It's true. I don't cook...but when Heather decided none of the ready-made dog foods tasted good enough anymore and stopped eating, you bet I started learning to cook right away. For her benefit, of course, not for mine. As someone who doesn't eat meat (how could I, self-proclaimed lover of animals, consider myself a true animal lover if I still ate them?) preparing boiled chicken and rice was a particularly grotesque - albeit admittedly relatively easy - experience that I'm not exactly looking forward to repeating. Luckily, the batch I made will last for a few servings.
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| Hurry up, Scottie Mom - I'm hungry! |
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| The chicken breast boiled in water for about an hour before I took it out and peeled the meat off the bones (and in my head I kept thinking, "Poor chicken. I'm so sorry!") |
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| I then sliced the meat into smaller pieces Heather could eat easily. |
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| Finally, I mixed in the rice. Ta-da! |
As I finished Heather's dinner preparations, I began to wonder if she would even touch the home-cooked meal. She hadn't eaten a full meal since the night before she was hospitalized. And if she still didn't eat even after this, what then? I took the bowl over to where she was sleeping on top of the air vent. And much to my surprise, one whiff of the chicken and rice was all that was needed to bring that appetite back to life. It took 30 seconds for Heather to finish her first bowl and she even followed me back to the kitchen, begging me for more. How could I refuse? I scooped a smaller second helping into the bowl and watched her enjoy it. I took this short video so you could see, too.
I was so relieved. Prior to this, the only things Heather showed interest in were those
doggie blueberry muffins we've written about before and bread (no, I don't usually feed my dogs human food or table scraps but desperate times called for desperate measures and this Scottie Mom was determined to find something Heather would eat). Feel free to share recipes for (healthy!) meals you've whipped up for your dogs in the comments below. I have a feeling I'll be cooking again soon.
Mine are in love with mangoes. Give it a try. they come running when I cut one. I haven't figured out how they know what I'm doing, but they know.
ReplyDeleteHomemade bone broth:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/lI-vo8td7ME
So glad Heather ate it up.
ReplyDeleteSweet William The Scot
Turnberry always liked cantaloupe, but Miss Ginny, not so much. Carrots are always a good snack option.
ReplyDeleteYay! So glad Heather is happy and eating your yummy meal! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteI've had to do this recently for my little Harley. If you have to cook another batch may I suggest you make a BIG batch, put it in small plastic bags and freeze it. Then you can take out one bag at a time for one day. It does help to keep the meals fresher. I've had to do this off and on for Harley for the last six months and I found the first time I made a batch, he stopped eating it after a couple of days- not fresh enough I guess. (While I do eat meat, the smell of boiling chicken gags me, so this was a good solution for me.)
ReplyDeleteConsider trying raw from Darwin's Pet out of Seattle. They have a sample pack for $14.95. I cook mine until the blood is gone over very low heat. I mix mine with tripe which I do not cook. It is about 50/50. They also have consultants on staff to design a diet just for Heather. It is organic and free range. Remember it is for Heather and not you.
ReplyDeleteYou can use caneed chicken mine love it and mix chicken broth in with the rice. Be careful though the rice will not keep long. Freezing small batches is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteYou can use caneed chicken mine love it and mix chicken broth in with the rice. Be careful though the rice will not keep long. Freezing small batches is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThere's also cooked chicken breast(cut-up) meat at Costco.
ReplyDeleteIf you do boil the chicken use that water for the rice.
Freezing is a good idea.
Carrots are also a good snack.
Could also try turkey breast.