I have a gorgeous young male GSD he is just 18 months old, weighs 45kg, very fit and active and if it were not for the difficulty of getting handlers and the training to 'perform' (difficult when you are 70) he would be in the ring and condition wise would be in the cards.

The reason I am doing this spot of boasting is to show that not all Pancreatic Insufficiency cases end up as walking skeletons and having to be put down. Arnie is Pancreatic Insufficient (blood tested) and I feel it is important to give the owners of newly diagnosed cases HOPE. I am an old age pensioner and so I am short of money. Getting Arnie blood tested, diagnosed, treated, initially with expensive drugs, cost £300 (luckily I am insured) Now that I have got him 'balanced' he costs me £15 a month for pigs pancreas (over and above normal feed costs).

I am sure I am fortunate but I know many other PI dogs living good normal rabbit chasing lives~ not all the cases I know about are GSD's either!

Of course I can not see into the future with Arnie and maybe we will become 'unstuck' ~ but that can happen to any dog at any time. My wonderful Tanja had to be put to sleep with Cancer very suddenly.

Having HOPE that all can be well is very important. Before Arnie was ill someone rang me in tears, his puppy had PI. At that time I thought it was a fatal illness and I as good as told him this amongst my sympathetic noises. I am haunted as some weeks later, his puppy was put down. Perhaps if I had given him some hope his puppy would be alive now.

Here is Arnies story to help others:

Arnie was bred by me from 2 very healthy parents. Certainly neither of them had PI but Malcolm Willis in his Genetics of the Dog mentions that PI is an autosomal recessive.
Arnie was a vigorous 'good dooer' and at 6 months weighed 44 kg. I began to notice that he always seemed to pass about double the volume of faeces compared to his sister. He seemed to be prone to attacks of diarrhoea. By the time he was a year old his faeces were copious, formed but soft with a terrible foul smell. At the same time Arnie had a ravenous appetite and was loosing weight. He looked like an RSPCA advert. His booster was due by now but the vet refused to do it. Arnie was too ill. Instead he had a blood test for PI which proved to be positive.

We started the treatment..... At this point I am not going into details as I am not qualified to do so, it's a matter for your vet. I am sure every case is different.

However. here are some points which I have learnt and which may help:

•  If you suspect PI go to the vet promptly, only a blood test can diagnose PI. Delay will only let side effects develop.
• Never neglect diarrhoea. Treat immediately with STAT, Kaobiotics, bland diet etc. Several times I have had to starve Arnie who was already terribly thin. I get LECTADE (Calf size) from my vet, it is a liquid feed to keep your dog going while his tummy recovers from diarrhoea.
• If your dog is debilitated keep him quiet don't let him waste his precious strength running about. Funnily enough these animals seem to have terrific energy even when they are ill.
• Your dog will be ravenous and it is not much good keeping him on a diet and allowing him to eat all kinds of rubbish (Rabbit and bird droppings seem most appealing)
• Keep an accurate log of every meal, every dose of treatment, every symptom, every faeces and also weight. This is the vital key to what is doing your dog good and what is not suiting him.
• Dogs with this condition are very prone to diarrhoea so when introducing anything do it gradually.
• You will get a welter of conflicting advice with regards to diet! Decide on a diet (with your vet) and stick to it. Don't keep chopping and changing. Arnie has been on chicken and rice plus SA37 for 6 months and in due course I want to get him onto a good all-in-one.
• Only change one thing at a time ~ this way you know what is causing problems and what is not as the case may be. When you have your basic diet you can find out what he needs in the way of doses of pancreas in various forms. Faeces will indicate if you are on the right track.
• One of the treatments is Pancrex Vet powder. I found, in the large doses prescribed in the early days, that it gave Arnie diarrhoea. I found I had to reduce the dose. I also found that 'Boots (the chemist)' sell Pancrex-V-Forte tablets and these worked well, either with reduced powder or alone.
• If you are lucky enough to be able to get pigs pancreas then this will work well but needs to be introduced slowly 1 oz per feed working up to 6 or 8 ozs perhaps. It can be frozen but not cooked. Thawing must be natural not heated or microwaved as this destroys the enzymes. So its a good idea to freeze it in small individual bags.

Stop Press:
Arnie is now on Wafcol Fish & Corn. He is fed 3 small meals a day plus his lump of pigs pancreas (about 5 ozs) It took 4 weeks to change from Chicken and Rice. he is glowing with health and his faeces are normal.
 

The author of this article has kindly offered the Help Line further assistance to anyone needing extra information.
Jane can be contacted on  01379 676309. (all calls before 9pm please)