Newly Diagnosed Corgi w/EPI - Suggestions?

[Bri S]

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I would pop in to say hello and give an Opal update!

It was spot on that she had a UTI - so her vet sent us home with amoxicillin that she took one pill twice a day. We finished that prescription and she is a happy camper right now.

Thanks again everyone, we really appreciate it!!!

[jilbert57]

Bri, what a great update. Keep up the good work!

[Bri S]

Hi Everyone!

My little Opal has been stable for a few months now and I think that soon it is time to look into feeding her another kind of dog food. She is doing okay and having sold stools with her current food which is Hill's Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken Flavor Dry Dog Food - but she is still pretty stinky from time to time. She seems to love the food though, so sticking with chicken flavor would be nice!

She eats a decent amount for her size... she's a corgi and all of 24lbs but eats 4x a day and about 1/2 cup each time since she had lost so much weight at her initial EPI diagnosis. The vet thinks that she just has a fast metabolism and paired with the EPI she needs more calories than a dog her size usually would.

That being said.... what dry dog foods do you recommend? What has and hasn't worked for your dog?

Thanks so much
Bri & Opal

[jilbert57]

So glad to read Opal is doing well. How many more days does she have of the 45 day course of Tylan?

[Bri S]

Hello!

The Vet isn't sure if we will be able to ween Opal off of Tylan or not. Her tummy started talking lots at one point so we had to up her dosage of Tylan by 1/2 of what we were giving her the two times a day she gets Tylan. I've heard that some dogs have to be on Tylan forever and that might be how Opal is unfortunately.

[jilbert57]

If they have to be a lifer on anything tylan is a good one. It is easy on the system and I don't recall any side effects.

[Olesia711]

Jill summed it up nicely... if a dog has to be on any anti for life, Tylan is probably the best one

Regarding food... needless to say, EPI dogs are unique, so what works for one doesn't always necessarily work for the next one... the bst suggestion we can give is to look at foods that have 4% or less fiber content. When first trying foods, most of our dogs appear to do better with food that do not use grain.... AND be careful not to try a food that has all kinds of peas in it... especially as one of the first 3 or 4 ingredients.... as EPI dogs REALLY have a problem with too many peas.

I personally just switched to a food called "Sport" elite series..
https://sportdogfood.com/sporting-dog-g ... h-formula/
the reason why is because this one is grain free AND does not have any peas in it at all. I do 80% homemade and 20% kibble (to keep the weight on) so i was using Annamaet Lean and Grain Free which was low fat (for my gal's diabetes) and low fiber (for my gal's EPI)... but it did have a little peas in it and i wanted to get away from peas if i could.
So far i am pleased with this Sport food. But it is expensive. If you want to try it... or any food.... we strongly recommend jsut buying the smallest bag possible at first.......if successful, then go for the big bag

[Bri S]

I am glad that Tylan hasn't been shown to have side effects if the dog must take it indefinitely.

Also thank you for the food recommendation, I will definitely look into it.... as well as stay away from pea's

Thanks!
Bri & Opal

[Olesia711]

Bri..... good luck with finding a new food.... but don't get discouraged... it often takes a lot of trial and error...

Please do keep us posted on your little cutie, Miss Opal

[Madelon]

Good luck finding a food - unfortunately that can sometimes be the hardest part of EPI. Keep us posted