Alivia was recently diagnosed with Cushing's - Alivia has passed

Thanks, Lori.

I was on the right track. I had just bought a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and am cooking them in the pressure cooker right now. Got the rice ready, too. I figured I would cook them all in advance and use my Foodsaver to pack them into serving size portions. I wouldn't have thought of the eggs, though! I'll scramble some and add them to the chicken and rice for some variety.

I have Tramadol for Ali and a prescription for more. I will definitely give it to her if I think she is in pain. I think it is cruel for people to NOT treat a dog for pain!

Thanks for the info on the GGTP. I will have to read up on it and also on the phosporus levels.

I appreciate your help!

Dear Mary Beth,

I am here if you need anything. I'll be around all weekend if you need to talk. I'll check in on you and Alivia.

It sounds like you are going to be cooking up a storm:D:D Pour yourself a glass of Chocovin and have at it:D:D:D

It would be like a cooking for dogs pilot TV show. Can you picture it? Mary Beth in an apron with puppies on it, drinking a glass of Chocovin and her two pups in the kitchen watching Mom as she explains the recipe for dog food chicken and rice:D:D:D

It would be a hit:D:D:D:D

Love ya,
Addy

I probably could do a cooking for dogs show! I must have 10 dog cookbooks. I've been making Ali and Max treats for years, and friends' dogs, too. Alivia gets excited when she sees the rolling pin because it means I am making them treats. She will sit in the kitchen and wait for them! I try to not give them much wheat so I even started grinding my own rice and oat flour to use in their treats. I always think how fun it would be to open a dog bakery. But, since I am single and have an expensive little dog to support, I certainly can't give up my day job! ;)

I might as well cook their main course, too! I don't even cook for me! The thing is Max will want what Ali is having so I will have to cook for him, too, to avoid any grumbling. I'm thinking I might as well make enough that we can all eat the same thing! :D Would I be eating dog food or would my dogs be eating people food?? :cool:

Addy, I don't think it is a good idea for me to mix lack of sleep, a hot stove and ChocoVine! All kinds of things could go wrong with that combination! :rolleyes: As of now I have no plans for the weekend and I am really happy about that! I am truly hoping to be home ALL weekend, so I'll check in here every so often. I just hope Alivia read the memo that we are going to have a calm, UNEVENTFUL weekend!

Hi Mary Beth,

If I was closer, we could make that dog food/treat thing happen together! :D I spend at least 3 days a week cooking my babies menus and love every minute of it. My three also stand right under my feet the whole time as they know Mom is a klutz and will drop things from time to time. :p

Squirt and Trinket eat nothing but home cooked while Brick eats a combination of kibble and fresh food. In time, he will more than likely go to home cooked, too. For now, we are still figuring out what he likes and what he doesn't. Sweet potatoes are right up there at the top of the list for him! :D He didn't care for salmon BUT when I mixed it with sweet potatoes, that made it much better. :p He loves the cod, SP and quinoa mix that Trink eats...which has done wonders for her colitis.

I hope Ali enjoys her meals!

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Hi, Leslie,

I've been making treats for years, but last night I experimented with a "main course". I cooked about 8 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts in a pressure cooker, then chopped them up and mixed it with about 2 cups of cooked brown rice; scrambled 8 eggs mixed with non-fat dry milk, water and ground flaxseed meal and added that to the chicken. Then I steamed baby carrots and chopped apples and blended them in my Vitamix, along with one can of drained green beans, about a cup of fresh kale and 2 Tbs. of honey (fresh kale is full of nutrients, but can be a bit bitter) and some of the chicken broth with the fat skimmed off. It was the consistency of thick, dark green gravy; then mixed this into the chicken/egg/rice mixture. There was enough to thoroughly coat everything.

It came out a "lovely" lime green color (:rolleyes:) but both my dogs LOVED it!! Alivia can be very picky and I can never get her to eat any kind of veggie by itself, but apparrently I disguised them pretty well! This made enough for both my dogs to eat for a week, so I packaged it up in serving size portions and sealed them with my Foodsaver. I tried to get a variety of nutrients into this: protein, calcium, fruit, veggies, antioxidants, flax, fiber, etc.

I had checked to make sure every ingredient was not only "dog safe", but had a beneficial nutritional value (even the honey in small amounts). Next time, I'd probably use fresh or frozen green beans, but I didn't have any. Anyway, since this is my first attempt, any suggestions?

Hi again, :p

You are right on the mark about the canned stuff. They can contain things that are not particularly good for our babies - like onion and garlic for seasoning not to mention the salt content. Fresh or frozen is always best!

Kale is from the Brassica family of veggies which can cause problems with the thyroid. So if you have a baby who already had issues with the thyroid, this family is best avoided. When I first started cooking for Squirt, I went to a Holistic vet who specialized in canine nutrition. She made up a diet for Squirt that gave me options of what to use - a list of meat, veggies and fruits - but no measured quantities of the ingredients. The list included kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. After she was on this diet for a bit, I had labs run and she came back as hypothyroid. When I took her off that diet, her values returned to normal. So I know from experience that these veggies can cause problems. Use them sparingly.

I don't use any processed ingredients in the menus I fix - everything is fresh/frozen. Mostly fresh. I will spend days cooking squash and sweet potatoes, then measure out the amount for a weeks worth of food and freeze the portions. Cooking as much ahead as I can and freezing helps when it comes time to make the food - not as much has to be cooked all at once. And I use several ingredients in Squirt's menu - turkey, beef liver, sardines, sweet potatoes, butternut or acorn squash, brown rice, quinoa, green beans, low fat organic yogurt, and lentils (I think that's all! :p) When I cook Trink's cod and Squirt's liver, the whole camper stinks! :D

Rice needs to be well cooked - to the consistency of wallpaper paste - to aid in digestion and absorption. That was easy for me since that is way I like to eat my rice! ;) Loose grains make me gag. :o

White meat has less fats than the dark meat, and fats are something you want to watch with our cush pups - pancreatitis, as you well know. Cook skinless poultry, boiled or baked. Squirt gets the white turkey meat and Brick gets the dark so it works out well to cook a whole turkey breast for us. Before Brick came along, I ended up using the dark meat for our meals.

You are doing a good job and I know you will learn more and more as you progress. Canine nutrition is a passion of mine these days; I love my studies and especially love to see my babies eat with such obvious pleasure when I know they are getting really good food.

Keep up the good work!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Hi Mary Beth,

I must say that you are an adventurer in the kitchen. I never would have come up with such a concoction. If I had half the energy you have, I might try to duplicate that recipe but without the milk. I think all of my crew would love it.

I've discovered over the years that most of my dogs have been very dairy intolerant. When I was growing up, we had a miniature poodle who slurped down ice cream cones in record time and it didn't phase him one bit. I tried that in later years with a few of my furbutts and the fallout was pretty awful. I'm lactose intolerant and my dogs were even more intolerant and experienced much worse side effects than I ever did. I ended up at the vet's office so between the bill and the vet telling me no ice cream or milk for my dogs was enough to keep them lactose free. Thank goodness the cream cheese I wrap around Lulu and Jojo's mitotane doesn't bother them.

Leslie - Thanks for the tips. The green beans I used were low sodium and unseasoned, plus I rinsed them. Still not optimal, I know. Next time I will use fresh or frozen. Alivia has never had any thyroid issues, so she should be okay with kale in moderation. I make my own yogurt and sometimes give them a bit of that as a treat. Love quinoa, so maybe next batch I will try that! Right now, on the heals of the pancreatitis attack, my primary concern is to keep it low fat.

Glynda - You could easily leave out the milk. I actually wanted to use almond milk (which is soy and lactose free and just all around good for people), but wasn't sure if that was okay for dogs. I'll have to research that unless Leslie or someone else here knows. And, I WISH I had energy! I was recently diagnosed with RA, so between work, taking care of a house and everything else, I am usually pretty exhausted! Plus, stress seams to really take a toll on me so Alivia's recent crisis took a lot out of me. But on the positive side, Alivia seems to be doing well! It's a holiday weekend and for a change it is NOT raining in Pittsburgh!!!

Hi Mary Beth,

I am not familiar with almond milk so I did a bit of research....and found conflicting info. :rolleyes: I did find this response from a vet on Just.answer Dog Veterinary:

Quote:

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Question - Can I give my dog almond milk?

Answer - Hi there, I am Dr Christelle and I would like to answer your question. :)

Almonds are known to be toxic to dogs - the kernel inside the pit is toxic. It can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains, seizures, lethargy and coma. The toxin is related to cyanide.

It all depends on how the milk is produced, and if any of the kernel gets incorporated into it. I would stay away from feeding my dog almond milk just as a safety precaution - I would guess that they would have to ingest quite a bit for it to be toxic and it all depends on how it was manufactured (I don't know anything about the standards or procedures for human consumption, but humans and dogs are very different regarding poisons). I would not take that chance though.

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- JustAnswer http://www.justanswer.com/dog-health...#ixzz1NgNi6eR2

Another site made a distinction between bitter almonds and the almonds that are sold for food in the US, saying that it was the bitter almonds that contain cyanide, not the ones we can purchase in this country (USA).

I will pose the question to my nutrition group and see if I get a better answer. If I do, I will pass it on asap.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Dang, Im a gettin' mighty hungry with all this talk of food!!!!!!

Forget the dogs, how about cooking for ME???????:D:D:D:D

Mary Beth, I don't know how you do it. I work full time, have an elderly mom to watch out for, the house, the yard, the dogs, two grandchildren and I am exhausted most of the time. I don't know how you keep up.:) You go girl!!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D

I hope Alivia is resting, is pain free and enjoying Mom's wonderful food. I'm telling you, a cooking show for dogs!!!! It would be a hit!!!!;););)

Love,
Addy