EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

IF you grind down the food to a pulp... is it possible you may not need the same enzymes amount?

I am grinding the barley down as my internist pointed out he can not digest the husk so he wasn't getting the nutrition from the barley... (Not sure if dogs get nutrition from carbs or not... one group say they do one group say it irrates the gi ... SO I don't know... The group that says it does have chubby little dogs to prove it... so I am hoping they are right so that maybe Brodie can get some of that chubby..) BUT  I am seeing small steady improvement in his legs .. his hair is coming back !!! and he is not chewing himself as bad so I am seeing improvement.... BUT STOOLS HAVE gone south...So I was thinking that I am grinding the barley really to a pulp breaking it down so in a way maybe I need to reduce enzymes a bit?? I am trying it but wanted to see what your thoughts... good or bad are with this... (I am also worried the loose stools... may be a sign of IBD...). but thought I'd try reducing the enzymes a bit first as... HE LOOKS THE BEST HE HAS IN A LONG TIME ON HIS LEGS ...SO SOMETHING IS AGREEING WITH HIS ALLERGIES...  ( though I was told most dogs do not have allergies... ???)  So is it possible that by grinding the food I may need to reduce the enzymes a bit... do you think ????        

I am also thinking by it not being grinded it was acting like fiber too.... now that it is ground it is not absorbing stuff and holding stuff together.... 

LOL SEE you got to not only think " outside of the box" you gotta look around the box... ask the box questions and make a good guess   you gotta laugh ...

Just anecdotal... but Revy seems to do much better on ground kibble than "normal" kibble.  The enzymes seem to work better on ground.

... I really wish a kibble manufacturer could offer bags of pre-ground food.  That would be sooooo nice!

( though I was told most dogs do not have allergies... ???

I should have told Razzy that... she was allergic to the planet!

I did grind her kibble for a long while then decided it was easier to soak it well, because soaking made it really soft the enzymes were the same dose.

I never did it any other way but I must admit I had to tweak the enzymes up and down just a little bit and quite frequently with HER. It was a part of the week by week, month by month management that became a way of life.

You don't really know what will work until you try.

Val

I did soak his commerical dry dog food too and he did a bit better... I am not sure if we are having enzymes issues or fiber issues.. I would think if it was an IBD reaction he would not be getting his hair back.. He is doing a bit better overall .... so I am thinking no food changes right now just try going down with the enzymes... I had to raise them when I went with the new diet... and if nothing then go up .... I am adding some stuff for fiber.... so I need not to panic here and play with enzymes down then up first.... This is day two on less so I will give it another day on less and see...

looking outside the box for solutions... then looking at the box... maybe it is not a box... but a circle...:)

and yes I wish someone had told Brodie that he is not suppose to have food allergies ... It would make this whole situation soooooo much easier..... and if it isn't food allergies then why is his hair growing back on his legs when his legs were red,chewed and looked horrible and now that I have taken away the eggs, and watermellon and just sticking to the one diet with a little ricotti cheese for snacks his hair is growing back and not so much red on his legs...?????? I am not that smart but............  

Us humans have Amylase in our mouths and this is where we start to break down our food dogs use the teeth for tearing and a bit of chewing but don’t break there food down there.

Dogs and cats digest starches in the small intestine where they use amylase produced in the pancreas so would the case be that you would need more enzymes not less ????As it is the grain that blocks the enzymes working correctly.

Would rice or semolina cooked be easier for digestion the reason I say this is a grain is a grain I can’t remember what your internist put on your list.

I have also read that grasses as such can help with various ailments one was hair loss ……………..anemia natural digestion that’s why dogs will eat it.

As for what diet is best well I give up with that one like you I have read the barf argument as well as the ones against it I have a nine year old that is feed a highly digestible grain in food and he has never touched an antibiotic in his life I swopped him to grain free with sweet pots that didn’t suit him he now has 50/50 grain in and grain out .

At the end of the day highly digestible is the word and what suits your dog and his condition.

You are doing a cracking job you are so determined to win this battle.

Ann

Yes, babe you got allergies to cope with.

Razzy would chew her back raw if something disagreed with her... or have vile poops and it was nearly ALWAYS something in food.... or she had a flea or a dust mite bite her... I think she only had to SEE one to start scratching and biting.

In kibble it was usually seaweed powder used to up the vitamins... or dried liver for the same purpose... or almost anything in the way of additives.... pre - pro biotics did it.... fish or fish oil did it.... earth greens did it... and on and on.

When she had to have glucosamine for her clonky hip she couldn't have the usual stuff because it was made from mussels. The vet (bless him) found a glucosamine made from pig cartlidge ... but it had added liver for vitamins... guess what? She couldn't have it only in a small dose. So he gave her Cartrophen injections.

Allergies are right pain and I feel for you, I really do.

Val