Epi4Dogs

I've had my GSD Kahlua on Purina ONE True Instinct for a year now. He was doing VERY WELL. Gained a TON of weight. Over the last month I've noticed a significant weight loss. No change in Poop though, still firm and formed.
The Purina ONE TI is grain free and 3% fiber, which was perfect bc ALL my dogs can eat it.
Does anyone feed Pro Plan? Or does anyone feed a premium dog food that ISN'T grain free?
In a conversation with my vet (old guy)....he said Pro Plan is the better of the two foods and is actually significantly more digestible than ONE. Pro Plan does have Grain Free, but it's HIGHLY expensive for smaller bags AND I'm not noticing a huge difference in ingredients compared to ONE TI?
Thoughts on Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon & rice or Lamb & rice?
I'm also looking at the FortiFlora probiotic. I do use the Slippery Elm, but on a daily basis gives Kahlua loose stools. When he has an upset belly, it's great to head off the use of Tylan but not on a daily basis.
I just don't understand the weight loss. I did increase his enzymes a little but haven't noticed a difference.
He's schedule to see his vet December 10th (a different vet than my "regular" vet) but Dr P is more open to suggestions and she will encourage some changes. My regular vet is an older guy that still is convinced EPI is GSD's only and enzymes only solve the problem. LOL.
Any suggestions from the group would be GREATLY appreciated. I thought I had this EPI crap down to a science with Kahlua....apparently not!

I read through all of your posts. Is Kahlua confirmed Epi by the Tli test?
Usually pets do better without grains. Some dogs are ok with them.

I wanted to know, which kinds of EPI-friendly dog food are available in Southern Europe? I was looking at moving to one of these houses in Greece in the medium to long term, with my Scotch Collie of course, and that means feeding her appropriately.

Jill, yes he is definitely confirmed EPI. Diagnosed as a puppy at 8 months old. I have all his bloodwork and vet records. He is 3 yrs old now. I’ve had him for just over 1 year now.

How is his B12? Do you give him B12 supplements?

Also, sometimes, we get so used to dealing with EPI in our pups and trying to manage it more effectively that we overlook the possibility that something going on with our dog might not be EPI related. This has happened to many of us and we have had to back up a bit to get a broader look. Since, his poos are not affected and everything else seems steady, when you go to the vet, you might want to explore with him/her if there are any other conditions that start with weight loss that you could be overlooking. I'm not saying this is the case, but you just don't want to miss anything.

But also let us know about the B12.

Barb

Yes, he is on B12 with intrinsic factor from wonderlabs.
I’ve been looking back at any changes and the only thing I can think of is we did reduce his B12 from 3 capsules per day to two. His B12 levels were low when I got him a year ago. They tested ok a few months back, we reduced him to the recommended dose of 2. Other than that, he’s had no changes.
I’ve put him back up to 3.
I will definitely talk to his Vet and see what she suggests.

Good choice to bump B12 back up. When it was retested it should be above 600.
Let us know what the vet says.

Jill

Just wanted to see how Kahlua is doing. Did increasing the B12 help? I had my boy on 2 WonderLab pills a day for about 2 years and then tried to reduce to 1 pill a day - he lost 6lbs. When I went back to 2 pills a day he gained the 6lbs back. As for food, if he's doing well on it I personally would not change it - that being said, you might want to contact the company and see if they made any changes to the formula of the food - they don't have to change the packaging to show the changes for a few months - they're given a grace period. If you went back to the original dose of B12 and he has not gained the weight back then you might want to have an appointment with the vet and make sure there isn't something non-EPI going on. If you use FortiFlora start off slowly using 1/2 the recommended dose and watch the poops - if all goes well then you can slowly increase to the full dose. But remember, only make one change at a time or you won't know what is working and what isn't. Keep us posted.