Epi4Dogs

so glad to hear that Piper is doing much better now.....with the increased enzymes and no more rice. The "verps" might take a bit longer to straighten out.

ONce the poos are "nice" for an extended period of time.....maybe 3 weeks.... and since you are not feeding the rice anymore... if the verps have continued.... try reducing the enzymes by a tiny pinch (maybe 1/16 tsp) and see if that reduces the verps without softening the stools.... if this doesn't work... then talk to the vet about possibly adding Omeprazole to her regimen.

I am sorry for not checking in sooner. Things are pretty nutty here but finally settling down.


Anyway I wanted to report that Piper is doing much better. Her belly issues, grumbling, verps and gas are gone. Thank you to Michaela for recommending Jody at Spot On.

We cut everything out of Pipers diet except for Sweet Potato and Ground Beef plus all the supplements and vitamins. We have another two weeks together and then maybe we can incorporate something else but for now she is good.

Still trying to put on a few pounds. Stool not 100% but so much better too,

thanks for the update... SOOOoo glad to hear that Piper is doing better .... WAHOO!!!

And i too would like to thank Michaela for helping out

I am continuing to work with Jody and she wants to add a snack in for Piper. However we are unsure on how to give the enzymes

I know it is measured 1tsp per cup of food. SO if I feed 1-1/2 cups I find 1-3/8tsp work.

however for a snack they are wondering if the enzyme dose be converted to grams of food vs volume

Using napkin math. It's basically a 15:1 ratio of food to enzyme by weight in grams. A cup of my dogs kibble is about 60 grams and a teaspoon is approximately 4 grams. Of course the weight might be different depending on what is actually in the food.
That being said, it actually comes down to the amount of fat, protein, and carbs. The more the snack has the more enzymes you will need. The 1 teaspoon per cup is a starting recommendation and can be increased or decreased depending on the need.

Thank you!

thanks Jeremy.... that was way more detailed than what i normally suggest, but also spot on

I tried my best to understand but I am so bad at this LOL


Anyway, this is what I came up with. Please anyone tell me if I am right or wrong and if I need to adjust and then to what. I so appreciate it.

So this is what I have done, let me apologize for the long post in advance.

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we are now feeding three times a day. Two meals and a snack. (Breakfast, Snack and Dinner in this order)

For a full days worth of food it is 25.5oz or 696 grams. I take that and divide by 4. This gives me the snack portion (174 grams). I then take the remainder and divide by 2 giving me 261 grams for breakfast and lunch.

For Breakfast and Dinner (I never weighed it again after adding a little water slippery elm and psyllium) it is 1-1/4 cups of food. Snack comes to 3/4 cup.

Enzymes: Is this correct, for Breakfast and Dinner 1-1/4 cups of food should get 1-1/4 tsp of enzymes. Snack, 3/4 cup of food gets 3/4 tsp of enzymes?



Again sorry for asking so many questions, we just want to make sure we keep Piper on the right track and not lose stride in what we have accomplished


Thanks again,
Shawn

That is pretty close to the recommended amount. The 1 teaspoon per cup is based on kibble amount, since it is usually higher in fat.
Based of your weight, I am assuming you are giving a more of a mush than kibble.
You can probably, possibly, cut the enzymes back by 1/4th and see if it works. I, personally, would stick to the amounts of 1 1/4th and 1 and see if it works then cut back.
I know I am giving conflicting answers, but this EPI is anything but ordinary.
I don't mind a lot of questions. Keep asking. I am relatively new to this, but I have spent weeks absorbing information on it. If I am wrong about anything, there is always someone smarter than me around.

I would say that that is a good starting point. 1 level teaspoon enzyme per 1 level cup kibble. Start there.

If something is amiss with the poop, try lowering the ratio to 3/4 teaspoon enzyme per 1 cup canned food. I say this because if you were feeding a canned food instead of dry kibble that is the starting point.

As you are feeding homemade food it might be akin to canned food.

Jill