Long time listener, first time caller :)

Epi4Dogs Foundation Inc.’s mission is the advancement of science and education relating to EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency), yielding useful insights and positive outcomes in better managing EPI in dogs and cats. Our goals are to support and/or collaborate with veterinary EPI research and researchers, and to promote EPI awareness by educating the general public, pet owners, pet organizations, rescue and shelter organizations, veterinary schools and veterinarians.
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Jigsaw
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Posts: 3
Country: United States
State: Georgia
Pet name: Jigsaw

Long time listener, first time caller :)

Post by Jigsaw » 21 Mar 2023, 10:17

I have read some of these forums for a while, it comes up often when I'm searching for new information. I have a 3 1/2 year old Australian Cattle Dog named Jigsaw. She is a rescue and we adopted her knowing some - but certainly not all - of her eccentricities. Jiggy was a stray, she was taken into animal control, they had no idea what to do with her, and turned her over to a rescue group, this was in mid 2020, I suppose there were other things going on in the world then. She was 29 pounds and presented with all manner of confusing bloodwork, but settled on treatment for EPI and low B12, with notes that other issues may be present. I adopted her 3 months later, she weighed 39 pounds. She's a cattle dog, through and through - very active, very protective. EPI is the least of our concerns, she's also aggressive and nips people. I had a dozen people in the first year we had her tell me to give her back (vets, trainers, random people who thought they were helping).

Like everyone here, I'm sure, we watch her poops very closely. We're actually in a pretty good place right now. We started on Viokase because the rescue group gave it to us, and ran into significant difficulties in getting it refilled. So running low, I bought some Enzyme Diane on an impulse to make sure we had something, my vet thought it was a bad idea, laughed at me for buying black market meds, but I needed something. It was great, I liked knowing the composition of every batch. Generally I saw no difference in management in the switch. My dog will eat. I'm sure it's the EPI mixed with being a stray, she will eat without stopping anything that's put in front of her, we have to use a slow feeder, she'll aspirate it out of a normal bowl. We had it mostly figured out within a year, we are no longer at the vet every 2 weeks. We did reconfirm EPI with my vet, and we've done the cobalmin blood work several times. She's "borderline", so probably not the worst case that ever existed. We do a scant tsp per meal, and we only feed 2x a day, maybe 1.5 C per meal. Also I have kids, so she gets plenty of unplanned food, which seems to not cause any problems.

I'm currently feeding American Journey Protein and Grains Salmon, I get a big bag autoshipped every 6 weeks. She's on Epizyme (prescription) right now, which we switched from Enzyme Diane purely for cost reasons in 2022, and we have a 12oz bottle autoshipped every 10 weeks. We learned to give injections (it's really not bad) and buy our needles from the vet, we give 1cc every 2 weeks. Needles and liquid b12 are both cheap cheap, so we maintain it that way, I distract her with treats and my husband gives the shot. Apparently there's very few nerves in the scruff. Finding the right vet was key, our first vet with her was not the right fit, they didn't understand her, they were clearly frustrated. We've been with our current vet for two years and they really are a huge partner in figuring out her needs. Other than the general aggression, she will absolutely not tolerate nail trimming, so she has to be sedated for that. She's also allergic to chicken, flares up, scratching, itching, it's awful. tried the claritin and it made her act like a psycho. So we just avoid chicken. She's a very expensive dog, but she is really a wonderful pet and we love her so much.

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Olesia711
Founder & Research Director
Posts: 3857
Location: North Carolina
Country: United States
State: North Carolina
Pet name: Izzy
My name: olesia

Re: Long time listener, first time caller :)

Post by Olesia711 » 21 Mar 2023, 11:49

thanks you for sharing Jiggy's story with us.... (i love the name!!!!!!!!!). Sounds like you are doing a WONDERFUL job managing her EPI ... and i must say... Jiggy lucked out and got her human angel with you!!!

regarding the aggression... that is a tough call and the whole issue needs to be considered..... i have always believed that aggression can be fixed thru proper behavior modification and diligence...and very often aggression s from either abuse or illness (which sounds like what Jiggy might be experiencing). BUT... every so often there are a small handful of dogs, just like people... that can't be fixed.

I too went thru 10 APDT dog trainers that told me i couldn't fix the aggression between my 2 female dogs and had to get rid of 1. Which i couldn't and didn't do.... FINALLY i worked with a trainer (the 11th one that i contacted!!!!) that took everything into consideration and helped me help my 2 females learn to live with each other ... and they did for 12 years together! So although this is a personal opinion only... i think it is worth trying to work thru aggression in "most" cases.
Olesia, was owned by Izzy, a 35lb Spanish Water Dog (SWD), Diagnosed at 1.5 years old - TLI results 1.. Izzy passed away on February 13, 2020 at 15 years old. She lived with EPI for 13+1/2 years. It was because of Izzy that Epi4Dogs was started... she was the inspiration. May her legacy of helping others with EPI continue for as long as needed.........

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