Help my puppy

[erapyburnis]

Recently, my 12-month-old puppy's levels were found to be borderline diagnostic for endocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or EPI. In order to determine whether adding enzymes to her food will assist, my veterinarian advises us to do so; if not, additional testing will be necessary. All of the typical methods I've used to get her to eat have failed. Therefore, any advice on how to encourage a very particular eater to eat would be greatly valued!

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Hi Bob, and welcome to you and your puppy! What's her name?

We are glad you've found us. EPI can feel so overwhelming at first, but with the right combination of food & supplements, it can be easily managed.

Can you please share the results of any of the tests your vet has run? If they ran the TLi, was she fasted for at least 8 hours prior to the blood draw?

Also, talk about her symptoms & what led you to have her checked out. Has she lost weight? Is her poo runny? Does her stomach gurgle?

The fact that she doesn't want to eat may have something to do with a condition called SID, which goes hand in hand with EPI. It's an overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut, and there are a couple of ways to treat it. Another factor is B12, which for EPI dogs needs to be above 600, higher than for normal dogs. Your vet may have tested for B12.

Using enzymes on a borderline case makes sense, but only if you can get her to eat the food you put them on. HOWEVER, they can be put into capsules given before a meal, too. I would think giving capsules, followed by a yummy meal may work for you, but then I don't know what you've tried to get her to eat. Scrambled eggs?

There are new-ish standards for verifying an EPI diagnosis, and you may want to share this with your vet---

As of March 2024, the following are the new canine TLI ranges:
0 to 5.5 µg/L Diagnostic for EPI
5.6 to 7.5 µg/L Subnormal cTLI concentration, EPI cannot be excluded. If signs are consistent with EPI, consider assessing response to pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy and/or remeasuring serum cTLI concentration in 1 to 2 months using a fasted sample (enzyme therapy will not interfere with testing).
7.6 to 10.8 µg/L Subnormal cTLI concentration, but EPI is unlikely. Consider other differential diagnoses depending on the clinical signs observed.
10.9 to 50.0 µg/L Result is within the reference interval.
> 50.0 µg/L In dogs without clinical signs of pancreatitis or with normal cPLI concentrations, a cTLI > 50 µg/L is unlikely to be clinically important.

So, without overloading you with advice, please share as much information as you can so we can steer you in the right direction.

And please, please, please share this website with your vet. Let us know about the tests as soon as you can!

Take Care---Pam

[Olesia711]

Hi Bob,

So sorry to hear that your puppy doesn't want to eat... i am assuming once the enzymes have been applied???
Pam gave you some good background and asked great questions, if you can answer, that would be helpful.

Also... let us know what brand of enzymes you are using, how much enzymes you are putting o her food and how you are preparing the enzymes with her food and last but not least, what is the name of the food you are feeding your pup.

The good news about possible EPI in a pup..... is sometimes with puppies, the initial test result is a false positive.... the bad news is that you need to retest your puppy in about 3 to 6 months to confirm that your puppy does indeed have EPI.

Since she is not interested in eating... check out this page for some possible tips and tricks.... https://epi4dogs.com/camouflaging-the-enzymes/

But.... as Pam alluded to... the issue might be SID/SIBO/Dysbiosis... a secondary condition that accompanies ALL dogs with EPI that can sometimes make them feel like the don't want to eat... which we can't cure (yet) but there are lots of tricks to get it under good control. Please read the SID/SIBO tab about what SID/SIBO is and details in how to treat it.............. but in short.... first you try a prebiotic, if that doesn't help in a few days, then try a pre+probiotic (ask your vet if you can try PROVIABLE PROBIOTICS) if that doesn't work in a few days, you can try other different brands of pre+probiotics.... and if that fails, then ask the vet for a course of Tylan antibiotics. DO NOT let the vet prescribe Metronidazole. Metro kills all the bacteria in the gut flora and you don't want to do that, especially not in a puppy, where as Tylan simply stops the reproduction of more bacteria..... you can get Tylan from Chewy, but your vet will have to approve a script for it.
https://www.chewy.com/tylan-tylosin-tar ... /dp/173768

[Chance]

Warm welcome to you and your pup! Mine is also a year old now. It's a busy age!

If EPI was borderline, it sounds like it's at least headed toward being EPI. So I agree with trying the enzymes. I'd also be curious to know the TLI and B12 levels).

But loss of appetite isn't overly common with EPI. Though all EPI dogs do suffer from SID/SIBO, and that does sometimes cause loss of appetite. So if appetite is an issue now, I would suggest asking the vet about Tylosin.

Was there any other blood work done? Has Addison's disease been ruled out? (That causes similar symptoms to EPI, but is often associated with loss of appetite).

[vivianJ]

Recently, my 12-month-old puppy's levels were found to be borderline diagnostic for endocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or EPI. In order to determine whether adding enzymes to her food will assist, my veterinarian advises us to do so; if not, additional testing will be necessary.sex dolls cheap All of the typical methods I've used to get her to eat have failed. Therefore, any advice on how to encourage a very particular eater to eat would be greatly valued!

Hi Bob, welcome to you and your puppy! I'm sorry to hear that your pup is sick, though. If you have the means to do so, trying to offer food in a quiet environment can make him feel more comfortable, in addition to operating as others have said above. I'm not terribly professional either, so I can't give you any more expert advice than that. I hope your puppy gets better soon.

[erapyburnis]

Getting picky eaters to try new things can be tough! You might want to try mixing in some tasty toppers like plain yogurt or canned pumpkin. Sometimes,basketball legendsYou cantry out this sports game for freewarming up their food can make it smell better and more appealing. Another trick is to use a small amount of low-sodium chicken broth to moisten her kibble. Just make sure to introduce anything new gradually so it doesn't upset her stomach.

Thanks for the suggestion, Ashima. It seems to be working. I tried mixing in a little of my pup’s favorite chopped sausage into the vet’s prescribed diet and it seems to have helped. I’ll stick with Bob through this difficult time. And thanks for all the helpful advice!

[Tuckaboo Pam]

YEA!!! As long as his poop is good, you are fine. ---Pam

[charlieoliver]

try mixing the food with a bit of warm water or broth to make it more appealing. You could also test different textures (like softening dry food or mixing wet and dry food). Adding a small amount of a high-value treat, like plain boiled chicken, may also encourage eating.
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