WELCOME TO ALL

[pinglukol]

Hi Olesia, thank you for your reply and support.
Yes , as I am seeing in picture , Pinglu trying to start reading.......lol.....hahaha

[RingoMommy]

We found out about Ringo's EPI last Friday. It feels like we won't ever figure this out.

Ringo will be three at the end of this month and I want him to have a great birthday.

[Olesia711]

Hello Ringo's mommy and welcome to you and Ringo.

Ringo will have a great life. My gal was diagnosed at 1+1/2 yrs old... she just had her 13th birthday and is still going strong.

But i remember when we first got the EPI diagnosis.... not only had i never heard of it... what i did learn about it scared me and i was not sure we would be able to handle it much less afford it...........

Within 3 months, my gal was stable, i learned about food grade generic enzymes that saved me tons of money, and i learned lots of "tricks of the trade" and quite honestly, taking care of my EPI dog is MUCH easier than taking care of my gal with allergies!

The best thing to do is read the EPI quick guide https://epi4dogs.com/epi-quick-guide-usa/
to give you a nice overview for beginners....and then start keeping an EPI Log https://epi4dogs.com/epi-log/
EPI is all about finding the right balance of the recommended protocol for YOUR individual EPI dog.

1. proper enzymes administered properly
2. an agreeable diet (usually low fiber works best)
3. B12 supplementation if needed
4. keeping SID under good management either with prebiotics, or prebiotics & probiotics, or with antibiotics.

[RingoMommy]

Thank you. I feel like I am coming out of the fog right now, and glad to say that Ringo has gained two pounds over the past week since starting treatment. I was afraid we would lose him.

Right now, giving him 3/4 tsp with 3/4 cup of food; for a snack today at lunch he had 1/2 tsp for 1/2 cup - testing the theory that the dosage is proportional to food. He's probably the littlest dog in this group; the vet said the specialist had never heard of a Frenchton with EPI.

Still have to figure out how this forum works.

[Olesia711]

Hi Ringo's mom! Sounds like you are already doing a great job with little Ringo.... and that is correct... start with a ratio measurement of 1 tsp of standard enzymes per 1 cup of food (powdered enzymes)... and adjust accordingly if need be.

If you want..... you can call me tomorrow and i can go over how to use some of the features on this forum.... just email me at : olesia.kennedy@gmail.com and i can give you my cell.... that way you can call me and i can walk you thru how to use some tools while on the phone.

[RingoMommy]

Thank you! I managed to figure out how to get a message if I get a reply, so that's a win!

I have another question but maybe I should start a topic? I have read about aggression associated with this condition, and Ringo just growled at the dog from down the street. That's not like him at all, so I wonder if it's just because he's feeling icky.

[RingoMommy]

Ringo

20180817_165332.jpg (1.89 MiB) Viewed 5881 times

And here's a pic of Ringo from yesterday, looking better.

[Madelon]

What a cutie Ringo is!!

[Olesia711]

OMG he is SUCH a cutie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ahhh...the growling...... yes, it could be because he just does not feel so great from the EPI- -but usually once on the enzymes they do start to feel better.... BUT.... with our EPI dogs, many times when they act this way it is because their B12 is low..... B12 levels need to be upper mid-range in EPI dogs... mid range is just not good enough cause the levels tend to plummet... SOOOOoooo.... this is why we suggest upper mid-range.

Was Ringo's B12 tested? Over 80% of all EPI dogs need B12 supplementation.... AND... the deal with a chronic condition like EPI, is if their B12 is low, it will need to be supplemented for the levels to be brought up to upper mid-range and then do NOT stop the B12 supplementation but rather your vet should re-test the B12 levels to then ascertain how much/how often the B12 needs to be given going forward to maintain the good B12 levels. (Many of us use Wonderlabs Pet Factor B12 with the intrinsic factor for this)

The other thing that goes hand in hand with EPI is SID (small intestinal dysbiosis) and all EPI dogs will have this going on, and the weird thing is that some dogs seem to act fine with it, while other dogs are miserable with it.... SID is major gut flora imbalance..... we used to automatically prescribe antibiotics (Tylan) for this, but now, what we suggest is to try some prebiotics or prebiotics with probiotics and give this a few weeks/+ to see if things appear to be improving.... if not...then go for the big guns and ask your vet for Tylan antibiotic powder....... check out the SID page, it will more thoroughly explain things.

SInce you are new to this i am sure you are overwhelmed.... but please know it really isn't that bad... once you wrap your brain around it. The confusing thing with EPI is that you ahve 4 moving parts:

• enzymes
  diet
  B12
  SID

and you have to find the right balance managing each of these 4 things and THIS is what can be mind-boggling.... mostly cause after your start all the initial protocol stuff.... if things are not coming together as they should, then you have to play around with each of the 4 things to figure out what the right balance is of that item. AND.... this is why we strongly recommend keeping an EPI log...
https://epi4dogs.com/epi-log/
it will literally save your sanity... and the cool thing about keeping a log is that you will start to observe trends with your special EPI pup with what seems to agree with him and what doesn't. This will greatly help you and your vet give Ringo the best treatment for years to come

[RingoMommy]

Thank you! Yes, he was tested for B12 when he was tested for everything trying to figure this out. He is on weekly injections for that, but so far has only had two shots. Yes, I believe he has SID because stomach noises, so I am going to keep an eye/ear on that; we do give him a bit of yogurt with his meals but that's probably not enough to help.

Thank you, I read about the SID from the information provided through this group. You are helping me not be a crazy person (the first week was a bit sketchy...)