beagle with EPI & Diabetes

Question
Hello,
I hope you can help !! I am fostering a 2 year old beagle that has been diagnosed with EPI and Diabetes. I've had her since the end of May 2009  & have had her to 3 vets.. Penny would eat all day if you let her, her problem is she is having huge poops and is losing weight.
Finally her diabetes is more controlled, with readings of negative at times (with urine glucose sticks). I give her 5 units Vetsulin in AM & 4.5 units in PM (her good weight is between 19 & 20#).

I switched her to cooked chicken, barley and pumpkin (I was doing sweet potato), but still she isn't gaining weight. I tried her on cooked foods because she had a bout of colitis and non-stop loose (soft-serve) diarrhea.

Any ideas?? She is getting Vet-Zymes, Canine Whole Body Support, Cataplex- E and I give her Slippery Elm in her AM & PM meals. She has 2 full meals and snacks, times one or two (chicken, barley and pumpkin, only in smaller portions).

Thank you for your time,
Kristy

Answer
Hi Kristy,

I strongly urge you to make SURE the home made diet is properly balanced in term of all vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.  Canine Whole Body Support is NOT intended to balance a home made diet but to bolster nutrients that may be low in a diet,  here is the website's stated purpose:

   * General multi-system support
   * Patients in need of general and additional daily nutritional support
   * Nutritional complement to other therapies.


The actual mineral content here is not close to what you dog requires to cover her basic needs, much less the specialized needs of a dog dealing with two very challenging conditions. I feel you have made a good start but unless this nutritional problem is addressed I foresee serious problems down the road. Not to sound dire, but these are not conditions to take chances with.

By way of example, an average dog of 20 pounds requires 679 mgs of calcium, and this supplement offer 30. Where is the rest of the calcium coming from? Even if you gave two teaspoons a day, you'd still be at 120 mgs - not even close to her requirement. And that's just calcium. I'm not seeing adequate levels of the other minerals,  including iodine, nor adequate Vitamin A or D...to start with. In EPI we often need to boost mineral levels higher than normal - especially zinc. I know it's very difficult to balance the two conditions, but it can be done! I've handled numerous cases of these conditions both individually and combined and with diligence and proper guidance, you can provide an optimal diet, meaning one that manages the conditions and provides optimal, balanced nutrition as well.

http://www.epi4dogs.com/diet.htm
This page is a starting point only; in this case,I urge you to consider professional guidance. Myself and a few others offer experienced consulting in dietary support; be careful, however, i choosing a consultant. There really are only a few with the training,experience and knowledge to deal with a case like this. Please look at my site www.thepossiblecanine.com for an idea of how a consultation would work. If this is not feasible for you, please join my yahoogroup http://groups.yahoo.com/ThePossibleCanine-Nutrition where you can learn about the unique dietary needs of a dog and how you can provide vitamins, minerals etc in a home made diet.

Please let me know if you have any more questions, and best wishes.
Catherine