Epi4Dogs

Alice, dogs from 60-85 pounds should get 1/4 tsp Tylan twice a day. No need to increase, I think! Sorry she threw up, maybe just dealing with SID. Jean often suggests giving something like a scrambled egg at bedtime, to keep the morning queasies away. I hope that would be ok for a Cushings pup (enzymed, of course!). Take Care----Pam

Hi Pam,

Thanks for the suggestion on the egg. I believe there is new research showing a slight increase in Tylan by an 1/8 tsp is helpful in controlling SID in some dogs. Olesia would be able to give more info on this than I.

I’ll try a little scrambled egg tonight if he’s feeling ok. Do you know how much enzymes you would add to one egg?

Alice

You could also just feed a small enzymed meal of normal food before bed.

Jill

Thanks Jill. Good to have another option.

Alice

Olesia, will the increase in recommended tylan dosage be updated on the antibiotics page? I wonder if this is why Tucker is passing gas after yet another 45 day round. Thanks!---Pam

Hi,

I was talking to my vet about a food change for Bailey and they told me they don’t recommend grain free because it has been linked to cardiac myopathy unless it is a veterinary diet. Has anyone heard this at all? They recommend the hydrolysed protein. I was also told if I use the hydrolysed protein, Bailey will need to switch to Pro Heart injections for heart worm since I wouldn’t be able to use Heart Guard. Does anyone have experience with Pro Heart? So many moving parts to try and mesh together. It seems like you just formulate an idea to help one thing and that throws something else out of whack.

Alice,

I respectfully disagree with your vet. EPI dogs do not need prescription diets. Honestly, I'm not quite sure why he keeps pushing expensive and unnecessary food at you. EPI dogs do not need hydrolyzed protein. I wouldn't feed a diet like that unless the dog had a condition which required it.

Regarding the grain-free/DCM (dilated cardiomyopothy) issue: Grain free foods do not cause DCM. The issue seems to be that an excessive amount of certain foods, particularly peas and legumes, were often used to replace the grains. There is a lot of good information regarding this issue on this website under the Managing EPI section. Go to Diet, then Taurine & GrainFree Diets. This information and research can explain it better than I could ever hope to. Olesia has a wealth of knowledge on this subject.

The Sport Dog Elite Herding Dog is not only grain-free, but is also free of peas and other legumes. Almost 90% of the protein in it comes from animal sources rather than plants. These are some of the reasons that it is recommended so highly here.

Hi Jane,

Thank you for this info! I ordered a small bag of the herding dog to try. I’m going to show my vet the info on grain free. The prescription diets are expensive. If he needs it I would do it but if there is a more cost effective food that works it would be a lot easier.

There is something that is confusing me… if peas and legumes are bad, why does Purina HA canned food have Pea Starch as the first ingredient after the water used for processing? Wouldn’t this be something that would contribute to DCM? I don’t know why my vet would recommend this food. Maybe there is something I'm missing? I need to mix Bailey’s dry food with some wet food to get him to eat it.

Alice, if you look at the bottom of posts, you will see the signature, where some members choose to share test results, meds, food choices, and outcomes. You will find that many of us feed Sport Dog Elite/herding dogs. Tucker gets the buffalo/sweet potato recipe.

YES, there has been a problem with some grain-free food, because too much of the protein was measured by legumes, which meant not enough meat (taurine). I'm just jumping in to agree, that while some grain-free foods are not healthful, some are. And SDE is awesome. I don't know why that Purina flavor starts with peas, but because it does I wouldn't give it to any of my dogs.

Vets are incredible. I could never be one, (because i'm not very smart), but there are too many things out there, for them to know everything. Here's some additional info on grain-free food: https://epi4dogs.com/taurine-grainfree-diets/

Take Care. I know this is hard. ----Pam