraceuticals again, but check out on the testimonials (I have a friend that knows this veterinarian personally and he says the dog this vet mentions was not doing very well on anything at all... this is what the vet says: "After 6 weeks on Vetraceuticals in one trial dog, it appears to have helped with its EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency) and may help other dogs with the same condition. I shall definitely continue using it for dogs where we suspect EPI, other digestive problems and disorders related to malabsorption, colitis etc.                                                                                                       UK Veterinarian Dr. Richard Hillam,                                                                                                                        BVSc PhD CertVR MRCVS.

I do not have any dogs with EPI, I have friends with dogs that have it and it's stressful. Don't wish it on anybody! I have not personally seen vetraceuticals do its wonders on dogs with EPI just because I haven't had any friends with it try it yet, but I believe this vet as I know his friend. I know that if I had one I would for sure put them on it, can't hurt. It has the enzymes AND the probiotics as well as other nutrients as well, in one product, rotated through cycles to avoid over supplementing any minerals or whatnot. 

You can see more at http://www.vetrapethealth.com   (yes I do btw benefit, but I never in my right mind would associate myself with them if I didn't truly and honestly believe it helps dogs (as was said in previous posts, I've seen my own dogs benefit right before my eyes. 

Might try through different stuff, see what works, and if you could just kind of report back so we can hear how it goes! 

Wish you the best of luck!

      My male german shepherd has EPI.  My vet put him on Viokase-V and he has done very well on it gained back all the weigh he lost, and has kept it on.  Have two friends dogs have EPI also, they are using a different cheaper enzyme and their dogs are up and down with there weight and stool condition.  Don'nt know if the enzyme makes a differents but the Viokase-V has done very well for Panzer.  I wish you luck.

thanks guys this is so helpfull i am not tearing my hair out quite so much

I also have an EPI dog.  It took almost a year to stabelize his weight.  I use Pancreatin 6X from American Labs.  I buy it throught the EPI site mentioned in an above post.  It is a powerful enzyme and it is considerably less costly because of the folks at the EPI Yahoo group, they buy bulk and sell for cost to owners of EPI dogs.  It's a great group with immense amount of information.

My boy also has the often included IBD, and SIBO.  If he has a SIBO flareup, I use Tylan.  It works well, luckily he has few flareups. 

Many EPI dogs need B12 shots.  I'm not too knowledgable on the reason these dogs have this defiencieny, but this could be another problem your boy is having. 

I also feed a probiotic. 

It took considerable trys to find a food he did well on, some gave him diarhea, some he lost weight on.  Timberwolf Organics, and Canidea both do well for him weight and poo wise.

One more thing, the Prozyme mentioned in an above post, is often used with EPI dogs to help with weight gain.  I used it for the first year.  It is great, and you may want to give it a try also.

I also have a gsd with EPI. I use the enzymes from american lab. There is a group that buys from american labs in bulk to keep the prices lower. 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) of pancreatin 6x is $128. Pancreatin 6x is comparable to viokase. My girl was down to 45 pounds before we figured out what was wrong with her, she is now a fat happy 65 pounds!  Sometimes you have to play with the amount of enzymes you give them, too much or  too little can cause diarehaa. Some dogs require several teaspoons with each meal and others only a 1/4 teaspoon. I also supplement with nupro, when you mix it with water, it makes a liver gravy, the dogs seem to love it and it also covers up the taste of the enzymes. I usually mix her food up with the enzymes and nupro and let it sit for 15-20 minutes before feeding it to her.  Here is the link to the site where I get my enzymes. If you have any questions, email me, I would be happy to help you. Good luck with your girl.  Robin

http://www.k9-epi.com/

If you have trouble accessing the K9-Epi site, here is a link were you can order the enzymes.

http://www.freewebs.com/enzymediane/index.htm