EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Okay, I now know that the amount of enzymes should be poportional to the food. However, do these dogs need more than the  recommended food for their weight?

Today I am home with Bella, I fed her 3/4C food in am, but 10 she was "starving", so I gave her a treat of 1/4C. According to the dog food, she should be eatting up to 1 1/2Cups per day for her weight.  That would mean I could only give her 1/2 this afternoon, I know she will be starving by dinner time.

Hi Bella's mom.... i jsut got back from being out of town so i do not yet know Bella's story... but have to say, according to your profile... Oh My Goodness... what a cutie!!! hoe can you contain yourself from hugging her????

Regarding food amounts.... with an EPI dog.. when first diagnosed.... no matter what is recommended for the dog's size, it is perfectly fine and even suggested to feed the dog 150% of what is required (you can do this for a while) because EPI has literally robbed the dog of much needed nuutrients for a long time.  BUT ........if possible, do this by feeding less but more often.

perfect, thank you

Hi Bellas mom ,she is sooo cute !I am new to this too .At a guess i would say if her food is ok & no sloppy poo ,keep going with the enzymes & divide more food than she needs into 6 or 8 meals.Have you looked into the supplements suggested on this site ?Good luck with her -what a babe .

Hi Bella's Mom,      She is adorable!!!!!   Please, please post more pictures of her soon.

As for feeding more than perscribed for your dogs weight.   I agree with everyone else here.  She is starving and unless she is overweight, I say feed her.   My Suzie lost 1/3 of her body weight in the beginning and now is back to a normal Mini-Doxie.  A whopping 12lbs. 

My Suzie is "free fed".  I mix food for her every time her bowl is empty.  She eats whenever she wants.  This started when I was so despirate to put weight back on her.  Oh, and BTW,  she only gets kibble with water and enzymes, but i can leave it out for 1/2 a day and it doesnt seem to go bad, or effect her digestion either.  Sure makes it simple for me. 

Again, hang in there, and you will make Bella a happy,. healthy puppy real soon. 

I have been giving her smaller amounts all day. She seems to be "starving" all day long. Could it be she is just going through a growth spurt right now?  I gave her 3/4 at 7am, 1/4c at 9am, 3/4c at 2pm, 3/4C at 6, 1/4 C at 7 and now she wants more so I have 1/2C set in incubation.

I know I was told I can make some up and put in frig for later, but how long does it have to sit out before I can give it to her?

Now on Monday, I am back to work, I will only be able to give her 3 good meals, 4 if I feed her just before bed...Do you think that is enough?

I forgot to tell you. I can't leave it out all day of for long periods, I have two older dogs that love leftovers.

I have to tell you the reason I got Zoey the rescue was b/c I needed Tara to eat her food!:)

Getting a pup worked well in getting Gem to eat too.  Gem isnt gaining the weight she lost with SIBO before Christmas but is stable at 27.4kg so for now Ill just be glad about that.  We call Izzy our little "Stem Cell" because we go ther to help boost Gems spirits and it certainly worked and Gem has done really well since.  They both sit looking for their food 3 times a day and Izzy doesnt mind that Gem gets nice real food and she gets kibble - as long as there a few flakes of chicken or fish on top of her kibble.

It must be hard seeing such a young pup struggling but you are on the best site here and everyone will help you and little Bella through.  I dont know what we would've done without the supports of folk on here at times.  Its only 5 months for us since Gem was diagnosed so we are still new at this but we are getting there and you will too.

Smaller meals more often seem to work better w/ these guys, more than what they would normally eat.  So yes, 3-4 meals will work well.  If they normally would eat 2 c day, say, do 3-4 c day instead spread out.

when Jackie was first diagnosed (8 mos old) she was ravenous also - I was feeding her the 150% (8 cups) a day!!  She was killing me on how much enzyme we were going through - but It slows significantly when they become stable.  Hugs to your cuttie pie...