changing diet/enzyme amount months later?

Post by **lsporter** » 16 Jul 2018, 15:41

Hi again all. I'm Stewie's mom (the little black chihuahua, age 14, diagnosed last November). Stewie has been doing really good, with small little ups and downs. However, recently, I've noticed that she is acting EXTREMELY hungry again (like she was before diagnosis), and she's lost a few ounces from where she was maintaining. Her poops look okay, but its been a bit more frequent...maybe 3-4 in a day, and more urinating too. She is fed morning and night. I'm afraid she may not be absorbing the nutrients again. She otherwise acts like a puppy. My question is, does the enzyme dose ever need to be adjusted? She eats half a cup of wet food each morning and night, with 1/2 tsp of enzyme at each feeding. She's also getting her wonderlab B12.. The specialist who diagnosed her has moved out of state and the new specialist didn't seem like she had a clue about EPI. I've found so much helpful information on this website, I thought I would try y'all first before going on another hunt for a vet with knowledge. Thanks in advance.

Post by **Riley's Mom** » 16 Jul 2018, 16:26

Sorry to hear your Stewie seems to be flaring up again. Sometimes as our pups age, they need a little bit more enzymes than they did before. It happened to my girl (she's 9.) I increased enzymes by 1/4 tsp and she was fine again. Of course Stewie is a much smaller pup, so maybe increase by just a pinch and watch things to see how he does.

Post by **Olesia711** » 17 Jul 2018, 14:53

First, love the pic of Stewie.... what a little cutie!!!!

As Elisabeth said, many of our dogs, as they age, need a pinch more enzymes. That's is what also happened to my gal... i too had to increase the enzymes.

With little Stewie, you might want to try increasing the enzymes by 1/16 or 1/8 of a tsp.... and observe Stewie for 3-5 days and see if you notice ANY improvement.... if not.... because of the excess urinating.... at that juncture, i would bring Stewie to the vet to be checked over... just in case this is not EPI related, but instead could be something like crystals/stones/UTI or sometimes with older dogs, they develop Diabetes.. I am not saying that this is the case, but it is always better to err on the side of caution..............

Please keep us posted!

Post by **Madelon** » 17 Jul 2018, 18:50

I agree with Elisabeth and Olesia - maybe try increasing the enzymes a pinch but if after 3 days there's no improvement I would definitely take Stewie in to the vet. A lot of times we tend to think it's EPI related because we deal with it every day and tend to forget our pups are like any other pups and can get other "normal" doggie issues. Please keep us posted on sweet Stewie.

Post by **lsporter** » 23 Jul 2018, 16:18

Hi all! Just an update on Stewie. She's back up to "new normal" weight (she gained the 5-6 ounces she lost), isn't as ravenous, and everything else seems to be better than it was. I ended up increasing the enzyme by almost 1/8th tsp. Hopefully it stays working. Thanks for all your advice...as usual, its invaluable!

Post by **Olesia711** » 23 Jul 2018, 22:39

Great news ! Glad to hear that Stewie is doing better now

Thanks for the update!

Post by **Riley's Mom** » 24 Jul 2018, 08:18

Yay! I love it when the fix is easy!

Post by **Madelon** » 24 Jul 2018, 14:09

So glad Stewie is doing better!! Paws and fingers crossed it stays that way

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changing diet/enzyme amount months later?

changing diet/enzyme amount months later?

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