Mik is gone...

[Roxee'sDad]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Great news Robert, very happy for you and Mik.

You have done a great job considering all that you have been thru. Mik didn't make it easy for you. Keep up the good work.

John (Roxee's Dad)

[robertpri]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Thanks, all, I am rather proud of the little guy.

Doc had me weigh him at home immediately after the visit, and check all the time. His only concern would be if the wt fell off, then reduce insulin.

[snow]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

I read this and just thought there is a dog food thats called something about a moon. .

I was wondering if he likes Chicken & Rice babyfood could you add a little more rice to that?

Dolly

It's called "Barking at the Moon" by Solid Gold That company has the funkiest food names.

Nice choice for a low carb diet, if needed.

[robertpri]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

I've tried everything else, why not?

[peggy0]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Mik knows what's good for him! Congratulations Robert. I am soooo happy everything is going well with him. You have been so dedicated to getting him well.

[robertpri]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Many thanks, but at times I am so totally and completely frustrated that I can barely type. One day he will eat chicken/rice baby food so I buy some. After that, he'd rather have a root canal than go near it.

At times he will eat maybe 50 calories a day, nothing the next, and the next night, sit in the kitchen for hours barking for food. I will try anything and everything and he just walks away.

At this moment, I have just tried the seven things he's liked in the past

To him, they're poison now.

[BestBuddy]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Hi Robert,
It can be so frustrating trying to get a dog to eat especially a diabetic one. I do feel your pain, speaking of pain how are Mik's teeth. I do know that if you have any dental issues it will make you not want to eat even if it smells and tastes good.
Jenny

[robertpri]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Vet said teeth and gums are as good as he's seen on a 14 year old

[k9diabetes]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Robert,

Maybe it will help to try to see it as just how Mik is going to be. Since you've got an insulin plan that works even if he doesn't eat, it's more manageable and you can just heave a sigh on the days he won't eat and figure he will eat again in a few days.

Is he losing weight?

I think he just wants to make sure you don't have idle hands... what with all the can opening and dishing out, he keeps you plenty busy!

I hope you can get to a place where you don't feel too bad about it. Heaven knows you are doing everything that can be done. There gets to be a point where Mik has to want it and if he doesn't, there's no forcing him.

When Chris was ill his last year, he sometimes turned down hamburger... I never thought I'd see that day. That's a dog who really really did not want to eat. So we cut his insulin in half and tried again at the next meal. We'd get the same kind of thing... he'd eat something for a week and then turn his nose up at it and we'd have to go find something else. Hamburger Helper, beef stew... it is very very frustrating, not to mention a huge waste of food!! Our trash was always full of something he'd decided not to eat.

But I figure they know they are loved when you try so hard to find something they like.

Hang in there. Wish I could help...

Natalie

[robertpri]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

The hard part is being patient. He will sit in the kitchen and bark for 2 or 3hours. No kidding. I'm amazed his still has a voice. I will serve something different and he anxiously leaps for it, sniffs, looks disgusted, and walks away.

Two minute later, it starts over.


I have no clue what he wants,

[k9diabetes]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Maybe he doesn't either... have you considered that maybe there's a touch of doggie dementia? It can happen. Maybe he's confused too.

[robertpri]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Cooking advice please:

I am NOT a cook! Wife did that for 35 years, but I tried white skinless chicken breasts. Chopped up best I could and fried in a touch of olive oil. Covered and simmered until there was no pink inside.

Let them cool and chopped up again. Now, maybe Mik was just hungry or feeling adventurous, but he gobbled up a full bowl.

Buying more this am, but there is a shelf life and I really don't want to do this every day. Can I fry up several breasts. cool and chop, and then freeze?

[janspack]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Cooking advice please:

I am NOT a cook! Wife did that for 35 years, but I tried white skinless chicken breasts. Chopped up best I could and fried in a touch of olive oil. Covered and simmered until there was no pink inside.

Let them cool and chopped up again. Now, maybe Mik was just hungry or feeling adventurous, but he gobbled up a full bowl.

Buying more this am, but there is a shelf life and I really don't want to do this every day. Can I fry up several breasts. cool and chop, and then freeze?

Why don't you just buy frozen breasts of chicken, thaw them and feed them raw? There's no danger to this as long as they've been stored properly. I feed all my animals raw (cats & dogs) and they eat chicken (and other meats) including the bone with no harm at all so I'm sure boneless raw would go down a treat.

Personally, I wouldn't fry them for a dog if you do want to cook them. Just pop them in a tiny amount of water and put them in the microwave for a few minutes. Not sure how long they'd need as I'm vegetarian! I've done it that way occasionally for a kitten that's needed tempting to eat as the heat makes them smell even more tasty.

As to cooking a batch and re-freezing, yes I'm sure that would be fine as long as they're cooked well through in the first place.

[We Hope]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Bob,

You sure can!

The only thing you want to make note of is that when keeping in the freezer, the white meat parts of the chicken can tend to dry out a little more than the dark ones if you have them frozen a while.

Some people who cook for their pets have it down to a science where they cook once a week, separate the cooked food into daily batches and then freeze.

Kathy

[robertpri]

Re: Mik: 13 yr old Shih-Tzu

Great! I just bought a large bag of frozen breasts, so can arrange some kind of schedule. Assuming, of course, he still likes them.