[Mckennaripple]

So I have always had rescue mutts and never had any health problems with any of them. Ever! This time around we got a English mastiff from a breeder and spent the money for what I thought was supposed to be a akc healthy legit puppy. Well the last 2 months have been a 2,000$ headache! He has had explosive diarrhea since the day we got him. We put him on 4health (tractor supply brand) large breed puppy food. That didn't help so we took him back I the vet to find out he has really bad roundworm. Took care of that but still the pudding poops (ruining the brand new grass we just spent thousands of dollars excivating my whole backyard! Which is the least of my worries but still) so we took him back to the vet and she said she suspected EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency). I looked online an he has every simptom of this terrifying disease. My poor puppy is literally starving to death. It is going to be $300 to get the blood work done to 100% diagnose him. Well after sucking up all this money to find out for sure that he has EPI I'm wondering if anyone has any idea of the road ahead of us. Has anyone else had a puppy go through this with any suggestions or more information on how to live with it and treat it and the costs. The vet has us feeding him boiled beef and rice and pumpkin which I'm not sure is even necessary because he still has liquid stools. HELP!

 

[Abbylynn]

This is an article on this disorder ....http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2103&aid=331

I have been studying pancreatic issues .... Leeo had "Pancreatic Neucrosis" and his particular disease was caught too late due to the fact that he showed no symptoms until the last stages. His pancreas had already eaten itself and was destroying other organs. Plus he had a huge stomach mass which was thought to be cancer.

Hoping you find an answer and all goes well. IMHO I would follow my vets advice. Get second opinions if necessary. Even get a specialist if all else fails.

Please keep us posted on updates.

 

[Pawzk9]

I had a student dog who was going through this. You are lucky that at least your vet is aware of it. Hers was not (was also the husband of the breeder). While he was treating for worms and everything else, the dog went from a healthy fifty-something pounds to 27 and looked like a walking skeleton. I pressed her to go to a specialist and they described her as text-book. Once she got on an enzyme suppliment she recovered to her normal weight fairly quickly, and last I heard (two years later) is healthy and running agility (though she will always have to take the enzymes. I wish you luck with your pup - and you can help your grass out by taking the hose to poo puddles.

 

[ofthelogos]

I feel your pain.
Earlier this year one of our dogs was (finally) diagnosed with EPI. Finding out that was what it was was a huge relief, and we've been able to start medicating him.
For such a horrible disease, it's actually relatively easy to treat. Adding enzymes to the dog's food isn't difficult, it just takes a little pre-planning and some fiddling with the dosage. With a little time, our boy is back to a healthy weight and living a completely normal life
The meds ARE a bit expensive, but there are a few loopholes. I've found a few websites that offer programs to folks with EPI dogs (if you send in records of your diagnosis) to put you on a bulk order list to help manage the cost. There's also a tutorial out there somewhere for blending and freezing ice cubes of raw pig pancreas to add to your dogs food. I've yet to actually try this (pancreas is a little hard to source) but we're waiting on a generous friend of a friend to slaughter and then we're going to give it a shot.

In the mean time, while you are waiting for the diagnosis, one thing that we found helpful was to add some green tripe (has to be green, with enzymes still intact, a company called Tripett has it in cans) mixed with a little water to the dog's food. After letting it sit for a few hours, the enzymes partially pre-digest it for you.
It made a big difference for our boy. It wasn't a replacement for the Pancrease, but his stools did firm up a bit and he wasn't free-falling weight anymore.