Epi4Dogs

Hey everyone,
I have a beautiful 6yr old 35kg Great Dane cross, who was diagnosed with EPI in July last year. It was an absolute battle getting the diagnosis to today, where we finally have firm poops! I still give a happy dance after every single firm poop

We are from Australia, but are now living in France. We have been in Europe for 3 years, so when she travelled to Europe she did not have EPI.
Now we are looking to return home. But I am worried and concerned this flight could have negative affects on other organs too.

She can't go a few hours during the day without being fed. I still feed her 200g 3 x p/d with enzymes and B12. She basically tells me when she is hungry.
Travel to Australia is very strict. Her carrier cannot be opened during transit. She will be fed 10 hours before her flight so they release their bowels as much as possible before the flight. Then it will be 25-30hr flight - no food, only water.
Then she will be transferred to Quarantine for a minimum of 10 days.

Does anyone know how a long haul flight may affects EPI dogs that can't be fed for 30-40hours?

Regarding quarantine, they will get her medical history and hopefully have some knowledge regarding EPI and the D+ they can have. I don't want her to be rejected entry but my biggest concern is causing more health issues on her body from the lack of food and stress of travel.

I hope that makes sense and any insight would be really greatly appreciated, as my vet was able to provide any advice.

Fee

Gosh Fee I apologize for not seeing this this morning. That sounds like a huge stress on normal dog, let alone an EPI dog. I have never flown with a dog but I woll get someone on here who might know. Welcome!

Jill

YIKES! "She will be fed 10 hours before her flight so they release their bowels as much as possible before the flight. Then it will be 25-30hr flight - no food, only water. " this sounds like an excessively long time with no food. And an awful lot o stress on any dog.

Aside from the stress, i honestly don't think the lack of food for 25 to 30 hours will cause specific organ damage in an EPI dog..... however...excessive stress alone in any dog can upset a dog's systems... but exactly what/how much stress damage can do, i honestly don't know.

I do know that folks have shipped their dogs that have had EPI from Germany to the USA.... and although they have not shared the shipping details with me.... the dog was okay .... but my saying this is certainly no guarantee for you.

My suggestion to you would be to ask a vet how traumatic would this be on a Great Dane's body overall... and if there is anything you should do to relieve as much stress as possible............

could I suggest a tranquiliser of some sort

when are you thinking of this travel, I assume its not soon with everything that is going on

things are sent to try us with these dogs

Tranquillisers aren’t allowed by law.
How can any animal starve so long without distress?
Can’t she transit somewhere.? I’ve done the Australia journey a few times, nonstop is bad enough for a human who is being fed. If you have got to do it through a pet relocation company, I’d have thought they would be able to organise it. Even if she had to stay in quarantine en route, eg at Singapore or Hong Kong, I would prefer that as an option. The relocation companies are responsible then, and also for the transfer to Aussie quarantine.
I’ve moved cats out of the Uk, and dogs in. The paperwork is a nightmare, but we absolutely had to have vet approval when it was the EU passport.
Just think of the size of the aircrate! They’ll think she’s a lion!
If you’ve got the epi stable, and have an epi instruction book for the animal care staff in the languages you might need if transitting ,as well as English and French, it could be useful.

Didn't know that Patsy. Thanks

THanks Patsy for posting that about the tranquilizers.... without food and stress one has to be extremely careful about giving any drugs pre-flight even if certain drugs were allowed.

ALSO...jsut a personal experience (that i will never do again) .i shipped 2 SWDs from Spain, to Germany and then to the USA.... and they were not given food BUT were taken out of the crate in Germany and walked around and water bowls refilled..... well.... needless to say when i picked the puppies up in Atlanta Georgia.... the water was gone and it appeared that it had spilled.. so i have no idea how much if any water the puppies received. The breeder also said that he never ships just one puppy due to the stress.... Thankfully the puppies were fine..... but then again, they were puppies.... i have no idea how well a large dog, such as a Great Dane would fare... but i do understand one has to do what one has to do is moving. I love your suggestion of a special animal transport system... thanks for sharing that! Great idea!

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all your responses.
No tranquillisers are allowed at all, as animals could injure themselves during turbulence etc.
The rules into Australia are very different to America and Europe. Even if I go through a pet transport company (which I did on the way here), the cages cannot be opened and if any tampering has been done, they will not be allowed entry into Australia. They have very strict border security.
The paper work I have to prepare for them is from the country of departure. If they were let out in any other country, I would have to fill in a whole bunch of other paper work, see more vets and get new paper work done (no idea how many weeks/months that will take, because Australia has different requirements and rules depending on the country of departure). Certainly not something i'm considering, If that makes sense.

She was so great on the way over to Europe. She dealt with no food fine because we used to feed her raw and was used to having one starve day per week. She arrived excited and settled in so wonderfully. But now that she has this condition I am much more concerned.

Also she is not a full Great Dane, no where near as big, and we are not sure what she is crossed with. But yes her crate is still massive. Almost didn't fit in my apartment in London, was the same width as my corridor!

She is not allowed into Australia before August, but I am doing all the necessary steps and requirements to prepare her, but haven't made the decision fully as to whether I will do it. Trying to see if I can make living in Europe a possibility still, so we don't have to do this trip but I miss my country and family.

Thanks everyone!

Thank you for explaining further details.... my heart goes out to you as this must be such a tough decision for you.

It sounds like you are well versed in transporting a dog long distances and fully understand the pitfalls. .... so... although i cannot guarantee that there won't be a problem with this, regarding an EPI dog going without food for that long ... your dog should be okay with no food for that long. What concerns me (and this is with any dog flown anywhere, not only EPI dogs) is the stress factor in flying a dog long distances. You just never know what may or may not happen.

Again, i feel for you.