Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) causes severe malabsorption in dogs, leading to dramatic weight loss and chronic diarrhoea, but is highly manageable with enzyme supplementation when diagnosed promptly.
EPI causes a deeply distressing experience — a dog that eats voraciously but continues to waste away is in a state of nutritional desperation that affects every aspect of its wellbeing. The chronic hunger despite eating, the discomfort of poorly digested food, and the loss of muscle mass all compromise quality of life significantly. Coprophagia — eating faeces — is driven by the desperate search for nutrients and is a clear behavioural indicator of profound nutritional need. Once diagnosed and treated with enzyme supplements, the transformation is rapid and dramatic — dogs regain weight, normalise their stools, and resume normal eating behaviour. The challenge is diagnosis, as EPI is sometimes misattributed to dietary sensitivity or inflammatory bowel disease without appropriate testing.