Need a low fat, low fibre, highly digestible

[Chloey]

dog food for Mouse, from what I'm reading about Pancreatic Insufficiency ( now that I've had time to really dig into all this ) ..........

I don't know squat about dog foods so I figured I'd ask the experts here. I've never been a dog food label reader, so I really don't know what percentages would be considered low fat and low fibre, and I can't locate percentages to tell me. Help ! LOL

[Chloey]

Just read the label of the food she is on. Protien is 23%, Fat is 13% and Fibre is 3%. I don't know if those are high or low, since I'm all new to this, and google is kicking my butt * heads spins*

[witzn]

low fat low fibre

Since this is in the kibble section, I am assuming you want to stay with kibble. You might want to research the disease to see if other special diets are beneficial.

Otherwise... There are some meat based kibbles like Evo, checkout what is available in your area or checkout some of the websites that will ship kibble to see these specialty kibbles.

If you are trying to decide between what is around locally, from the picture your dog looks like an adult, and as you are trying to assist with a known problem, you might consider foods that vary from what is usually recommended for danes. Puppy foods typically have the highest protein values, that and "performance" type foods.

Look at the packaging to see ingredients, though most brands have grains in them. Check out the percentages to see which is more "fuel efficient", so to speak, but also check at the manufacturer's website (if it isn't on the bag) for the actual "Kcal" value. This is the calories per cup that will tell you really which food you can feed less of. Once you look at a few different values, and then check out the percentage and ingredients, you can see which is the one to use.

After that you will have to see which the dog does better on and which it will eat. Eagle Pack also has many varieties of food, and most quality brands offer puppy or performance. 23-12-3 I would consider a standard formula. You have to also remember, though, that these are max/min values and the Kcal will give you a more accurate value of what you are feeding. Ingredients are also typically listed in order of how much is used, so grains towards the front of the list would suggest more fibre, likewise fillers like beet pulp.

For puppy or performance food there are likely alot of foods that are in the 28 - 30+ protein % range, getting a lower fibre food may be challenging. Of course the lowest fibre/highest protein diet would be raw feeding or a home cooked custom diet, but those offer their own challenges to create/maintain.

Regards,
Sandy

[Chloey]

Wow ! Thank you so much, I need to read that again to absorb it and I'm sure I'll have more questions !!!!! Mouse will be 2 in November, but the food they have me feeding her is a puppy food.

[Chloey]

After looking at Evo and Innova, I think the Innova looks like it may be something to try. Fat content of the " reduced fat adult " seems to be fairly low and not much grain to it, if I'm reading the label right.

Do you know anything about Innova ?? I'll search the forums here....

[Chloey]

OH I remember my other question, is there a " max " protien level for feeding Danes ? That Evo had something like 50% protien.

[Chloey]

Ok, so after searching the forums here, maybe high protien is what she needs to get the weight on ??

Sorry to serial post here.

[Chloey]

Ok, I'm stuck on Innova and Evo reduced fat dry foods.

I'll check back later for any opinions, thanks a ton !

[gr8danlvr1]

There is a recommended protein % for puppies, but Mouse is past the stage where you need to worry about that. From what I have read from many different sources dogs w/ many digestive system issues benefit greatly from a raw diet. If you are wanting to go kibble try to get one that is as close to raw food as possible. Evo and Orijen are 2 I know of. I personally use Evo, my dogs love it & I love what it does for them. You can feed less and they poop less. They use every part of the food, is doesn't have useless, harmful fillers like corn,wheat, soy, etc.

[witzn]

Adding weight is based on Kcal/cup you are feeding, and can also be figured by using higher protein and/or fat. a High protein, wholesome food that is also a high Kcal/ cup would be the way to go. I have never used Evo, and have only used Innova a limited amount. I know that Innova puts weight on dogs easily - if they will eat it.

Keep in mind also that if you over feed a dog that can cause digestive upset/ loose stool or worse.

If Evo or Orijen is available to you, I would try them out, if they meet the medical requirements for her diet.

[Chloey]

I finally found another dog owner with EPI and she pointed me to a ton of information on the subject ! That's what 8 hours of surfing the internet with get you ( that is all I did yesterday, lol ). apparently I do need grain free and reduced fat, calling my vet today to A) get her an appt and set up with them and B) take a look at their kibble, they do sell the EVO and Innova which seem to be the ones I'm leaning toward aftering reading the EPI canine fact sheet.

Thank you all so much for your patience with my 1 million questions.