Daisy the German Shepherd, rescued but not safe - Page 3

Hi All!
Trying to get out the door to go to work, but wanted to chime in on this thread.
I have an 8 yr old GSD, confirmed EPI at age 2.  When I rescued her (at age 2) she weighed 41 pounds. A nightmare.  Here is what worked for me. And it worked quickly too......

GRAIN-FREE food.  Absolutely nothing (or next to nothing) in it that would be metabolized as a SUGAR in her system.    (She had roaring SIBO too--we did do a course of Metro., but the consistant lack of sugar in her diet paid off in resolving the SIBO permanently) I happened to use Barking at the Moon, but there are other good ones out there.

Tripett brand GREEN TRIPE stirred into her food at every feeding....not a huge amount just enough to coat it a little.   (Fair warning--this brand really reeks as it is minimally processed !)

GREEN TRIPE is --as you know---a natural source of digestive enzymes and  INMO this product was the factor that turned the corner for my girl.  If you have access to fresh or fresh-frozen, all the better!  I did not have any luck with the powdered enzymes during the initial time period while her system was so so sick.... Anyway, after she stablized --which in our case was quickly and I hope it is the case for Daisy too --I addressed the b-12 and all the other issues EPI generates and started to use enzymes and incubate and all that.....

Best of Luck to Lovely Daisy, and to all those who ary trying to help her,

Deb

So has Daisy's TLI test come back yet? I know it takes a few days turnaround time. I suspect it's best if you don't keep changing food. Get on one that she can eat with whatever supplements she needs and stick with it. Are you giving loperamide (brand name: Imodium)? It's an over the counter drug that slows the digestive tract down and allows the dog to digest some food. It does not interfere with other medications. My vet recommended it for my dog. You give the pills with meals. If one doesn't do it, you can go up to 2 or 3 per meal although it seems unlikely to me that you would need that many since Daisy is so underweight.

I have a GSD female who suddenly started loosing weight. She does not have EPI. I won't go into all the tests she had but I do have experience with that kind of thing. My dog is now stable although not cured. Let us know how Daisy's TLI is.

Unfortunately, The vet clinic was unable to see her today. We did weigh her and she is about the same as day 1. Also, the TLI was never sent in, come to find out. So at this point, we are having to make a pretty hard decision.
Mary

Here is Daisy's blog!
---Mary

Hey Mary
That's great. The diagnosis confirmed, once you get that you know what you are dealing with and can work with it. So glad you didn't euthanise her.

Good to hear she has gained nearly 5lbs. It will take a long time for you to 'see' the weight she is gaining. It goes on from the inside out so to speak. But 5lbs in a couple of weeks is significant!  You are obviously getting great support from the EPI groups, and hopefully she will just keep getting better. Once you hit on the right formula of enzymes/food which suit her best she will go from strength to strength.

Hope the home works out, do let us know how she is getting on. If it doesn't pan out, there might be someone here who could have her, you never know!

Happy for Daisy, and thank you for stepping in to take care of her. Another photo when she has a bit more weight on would be lovely to see!