Finn gained weight, now what?

[DdannenbFinn]

Hello,

We have our German Shepherd, Finn on raw beef pancreas and a new grain-free kibble (Taste of the Wild, bison/venison). Do we keep him on the raw pancreas indefinitely? He actually needs to lose weight now.
We are also giving him the nutramax proviable probiotic, along with B12.

Another question I have, has anyone had trouble with their pet having seizures? I am curious if this could be a side effect of EPI?

So thankful for this forum, it saved Finn,
Dana

[jilbert57]

Hi Dana,
If Finn has Epi he either needs to be on raw pancreas or porcine enzymes for life(this can include beef enzymes or Crein, Lypex). This includes any food treats you feed. They need to be treated with enzyme before eating.
For weight loss I would just reduce kibble by a little at each feeding. Remember to dose enzyme according to the lesser amount of kibble.

Jill

[DdannenbFinn]

Thank you Jill,

We will continue the raw, he had a hard time with the powder enzymes.
The ratio for raw pancreas to food is 1oz of pancreas to 1 Cup of food, correct?

One more question: Finn’s coat is dry and sparse. I added in coconut oil to his diet, approximately 1 Tb per day, is there anything else that might help?

Kind regards,
Dana

[Kissy1921]

Hi Dana,

Molly is a GSD and has also put on weight, too much weight........... i started her on homecooked and she can't get enough of it, now I have to look at her sad eyes as I am cutting the portions down hahahahahaha.

Molly also had very dry coat and flakey skin too...... I bought some sardines in water, canned, and gave her two on top of her food with every meal... she lapped them up and her coat is lush now !! So shiny and glossy!

Dawn

[DdannenbFinn]

Thank you Dawn!

Sardines here we come

Molly is beautiful!

[Olesia711]

Thanks Dawn for your suggestion of sardines.... i was just getting ready to suggest fish oil when i read your post, and smiled... the suggestion of sardines is even better

Hi Dana, my Izzy also gained a wee bit too much weight once her EPI was under good control...she was what i called "pleasantly plump" a very nice problem to have with an EPI dog.

Regarding the seizures or seizure-like issue.... no that is not EPI related.

HOWEVER.... next time you visit the vet, have them check Finn's thyroid..... just in case he has developed low thyroid as that could also explain the weight gain and low thyroid can also cause seizure in dogs.............. not saying that this is what is going on.... but might be good to check, just in case.

[Kissy1921]

Pleasantly plump.....love that term!

[DdannenbFinn]

Thank you Olesia,

I had not thought about low thyroid, makes sense; maybe that’s my pleasantly plump problem too!

Exercise is hard too because he has bad hips. Fortunately, we live in a warm weather state, so he should be able to swim soon.

[Olesia711]

yeah, might be wise to have that checked out.... Please keep us posted!