e.p.i.in dogs

[fuzzypeg]

my shepard dog has just been diagnosed with e.p.i.and i was wondering if there were any other owners in the area that have dogs with this disorder

[carasmam]

If you are on facebook the german shepherd rescue Scotland page had links to interesting articles on epi. It may be on their website site too Ive not looked. I know of one dog who has it and the meds were roughly £60 per month.

[aurora32]

These pages are very interesting and the pig pancreas is meant to be very effective if it works for your dog.

http://www.ellsbury.com/cheetah.htm

[missemma2]

Hi,

I've not had a dog with it myself but have seen many GSD's with the condition in practice (i'm a vet nurse - not at the practice here).

Usually involves adding the enzymes they can no longer produce themselves (due to a faulty pancreus) to their food each time they have a meal. This allows them to digest their food properly and prevents the horrid diahorreah and upset tummy they get.

They tend to do really well providing they are kept on the supplement.

Emma

[fuzzypeg]

thanks for all your advise the last link was very helpful. she is currently on an enzyme suppliment and responding well , i just have to get her weight back up as she lost 10 kgs in just 2 months,but that will take time to achieve.i was just wondering as seeing as i bought her from this area and its a genetic condition, if any of her siblings are maybe still in the area also, and if they are suffering this defect.

[aurora32]

This maybe of some use to you Fuzzypeg and i hope you get her weight back up soon, must be very worrying for you. :)
EPI hereditary or not? (http://sl-si.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=38663535025&topic=12550)
Laura


Ok, so I've heard so many conflicting reports on whether EPI is hereditary or not, I think I can safely set the record straight now, from our experience. Long story, but for those of you with intact EPI dogs, it's a must-read!

We got Zack as a pup 3 years ago as a healthy pup. When he was a year and a half and still seemingly healthy, we adopted a rescue female from a neglect situation, Chevy, who we were told had been spayed. We quickly ound out that was not the case...she went on to whelp 11 beautiful pups, 2 males and 9 females in total and we adopted them to friends (we had to be able to keep tabs on them!) We kept one male and named him Kodi.

Right before the pups were born, Zack was diagnosed with EPI. Right away I researched EPI and whether or not it is hereditary and found conflicting reports, so we decided to keep our fingers crossed while passing on the information to the new pups' families...had it been earlier in the pregnancy, I can't say that we would have allowed it to progress. We also had Zack neutered and Chevy spayed immediately after the pups were born. Well, at just over a year, Kodi was also diagnosed. Then another female that we had given to friends was diagnosed. So far, only the 2 of them out of the 11 have it, but the others are aware of what to look for and we told them they should all spay and neuter them right away.

I just wanted to clear up a misconception that in order to have EPI, both mom & dad must be EPI positive....that is most certainly not the case. Both must have it somewhere in their bloodlines, but may simply be a carrier of the gene. Chevy is healthy, although since she is a rescue, we have no information on her history or her lineage.

So please, if your dog is diagnosed with EPI, make sure you have them fixed. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the other 11 pups remain happy and healthy, but although some dogs are diagnosed at a young age, there are many that do not get diagnosed until later in life, and some that are simply carriers.




Greg
Great job! I agree. I have a 1 year old german shepherd named Dallas who is fixed and from what I read about his blood line, he is the only one to get EPI.
Alison
My girl lucy is the only one from her pack to get the EPI that we know of also.

Lanie
I also have a dog with EPI - diagnosed last March. Regarding the subject of whether or not it is hereditary, the answer is yes, it is, even though not every pup in the same litter will develop the disease. Ongoing research at Texas A&M University has shown that it is hereditary, and they are currently working to isolate the genetic components. You can read more about this at the TAMU website. Or, for a lot of information and help, go to www.epi4dogs.com (http://www.epi4dogs.com/) and register on the Forum. Also on that website there is a link to TAMU and other helpful informat

[fuzzypeg]

thanks aurora32 that was useful info.