BEWARE Of Breeder or Seller of GSD from Chicago/Bulgaria...Dogs have hereditary EPI disease. - Page 2

Lyn, I hope you spend today remembering only the very best things of those 10 years together.   

While I hate it that any dog has to suffer through conditions like EPI and all the other stuff that can affect them, I am glad when such dogs are fortunate enough to be paired by fate with an owners like you and Bob and the OP, who rise to the challenges and give their beloved companions the very best quality of life excellent care and science can bring to them, even in those cases where those lives are tragically shortened because of the disease.  The things you learned through caring for your girl enable you to serve as an advisor to others with EPI dogs, especially those who may not even be aware that their dog is affected...so she lives on through your sharing of the experiences the two of you weathered together, and that's a beautiful tribute to her.

 

Thanks everyone, very informative discussion and I glad I brought it out. I've had quite a few inquiries on the breeder and sire an dam as it turns out, others have dealt with them as well, some positive AND negative experiences. When we had the specific testing done, our dogs TLI came back at <0.4 Very serious condition. I recently went and weighed him and proud to say he is at 57 pounds and gaining however the most encouraging note is his behavior which is ALL ENERGY! :) With his meds and special diet we feel all will be ok, albeit $$$. As for the breeders Im uncertain as to their intent, knowledge or motive in selling this particular dog however I did try to handle it in very good faith. However when confirmed of the issue they fell off face of earth leaving me to consider other options. This was for informative to others that may have or be dealing in that area to use caution and as it turns out there were. One doesn't or at least I do not know if the Dam or Sires have the disease but indications suggest they do. The breeders now are aware an finally the consumers are as well. Thanks everyone.

We take him for follow up blood work next week....stay tuned...fingers crossed.

p1ayn, I'm sure someone's already mentioned this to you privately, but I wanted it to be in this thread for anyone who's doing a search on the site for EPI--the supplemental enzymes can be purchased in bulk, at a much lower cost, through a service that's spun-off of the 501c(3) charity and EPI-dog owner's support group Epi4dogs.com. The website for enzyme ordering is Enzyme Diane.

There's also a Yahoo! support group for owners of EPI dogs; membership is limited to those with dogs that have been with EPI on the TLI test, though interested veterinarians and vet techs are also permitted to join the self-help/support group. The group has been around for 15 years now, and it's still quite an active one, averaging around 350 posts/month. These three resources have proven themselve invaluable to owners of EPI-affected dogs [and EPI cats], and are well worth bookmarking even for those who don't presently have an affected dog...

 

Thankyou Hexe you made me cry:) Both of the above mentioned groups helped me tremendously. I have referred numerous people there including my vet.

One thing I need to clarify...the level of the TLI reading is NOT all that pertinent. A dog with a .4 as the OP says their dog has, is not really more "serious" than a dog with a 1.4 or whatever. That is a very common misconception and has no bearing on treatment or prognosis. Here's an interesting read that has a lot of good articles cited at the end for even more reading. Pay close attention to the final paragraph regarding TLI interpretation.

http://www.epi4dogs.com/tli.htm

Agree Jen but a low number leaves little doubt for what it is. i did not mean to imply that because my dogs number was .2 that she was sicker than another just that there was no doubt that it was EPI.

I wasn't addressing you, Lyn. The poster had noted the .4 saying "serious condition" and that is simply not true, or rather, not relevant when assessing the seriousness of the situation. EPI is EPI and for many reasons, most of them outlined in the link I provided, even testing the same vial of blood at different times can yield different results, so, "how low" just isn't important and does not mean that the OP's dog is any sicker than any other dog w/EPI and has no worse prognosis. The level isn't something to be either concerned or unconcerned with- treatment, even dosages, are not TLI dependent.

I would test for Iga deficiency as well after having an EPI dog that did not do as well as Bob's. I also sent in a healthy senior dog's blood to be part of a TAMU study only to find he was borderline EPI based on TLI numbers. He already got plant based enzymes, he was 13 at the time of the test and lived to 15. Euthanized with kidney failure and muscle wasting from HD, never having a symptom of EPI.

Darcy

Altho a sole indication of low TLI may not necessarily claim the seriousness of Epi or ailment it is an indication of contributive factors that due in fact identify of the disease. There is a measurement scale of TLI of what is considered healthy and dipping below  that scale indicates there is a problem. That with other factors which positively identify clearly solidifies my dog has it. I dont claim to know all there is on this disease but I do know my dog, and extensive research and medical visits to a variety of vets, ( 1-2-3 opinions) countless bloodwork, ultrasound, diets, meds, it pretty much clear what we have and what we were sold which is the sole purpose of this post to advise others of this breeder. Whether someone buys from them, is up to each individual. However an awareness of the situation is what I intended. As it turns out after the 3rd blood test his ALT LEVELS are consistently at 250 and higher, where the normal high is 185. 
The good in all this is we are loving the hell out of this dog, with the meds and raw diet, he is happy, energtic which is not what we got we he arrived. Hexe thank u for the info, we do beling to variety epi groups, and raw feeding as well as shopping online for the pancreatic meds. We are praying his liver regenerates and or stabilize. Thanks everyone.