Raw pancreas

[hooley68]

I bought some raw pancreas at a local Chinese market and I have been giving it to my dog. I’m not sure what the best way is to put it on his food. It’s extremely hard to cut up. I did buy a meat grinder so that might help When I get the meat grinder in the mail next week.
Any suggestions on how to serve raw pancreas to your dog with EPI on his food?

[jilbert57]

Hi Jim and welcome.
Will you please tell us a little about your pup such as:
Lab results for Tli, B12, and folate
What you are feeding
Any other health issues.

This will let us answer your questions better.
Has your pup been diagnosed with Epi?
Thanks

Jill

[hooley68]

He was diagnosed with EPI and a B12 deficiency last week. I feed him kibble in the morning and some raw food in the afternoon
I had a feeling he had this for a while because he was getting skinny. He’s two years old male German Shepherd. He weighs about 68 pounds seems to be getting better because his stools are a little bit firmer but still tan color. I could get back to you on the questions about the EPI test results. I’d have to look at it when I get home.

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Jim---Hi, and welcome. Sorry you are going through all this.

Will you please post all the results of the tests your vet ran? This will help us greatly, to help you.

EVERYTHING your dog eats has to have enzymes with it, at the time it is consumed. Meals should be small & 3-4 times a day. Twice is OK, if that's all you can do.

SO, like Jill said, tell us about your dog, and post those results, and we'll be able to add more details.

Finally, this is a hassle at first, but it can be handled. So hang in there!---Pam

[hooley68]

This is what the vet gave me, but I can call them tomorrow and try to get more information. It’s from Texas A&M.

IMG_4649.jpeg (4.11 MiB) Viewed 11549 times

[jilbert57]

Thank you Jim.
In your sign up form you have NO next to confirmed Epi? So I just wanted to make sure. The Tli of <1 (Epi) and B12 of 374,
Bruno's B12 needs to be brought up and kept at 600 or higher. Did your vet recommend B12 shots for 6 weeks?
I have always fed powdered enzymes with each meal so I think you have to experiment with raw pancreas and check on the poop.
The diet should be 4%fiber or less and grain free.
All food and treats you feed need to be treated with enzyme powder or give raw pancreas.
https://epi4dogs.com/epi-quick-guide-usa/
https://epi4dogs.com/enzymes-in-brief/
https://epi4dogs.com/b12-in-brief-2/

Jill

[Chance]

Hey there, and welcome! Glad you did get the diagnosis and can start the road to recovery!

Did your vet suggest B12 injections? That's the quickest and most effective way to bring the levels up.

Regarding raw pancreas, ground up is the best way to give it, to make sure the enzymes are readily available. So the meat grinder will help a lot with that. In the meantime, I'd suggest cutting it up in small, thin pieces if possible, then mix that through the food.

[hooley68]

Thank you I’m giving him 1 of the B12 vitamins a day he’s only 68 lbs should I give him 2? It says only 1 for under 100 lbs

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Hi Jim. I'm just going to give the whole spiel, BUT I have never used raw pancreas, so like Jill said, you will need to experiment.

It's all about the POOP!!! When it is brown, firm, and easily picked up, you'll know you're on the right track.

There are four cornerstones---

ENZYMES...I use https://enzymediane.com/, but I won't go into that unless you feel you want to try them. If you use the real pig pancreas, just play with it. The amount you feed with a meal depends on how much food is in the bowl.
If you are interested in trying the powdered enzymes, just let us know & we'll explain how that works.
Put the ground up pancreas into the bowl with the food.

FOOD...If you feed kibble, get grain-free with little or no white potatoes & peas...fiber 4% or less. I use Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, from Chewy or Amazon. How much SHOULD he weigh? Feed 150% the amount of food you would feed when he weighs what he should.

B12...Like Andrea said, an injection works faster, but if you have Wonderlabs Pet Factor (with intrinsic factor), one capsule a day is correct...if you give more than is needed, they'll just pee it out.

SID...needs to be treated if, after you've gotten all the other things in good order, the POOP is still sloppy.

PLEASE tell us more about your story. What kind of dog is he? What were his symptoms & when did they start? How much should he weigh?

OH! Start a journal & keep track of the things you try & the results you get.

Thanks so much for joining the forum, and I promise, this will take some tweaking but it gets easier.

---Pam & Nina

[hooley68]

Thank you so much for helping us!
I am extremely grateful for all of the advice you have given it is gold. I already bought some enzyme Diane a couple weeks ago.
I do put enzymes in his food. My wife forgot to put the enzymes in his food the other day, and he had diarrhea again. His stools are much better now, but they’re still tan not brown like my older German Shepherd, who does not have EPI. I am a volunteer for German Shepherd rescue New England. I think when more time goes by maybe I would like to try to help your organization also somehow. There are people within this organization that I speak to about this. I adopted Bruno from GSRNE when he was just a baby. A man bought him for his wife at the time because they were going through marital problems. They ended up getting divorced and he surrendered little baby Bruno to the German Shepherd rescue and now he’s with me. Now he’s about 2 1/2 and we love him so much. I will order those B12 capsules that you mentioned.