Epi4Dogs

Lisa, on the forum page, beside your title & name it counts the views of your posts. Nothing wrong with being loved!

Hey Lisa,

Obviously you and Sadie are VERY much loved ... going by all the posts on your thread

Good Morning Pam & Olesia, et al:

Umm.....wow......I can't even begin to wrap my head around that number. To me it shows how many people there are out there who have found this incredible foundation and its wealth of information that they desperately need.....just like I did when I sent that first post/plea for help. I'm sure they are reading your posts that contained all of the information we needed to get Sadie on the path to healing and feeling better.

I have said it since my first post and I will continue to echo it for as long as we have our Sadie ---- we will be FOREVER grateful for the incredible guidance, support, compassion and endless amount of information that you all have given us since our journey began. I'm blessed to be a part of your EPI family.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Lisa & Sadie

Lisa ... and Sadie too!

On behalf of the Epi4Dogs staff and the entire membership, thank you for your very kind words, but much of the thanks goes back to you and all the other members and people who get help and then give back by giving of their time to help others. Epi4Dogs is truly a community that has come together to help one another.... and i am lucky to be part of this community and family

Hi Lisa! Yes you and Sadie are much loved - everyone here becomes like family - we all laugh, love and cry together.

As for the poops - I noticed a few things with Doc over the years - if he's out chasing flies in the backyard he will often poop more than usual and it will sometimes be softer - the more they are out running around I think the more it makes their insides move or something like that LOL LOL. I also found in the beginning we were at a consistent poop 4x a day - I decided that was the way it was going to be and was fine with it as the poop and weight were good. I had to change his food because they changed the ingredients and it caused him to have SID - when I did he began pooping 3x a day - then I had to change the food again (insert eye roll on manufacturers changing ingredients or discontinuing food) and he now poops 2x a day during the week and 3x a day on the weekend when he's running around more. Sometimes even the smallest change in fiber can change the amount of output as well as the smallest change in ingredients. That being said, I DO NOT recommend changing the food if the poops are solid and the weight is good. 4x a day is totally fine if they are good poops

Good Morning my EPI family:

I hope all of you are doing well. First off, when I logged in, I saw that I had 2 more messages that I had never seen previously - so I apologize for not responding - but I didn't know about them. Yes, I do have my box checked for notifications. Thank you both for your kind words. Sadie continues to thrive because of this awesome group of members who help us.

Second, I wanted/needed to check in with my experts on all things EPI regarding a recent change with Sadie and to make sure we are doing the right thing.

The last 3-4 months, Sadie has had a big change in her eating habits. We have been feeding her 3 cups of food for the last 2 years, feeding her (and Bella) at 4:30 pm every day. They have always gobbled their food down within 10 minutes. Last 4 months, Sadie has been eating about 1/2 of her food and then stops. She then goes and lays down and sleeps for a while. 1 big burp (she has always done that), but then no more burps, stomach growls, etc. Then, about 2 hours later she will finish her food. Previously we would toss the food if not eaten within 30 minutes...but she would be hungry later. So, we decided to see what would happen if we left the food in her bowl to see if she would eat it and digest it okay. Her poops remains excellent. The only thing we have noticed is that she poops 3 times a day (she used to poop 2 or 3 times a day - now it's always 3 times). She has gained a few pounds. She is acting normal. When outside, she runs around like crazy all day chasing her ball that we throw. She has boundless energy.

My worry is that we might think something is okay now without realizing it's going to have repercussions down the road (letting her eat her food 2 hours after prep).

One other thing....Bella is doing the same identical thing as Sadie now...finishing half and then 2 hours later finishing the other half. Am I missing something with both dogs doing this? Or is one just mirroring the other now? Bella is 12 and going down hill pretty fast lately. She is also pooping 2-3 times a day....but her's is also normal and she seems fine. Any thoughts, help, ideas, etc....will be appreciated, as always.

Thank you in advance.

Lisa & Sadie

Hi Lisa and Sadie! So glad to hear things are good but sorry about Bella aging. I sure hear you on that.
Have you thought of feeding half their food at 430 then 2 hrs later feeding the other half? That way the enzymed food would not risk spoiling. My dogs aren't Epi but do give a good burp after eating. Just keep a wstch out for more gas.

Jill

First, i think i would have the vet check her out to make sure nothing else is going on.
This does not sound EPI related......

I would start feeding less... and see how that goes.... watch for if they both become more hungry .... or will they start to lose too much weight....

DO NOT leave enzymes food out for a couple of hours..... that will just invite trouble (out of control SID)

It is possible that they are mimicking each other.

And last but not least, when trying things out.... try switching out the food..... as that might be the problem....just keep notes so you can hopefully figure this out!

I was thinking SID, and yes, leaving food out attracts bugs as well as the enzymes not being as effective as they should be, they only last maybe an hour at a time.

I would be tempted to feed as much as they will eat at a go, leave for a while, and feed the remainder of what you would have fed as a new meal freshly enzymed , age gets us all

good luck

Jxx

Hi Lisa! Tucker did the same thing awhile back, so I decreased his food by a quarter cup. I just figured his appetite may come & go, like mine.(especially with the weather getting warmer) I later started adding a tablespoon or so of Fresh Pet, which I feed another of my tribe, and this seems to have piqued his interest in food. Nice to hear from you!---Pam