Protein losing enteropathy - Page 1

Have a friend with a GSD that was just diagnosed with protein losing enteropathy.  She is trying to figure out the best kibble to feed him.  Probably raw/homemade would be the best but she wants to do kibble.  Anybody have any experience with this?  Food suggestions?  She is leaning toward Merrick Healthy Weight or Premium Edge Weight Reduction 2.  Thanks for any input.

I had a GSD with PLE. The vet recommended continuing with the normal diet of Eukanuba with extra protein coming from 6 hard boiled eggs per day - 3 in the morning, 3  in the afternoon. She also received prednisone 25 mg every 3 days and 500 mg Rutin (an OTC human dietary supplement). She did well for about 1 1/2 years. PLE is generally the result of some lifethreatening underlying disease such as lymphosarcoma or another lymphatic cancer. If they don't know the cause of the PLE, if it were my dog I'd try to take her to a veterinary internist at a verterinary school. There are currently a number of studies on PLE underway sponsored by the Canine Health Foundation so there may be new and more effective ways of treating PLE today.

Here's a link to bit of info on the best dog food for PLE. It may help http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/forums/topic/diet-for-protein-losing-enteropathy-ple/

Vet recommened one of the Hill's prescription diets (Ugh!) as I guess the fat content is supposed to be low.  She is trying to match the protein & fat percentages to that.  He is on prednisone now.  I haven't done any research myself on this yet but will look into the Canine Health Foundation.  Thanks!

I know, few of us like the presciption diets, but in this case I'd give a lot of thought to the Purina novel protein diet or better yet making a homemade hypoallergenic diet using one of Pitcairn's recipes. Sometimes PLE is the result of a food sensitivity and food can aggrevate the disease, so I'd err on the side of caution and stay away from any commercial kibble. Had I the chance to do it over,  that's what I would do. We live and learn as we go on and we never know what goes into any bag of dog food.

My concerns after googling this are:  of course diet,  I also would leave out kibble if at all possible and cook homemade for this dog;  are the kidneys functioning properly, put on probiotics as well as check the stool for whip/hookworms;  was mentioned and has some of these symptoms and also plays havoc with dogs digestion as well as absorption of nutrients.  I would google Dr. Becker and/or Dr. Jean Dodds to see what they have written about this condition and it's prognosis.  Good luck  Nan