Jan 19, 2017
Carmeh update and our sky has been on fire
The last few days have been most unsettled. Carmeh was very ill Sunday morning and we seriously thought that it was the end ( details best not described on the blog ). However we got some chicken breasts which I boiled, then cooled and fed it to her with rice. She ate like she was starving. So Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were just okay. For some unknown reason Carmeh began about 7 or less days ago to have an aversion to going on the beach. We would walk her out like always but she would head back home or ask us to pick her up. Today she hid in the corner of the yard rather than go to the beach. She did come in her buggy but when we put her on the ground she just walked a few steps or did not walk at all and wanted back up into the buggy. Just a week ago she was running free and happy on the beach. We call it running like the wind.
Suddenly that is gone. Here back at the RV she appears to have little energy. She plays with her toys for mere moments when last week she played for hours. Since we stopped the canned food and put her on the chicken/rice food she is eating happily and there are no longer any gut issues nor pain. However her energy levels have gone way down. What to do?
I did spend close to an hour on the phone the other day with our vet and now have some antioxidants arriving via a visitor to a fellow RVer on Tuesday. That took hours of coordination.
Carmeh sitting in the garden a few days ago.
The sunset Tuesday was sensational.
So much color….
We are back to the regular January temps ( cool ) which we have not seen for at least 4 years. Carmeh is well covered. Down to 61F at night. I am wearing a jacket on the beach during our morning walks.
Caeli came to hang out with her sister as she has been doing off and on these past few days.
Yesterday morning Colin headed into Mazatlan for an appointment and Carmeh hung out under his papaya tree which appears to be growing like a weed.
Colin stopped in at the mercado and brought back enough chicken for me to boil up and package for 8 full days of meals. My entire kitchen was full of chicken.
However I need your input on how to prepare the chicken. I do boil it because of the restricted fat content of her diet. We don’t eat meat so this is very foreign to us. Today I found the chicken very difficult to pull apart, it was rather dry. Maybe this is Mexican chicken. She gets 1.4 ounces of chicken per meal but it seems to take forever to pull apart into small bites for her. Am I boiling it too long? Yesterday I kept pulling it out of the water as I cooked it and cutting it open with a knife but there was still red showing in the middle. I might have cooked the entire batch for close to 20 minutes. I thought that I had cut the raw pieces of chicken breast into small enough pieces to cook quickly but perhaps not. I truly would appreciate some detailed input. I have also been using basmati rice which might not be the best as she is not eating it. It is all I have but I can get regular rice here on the Isla, I hope. Also she is supposed do get 2/3 cup of chicken per day which we have converted to 4.2 ounces per day. As per the vet 2/3 cup should be 5.3 ounces per our calculations but we cut it down to 4.2 ounces as it seemed to be too much. Are we wrong and giving her the incorrect conversion and thus giving too much or too little chicken which is now her only source of protein?
This is the time of year that the sunsets are outstanding.
The sky was on fire last night as was the ocean.
Thanks Colin for this panoramic shot of last nights sunset. Our sky is on fire.
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You’re definitely cooking the chicken way too much, especially if it’s cut into small pieces. The Mexican chicken does tend to be a bit scrawny, but shouldn’t be so dry and tough. They feed their chickens corn, so the flesh is orangey and will still show a pink tinge when properly cooked. It won’t go white like US/CAD chicken. I’d poach bite-sized pieces of chicken no more than five minutes, then test. If it pulls apart, it’s done, otherwise keep poaching in two-minute increments.
You can definitely get short-grained rice on Isla! Last year, it was in the last aisle across from the produce in unmarked bags (they portion a large bag into smaller bags for resale).
You might want to try cooking the rice with the chicken. Start the rice first and add the chicken after. That will give a nice flavour to the rice.
It’s hard to convert from ounces (weight) to cups (volume). You could be packing the chicken differently than the vet is, the moisture content of the meat will play a difference in its weight, your scale might be calibrated differently, etc. Hard to know if she’s getting enough or too much other than by observing her. You know her best.
I know nothing about dogs and diet but I do know your sunset pictures are stunning!!!
Are is right on. You are cooking the chicken way top long. I agree that you should cook the rice and chicken together. I am so sorry all of you have to go through this. It is so hard to know what to do.
Is it possible to get ground chicken, they may be able to grind the chicken breasts (so you know what you are getting) It might be easier for both of you.
That’s a good idea, Jean. Any butcher would grind up the chicken or you can buy pre-ground at the supermarket.
most pre ground-chicken has the fat ground into it …better to grind or chop it your self if you don’t want the fat.
Try potatoes instead of rice-simmer in chicken broth.
I shred chicken with two forks when it has just started to cook then put the bits back in the pot (for soup but would work for her). Poor thing, not sure what more you can do for her.
my older dogs’ appetite is sometimes not there. I have been cooking up “chicken rice” for him and it always works. First boil your chicken till done enough to chop up (easier than shredding). Keep and cool the broth from this in the refer. till you can skim any fat off. Cook your rice in the broth (I use long grain because that’s what I have) till it’s almost a porridge (soupy and falling apart). add the chicken back in. The warm soupy meal is soothing and helps you get more liquids in. How much to give per day ? I think you’ll be able to see when she’s had enough. Hope I helped.
We went through this with a cat (RIP Sweet Panda) who had Pancreatic Cancer. We found that poaching whole chicken breast with the bones, skinless in low fat chicken stock made her happiest. Plain chicken breast overcooked is so bland that she wouldn’t eat it. Also, she really liked Nishiki and Jasmine rice the best. I would cook it with the leftover stock from poaching the chicken breast.
Good luck
We make our own dog food, making enough for two weeks at a time and freezing it. I cook the chicken (6 breasts from the mercado) for probably 15 minutes. It will still be pink inside but as it cools it continues to cook. I save the water for them to drink over the next couple of days as a treat.
Then in a huge cauldron we cook 2 kilos of ground beef, about 6 big carrots and 6 or 7 zucchini or sometimes sweet potato that I’ve grated in the food processor. Combine with a half cup of organic amaranth, a few handfuls of organic oatmeal, some chia seeds, some ground up eggshells, ground turmeric, and moringa powder. I cook all of this along with some of the organic brown rice that I make ahead of time (here’s what I do http://www.summertomato.com/simple-gourmet-rice-for-dummies) and keep cooking until it is done. Sometimes I add chopped organ meats.
After Paul pulls apart the chicken it all gets stirred together and we give the dogs (20 and 22 lbs) a little more than one cup each morning. I usually put a dollop of coconut oil on top, too. They get a previously frozen raw chicken wing or chicken feet in the afternoon.
They are super healthy and eat happily. It was always a battle to get them to eat kibble. Good luck to you
By the way I take enzymes daily that include pancreatic enzymes. Could that help her? You might ask your vet. The one I buy is called Wobenzyn and I get them at Farmacia Moderna.
You are cooking the chicken too long that is why it is tough. If you can get lean ground chicken our have the butcher grind the lean breasts that would works much easier I would think and I would cooked the rice partially first then add the chicken, more flavour. Good luck.
If you have a blender try blending it all together with lots of broth. Our dog when she wasn’t feeling well just loved chicken and rice soup as I called it. Didn’t take much effort to eat and went down well.
Sounds like you have gotten some good advice here. I agree with including plenty of broth as an easy way to get more fluids in her. Hugs to you and Carmeh, it’s so hard when they don’t feel good.