Epi4Dogs

MacKenzie - thank you so much for posting all of those adorable pictures of Johnny - he has a lot of personality and is just too cute! Congratulations on the weight gain.

Yes, not a typo - he was having to take 8-10 in his food every day. His B12 tested fine, but he would still start acting ravenous if he got any less than that even for a day or two. I never got him tested when he was displaying those symptoms, so I am not sure if he just consumes the B12 quickly and would display symptoms when it had dropped, or what. He needs injections more often as well (every 5 or so days, I know some people are able to do weekly, semiweekly or even monthly). We were using the Wonderlabs B12 with the intrinsic factor, I would open the capsule and sprinkle it on his breakfast.

Thank you very much for the input! I appreciate it. I feel like he's been a little bit of an oddball - he's done much better on a food containing grains and higher fiber than is usually recommended, and then there's the B12 issue. But I know every EPI dog can be very individual with their treatment. As long as his poop is good and he keeps growing like he should be, I try not to work myself up too much over it, but I want to make sure I'm giving him the very best care I am able to.

Kind of funny, I happen to be very low in B12 and have to take it daily myself, and it runs in my family to have to either supplement orally or get B12 injections. So I guess the two of us have something in common there

excellent news on the weight gain

As I have said before

if you have an EPI dog you have 1 EPI dog none are the same, My Kara could have treats between meals with no problem once she stabilised, most cannot, she used to become hysterical if her b12 nosedived , she would be non cooperative ,lethargic and pathetic

I know several people with low b12 my friend has pernicious anemia, and has to inject herself, I also have a friend who has EPI

Anyway keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming

Johnny recently started taking agility classes! Almost a year ago we tried regular obedience training classes and had to stop because he just couldn't do it physically, he'd all but collapse less than halfway through the class. He's loving the agility now though! I wanted something fun for us to do together outside of his service work so I am really glad he is enjoying things so much.

A few days ago I had an asthma attack and had to go to urgent care, and Johnny helped keep me calm enough that it didn't escalate to the point I needed to go to the ER. He does such a great job! Continuing to prove all the naysayers wrong - if it's not his EPI it's him being a mutt, or him being part pit bull, or large, or a shelter dog... Johnny adores kids and is super gentle with them but even my dad, when we were eating together the other day, warned me about a kid walking by our table and told me to pull Johnny away so he wouldn't do whatever my dad thought he might do to him - of course Johnny didn't growl, or lunge, but just sat there and ignored the kid like he is trained to do while working It can be a little saddening when people speak badly of him but I try to think of this forum whenever people say stuff like that and remind myself there are supportive/open minded people out there too.

Anyways, just two random updates... not necessarily EPI-related so you guys can let me know if you'd rather not see these kinds of things here! I don't really have too many people to share Johnny updates with so it's nice to stop by every so often with an update and some pictures if it doesn't bug anyone too much

Hope everyone and their animals are doing well!!!

I love these stories and especially pictures!

How could anyone speak badly about Johnny, he's adorable.

love the pictures and the update , just let peoples ignorance wash over you, maybe carry some EPI leaflets around with you, start the conversation, it always worked for me

Love the pictures! Look at those eyes! You have done an amazing job with him.

Barb

Johnny and I's one-year anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks! So much has changed since this time last year. I'd like to do something special for him - if anyone has any ideas or something they've really enjoyed in the past with their dogs let me know!

He had a bit of a flare up last month and had some bad poops for a couple of weeks, but adding a prebiotic back in has seemed to settle it down and he's back to the good poops!

We recently met another EPI dog - our first to meet in person! It was really cool getting to talk to them about their experiences.

Johnny is still rocking it as a service dog! Super proud of him and all the progress he's made. He's even alerted me to an incoming migraine all on his own a few times now! People are really surprised when I tell them about his EPI, but it's been a good way to spread word about the condition, and keeping y'all's advice in mind, I think we've been able to influence at least a few people's opinions in regards to what a service dog and handler team looks like.

thank you for letting us share him with you and his journey

I'm so glad to hear how well Johnny is doing! He is adorable.