Re: 5 month old puppy with all symptoms and normal test
Posted: 30 Nov 2022, 10:50
i personally am not a big fan of prescription foods.... BUT .... that being said..... they do have their place.... and sometimes it is the only saving grace available for these dogs.
For example, i personally believe in including as much people food (appropriate for dogs) as possible, sometimes in addition to dog food or by itself if well balanced. I too think raw is a good way to go with "some" dogs, but not all.... some simply get sick. Once while feeding my 3 dogs raw, 2 were fine and one got so sick i had to bring him to the vets (and he was NOT my EPI dog... she was just fine!)... so you do have to be careful with which dog can handle raw.
Regarding the prescription foods, i agree, loaded with fillers, but many of these fillers are prebiotics...and that is what truly improves gut flora imbalance.... much needed for dogs that are sick ........... and unfortunately you just can't get the right combo/balance of prebiotics with individual ingredients with severely sick dogs..
And then there are the hydrolyzed foods.... again, prescription.... ugh ......but some of these dogs have such bad IBD / food sensitivities, that they become so sick that nothing works, and starting them on a hydrolyzed food saves their lives. Again, i am not impressed with the ingredients, but it is what it is and can be a life saver.... with the hope that once healing begins, regular/real food can be re-introduced.
After 15 years running the forum..... to date, unfortunately i have not seen any nutritionist come up with a sound diet for an EPI dog.....i am sure they are great with other conditions, but for some reason when it comes to EPI, the diets they suggest simply never work......EPI is just a most unusual condition to work with...... i can't tell you how many times people have participated on this forum, spent lots of money for a nutritionist to work with their EPI dog.... and it never works out. My hope is that all this EPI research that we are doing will yield some clues so that the veterinarian profession will have better insight in managing EPI.
For example, i personally believe in including as much people food (appropriate for dogs) as possible, sometimes in addition to dog food or by itself if well balanced. I too think raw is a good way to go with "some" dogs, but not all.... some simply get sick. Once while feeding my 3 dogs raw, 2 were fine and one got so sick i had to bring him to the vets (and he was NOT my EPI dog... she was just fine!)... so you do have to be careful with which dog can handle raw.
Regarding the prescription foods, i agree, loaded with fillers, but many of these fillers are prebiotics...and that is what truly improves gut flora imbalance.... much needed for dogs that are sick ........... and unfortunately you just can't get the right combo/balance of prebiotics with individual ingredients with severely sick dogs..
And then there are the hydrolyzed foods.... again, prescription.... ugh ......but some of these dogs have such bad IBD / food sensitivities, that they become so sick that nothing works, and starting them on a hydrolyzed food saves their lives. Again, i am not impressed with the ingredients, but it is what it is and can be a life saver.... with the hope that once healing begins, regular/real food can be re-introduced.
After 15 years running the forum..... to date, unfortunately i have not seen any nutritionist come up with a sound diet for an EPI dog.....i am sure they are great with other conditions, but for some reason when it comes to EPI, the diets they suggest simply never work......EPI is just a most unusual condition to work with...... i can't tell you how many times people have participated on this forum, spent lots of money for a nutritionist to work with their EPI dog.... and it never works out. My hope is that all this EPI research that we are doing will yield some clues so that the veterinarian profession will have better insight in managing EPI.
