Epo dose

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I'm wanting to start Yogi on EPO. He is 45 #'s. I'm wondering whether to go with the 500 or 1000mg dose. He has really started licking his paws now till I'm seeing some red on his fur.
Going to start the Zyrtec and the Douxo shampoo also. Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's pretty hard to give too much EPO. It's just essential fatty acids, the worst that can happen if they get too much is some loose stool for a day. Jack's dermatologist advised me to give him 500 mg 2-3 times per day. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thank you Karen! Maybe I'll just start with 500mg with his morning and evening meal. Do you open capsules?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No. They are soft gels, and you don't want to puncture them. You can give it as a pill, i.e. down the throat, or hide it in their food if it's wet food. 

[Nancy & Echo]

As long as the softgel's contents are acid stable, you aren't worried about any interactions in the stomach, and the contents are not time release, I don't see any problem in piercing the capsule and giving both the gelatin capsule and its contents.  (Some drugs such as immediate release nifedipine capsules get absorbed into the gelatin capsule.) 

Since EPO is available both as a liquid and capsule, and because supplements' labels don't have to be accurate (in other words, they can any amount regardless of what the label says), I don't think it really matters.  (The FDA regards supplements as food and they don't have to prove safety or efficacy.)   You have to depend on the integrity of the manufacturer that they are putting the right amount  and the right things in the capsule and they are giving you a consistent product.

(I'm a pharmacist in a human hospital.)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks, Nancy.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Thanks all!