possible EPI?

[erikamc]

I have a new foster dog, Brick. Brick is a roughly 9 year old pit bull or pitbull mix who has been with the rescue group for about 4-5 years. a year or so ago (I might have that time wrong, could be longer) Brick apparently developed wicked diarrhea and lost a ton of weight. they switched his food (http://www.dogmomma.com/dog-food-mixes? ... wP5EL2Bg50) the diarrhea stopped but he's still not gaining weight. The rescue has explained that they feel he has a nutrient absorption issue. there was also talk that his bout of diarrhea was the result of a roaring hookworm infestation and once he was away from the stress of the shelter and in a home he would put weight on. Once they said nutrient absorption issue, my brain went to EPI. actually it went to my boss, whose grand puppy has EPI and I had to ask her "whats the name of that thing that your daughters dog has?". I had talked to the shelter director about adding something to his diet, like probiotics or something, but they are the one who feels its all just from stress. On his homemade food Brick's stools are good. sometimes they are a little softer but he doesn't have typical EPI poops (unless you count that time I spaced and shared some pizza crust with him). His tummy is very noisy, he burps and farts often, especially after meals. last night his burps smelled like rotten eggs. thats when I decided to look in to EPI more. From what I've been reading, it doesn't really sound like this is what he has? unless the diet change could help with the EPI? Is it possible for him to have a mild issue that the diet change mostly helped, and could it have been hidden all these years? When he came to the rescue he was a normal weight, now you can easily see all his ribs and his hip bones. He's been here almost 3 weeks and has not gained weight. Due to his status as a "shelter dog" I don't see testing happening. I'm willing to try adding enzymes to his food. I also figure I can easily give him b12 orally. I did read where giving them actual raw pancreas can help too in place of the powdered enzymes and that is something I can definitely do.

I guess, to shorten this up:
1. can diet change alone help to some degree?
2.can this condition hide itself for years?
3.is raw pancreas and oral b12 supplementation a good place to start?

Thanks all!

[Olesia711]

Hi and thank you for adopting Brick. He was with a rescue for 4 to 5 years???? That is so sad! So again, thank you for bringing him into your home.
YES! EPI can happen in varying degrees and.... sometimes, a dog can be segueing into EPI long before he/she becomes clinical EPI.

The best thing to do is have he tested with a specific blood test called a TLI. That would be the most accurate way.
You can also give enzymes on a temporary basis to see if it helps. That stinky gas and tummy noises sound like SID (small intestinal dysbiosis) which is a secondary condition that EPI dogs have when they have EPI..... BUT..... other gastrointestinal conditions can also have SID.... and this is one of the reasons why we suggest to eventually properly test for EPI via TLI blood test.

You can actually get just a sample packet of the proper enzymes from EnzymeDiane to try. https://enzymediane.com/product/pancrea ... -50-grams/.

There is a Schebo kit that you can test at home, but it is used only to rule out EPI.
https://enzymediane.com/product-category/test-kits/
If the test shows positive for EPI that means that either the dog has EPI or a gastrointestinal condition that is very similar to EPI in which case you will have to eventually run the gold standard TLI test to confirm or not.

Yes, you can start with raw pancreas, but honestly there is so much variance from one pancreas organ to another that you would bet better of (more consistency) with the freeze dried pancreas powder sample. But yes, you can try raw pancreas.

And yes, diet can alleviate some of the symptoms in an EPI dog temporarily. Over the years, we have had people claim that they changed the diet and the dog's EPI was well controlled.... but in every single case, within a few months they had to put the dog on porcine enzymes.... We did have 1 case where it took almost a year but then they too had to place the dog on enzymes . I guess what i am trying to say is that sometimes a diet change can give a false security that the diet fixed or is managing the EPI... but that is only temporary.


I hope this helps answers some of your questions, and please keep us posted.

[erikamc]

Thank you! Technically he is still with the rescue group, just finally able to enjoy a couch and super soft dog beds. I'm hoping if I try some stuff and it seems to help, I can get the rescue to have him tested, so I will look in to the links you provided. Thank you again for your help!

[Barb]

Hello and thank you so much for bringing Brick into your home. Giving him comfort after all this time in a shelter is such a kindness and must be such a relief for him.

One thing I thought I would mention that might help you to observe what is happening is to keep a daily log/journal of everything you give him, the amounts and the resulting poos. We often do this and suggest it to others as a way to keep track of what is working and what isn't. Some-times it helps you to notice things of see patterns you might miss if you hadn't seen it written down. You can download a blank flog form from our website or just use a notebook. We did this with our EPI boy and it was an invaluable resource.

Brick is very lucky to have you in his corner. Let us know how he does.

Barb

[Madelon]

Hi and welcome to you and Brick! Fostering is such an important part of rescuing as shelters are full and without foster homes many dogs would unfortunately be put down, so THANK YOU for fostering this sweet pup.

Olesia and Barb have given you some great advice. One other thing you could try is adding some Slippery Elm Bark powder to Brick's diet. It's an all natural, inexpensive prebiotic, which has shown great results in a research study using it to help with SID (small intestinal dysbiosis). It can help with the gas, tummy gurgling, burping, etc. Here's a link to our dosage and information on Slippery Elm https://epi4dogs.com/slippery-elm/.

Please keep us posted, whether or not Brick has EPI, will help you as much as we can

[erikamc]

well I ordered some slippery elm (which I'm also going to try for my chihuahua as I noticed it says it can help acid reflux) and some b vitamins. also ordered the sample pack of enzymes. We'll see if it helps! thanks for your help!

[Olesia711]

Hi Erika,

Please feel free to ask any other questions and d keep us posted on Brick's situation.
Barb made an awesome suggestion about keeping notes.... that is one of the best ways to find clues as to what is going on when there is a gastro issue.

If you go to this page... we have templates of logs that notes what to keep track of.... that you might find useful that you can download https://epi4dogs.com/epi-log/