shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 (edited) I have posted about my father's dog before, and now that they have a definite diagnosis my mother wants to know what she can do. Dad is of the opinion that 'nothing works' but mum wants to keep trying. Tajah is a walking skeleton, it's awful to see. She also has all the lipids soaking through her skin into her coat, making her oily and very, very smelly. She has the powder with her food that she's supposed to have, but dad is keeping her on PAL or some other type of food along those lines...apparently she does 'best' on that as it's low fibre and low fat? Surely there's a better food she could eat? My mum really wants to find a way to put some weight on Tajah, she has been this skinny for a long time now, and her heart is going to give up if she stays this way. Mum has said she's prepared to try anything, so if anyone has experienced this, or knows of something that might work, please let me know Edited April 21, 2007 by shekhina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Lamb, especially the flaps and chook frames and wings... Oily fish (if she likes it), like tuna and salmon... Maybe some pasta added to her food... Sweet potato and pumpkin are good veges if dogs have never really had them because they are sweeter and more palatable... Good luck shekky, I hope she gets better soon... Jodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 (edited) They MUST MUST MUST get her off pal, the proteins are carbs are of shit quality. She needs to be on a super premium SENIOR food or a prescription diet depending on the diagnosis...which is?? She might have diarrhoea for a few days if they do a quick food changeover but that is fairly normal, she won't be digesting much of that pal if she has a medical condition and that's why she's skin and bone!!!! Mel. Edited February 10, 2007 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 (edited) She needs to be on a super premium SENIOR food or a prescription diet depending on the diagnosis...which is?? EPI, as I said in the title Apparently she cannot eat a lot of foods with EPI because they are too high in fibre/fat and so they all go straight through her regardless of being on the special powder. Edited February 10, 2007 by shekhina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 I'm wondering if putting her on a BARF diet would help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toohey Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 EPI, as I said in the title Maybe I am having a senior moment,...... but what's EPI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 EPI = Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Shekhina has she been tested for bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine? A course of antibiotics (oxy something, I can't remember now) may help although if she does have it and has had it for while she may have permanent damage to the mucous lining which will inhibit nutrient absorption permanently. I used to feed my dog the Hills Prescription cans and dry food (ID I think), chicken breast, Tucker Time chicken roll and she could also tolerate chicken necks, I found that she cope with most foods that were under 13% fat content. She lived until she was 12 1/2 and finally died of an unrelated cancer. I would definitely get her off the Pal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 I'm not sure about the other tests sorry, my dad wont be home until later tonight so I can ask him then. Trying to get my dad to feed Tajah anything other than pal is a bloody nightmare, I don't know how many arguments I have had with him over it. His excuse is that if he changes her food she just gets the runs...I tell him that's normal when you switch food over quickly, and he just gets angry and refuses to be told anything different. Arrrrrrrrr! ;) I've just spoken to mum about it and she said "your father WILL change her food because I have said so", mum wears the pants I guess she'll try a couple of different things and see which one works best, whether that be a prescription diet, BARF or a bit of both. I just so hope Tajah puts on weight, she really is skin over bone at the moment, it's so sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 If she does have the bacterial overgrowth and you treat it you may see a distinct improvement, sometimes they relapse once the antibiotics are finished, but not always. Dogs that remain skeletally thin even when fed the powder with meals generally do have a bacterial overgrowth. She won't put on weight with Pal that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kitakins Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 pal would be hard on the digestive system. imagine breaking that crap down if youre pancreatic insufficient. barf would be worth a try. try a meat thats lower in fat and put more carbs in? by 'powder' do you mean enzymes? maybe the dosage needs to be increased? does your dad have a reason why the diet has to be low in fibre? humans with pancreatic insufficiency need fibre. stops the food going through so fast, gums up diarrhea and keeps the good bugs in the intestines alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 ROYAL CANIN Intestinal GI 30 Indications: # Diarrhoea. # Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). # Maldigestion, malabsorption. # Colitis. # Convalescence. # Bacterial overgrowth. # Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) The Royal Canin also has hypoallergenic formula and digestive low fat formula with EPI listed as an indication. If their Vet doesn't stock it they should certainly be able to easily get it in for them. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 Thanks everyone, I will let my mum know the choices when she comes online tonight. After doing some reading I was also wondering if they are not giving her enough of the enzyme powder...which has been changed from Thrive D to Enzyplex. I think dad has been told by the vet that it needs to be low fibre not sure though, he could just be thinking that himself because she's constantly got diarrhea...and who wouldn't on Pal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Thanks everyone, I will let my mum know the choices when she comes online tonight.After doing some reading I was also wondering if they are not giving her enough of the enzyme powder...which has been changed from Thrive D to Enzyplex. I think dad has been told by the vet that it needs to be low fibre not sure though, he could just be thinking that himself because she's constantly got diarrhea...and who wouldn't on Pal! Constant diarrhoea is also a sign of bacterial overgrowth. The vet should have prescribed or recommended an enzyme powder and should also have advised the dosage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 A long time ago the vet prescribed Thrive D, after a month they changed it because it did nothing for her. She is now on enzyplex. I still don't know about the bacterial growth and whether she was tested/treated for it. Will hopefully find out sometime tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2tollers Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Tell your dad her poo will smell heaps better if she's on a better diet. Worth a try. Nothing worse than picking up PAL poo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 I have told mum that she needs to make sure something different is done. I just wish I could bring her back here and take care of her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 EPI is an old friend in this house..... Foodwise I think it is horses for courses - we've tried the lot (prescription etc) but come back to Eukanuba Large Dog maintenance which seems to suit my girl better than anything else. On paper you should be sticking to a low fat diet -eg Senior dog foods - just takes a bit of time to work out which works best for the individual dog : I would DEFINITELY steer clear of PAL though...... We've used Enzyplex for many years - tell your Dad that you often need to use more than it says on the packet to get a result. I've checked with my vet & apparently you can't overdose on it so he should just up it until he gets a good result. Also remember to soak the food with the Enzyplex & water for 10 minutes before feeding. We used this for years & it worked - my girl has recently got worse but has been stabilised for the last few months by the addition of CREON to her food - this is the human med designed for the same affliction. So now my 32 kg GSD has 2x huge heaped measures of Enzyplex & 1 Creon tablet in each meal (which is far more than you would expect to give a dog of her size) & she hasn't had a problem for months. It is cheaper if you get your vet to write a script for Creon & pick it up from the local pharmacy.There is quite a lot of word of mouth evidence that fresh pancreas is good for this affliction but we have found it impossible to get hold of.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 Thank you for your reply, I will be passing it all on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kitakins Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 kitakins useless fact of the day - i can get 6 bottles of creon forte for 5 bucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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