What to feed a dog with diarrhea: chicken & rice or turkey & pumpkin?

Ground turkey (cooked and drained) mixed with equal parts of plain, white rice would be better. One teaspoon of plain pumpkin (NOT pie filling) can be mixed into the food to provide extra fiber. Too much pumpkin may cause stomach upset.

Hi and thanks for your post. Yes you can give him plain white rice and boiled chicken. Plain canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in his food can help as well. I hope this helps! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea can be due to parasites for example though that can also be seen with other conditions such as colitis or gastroenteritis. What you can do in the meantime is feed her a bland diet of boiled chicken and white rice to help her with an upset belly. Otherwise, it would depend on the results of the fecal test. Your veterinarian could proceed with anti-diarrhea medications which may help in the meantime. Best of luck!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. In terms of diet, a well balanced kibble is best as it will have all of the nutrients needed for a dog. If you need to make a home cooked diet, boiled/boneless/skinless chicken breasts with boiled rice along with added cooked vegetables is a good idea (pumpkin, carrots, broccoli, etc.). You can add in vegetables to make it more balanced. Avoid raw food and bones as they cause many dietary issues. Also, avoid onions, garlic, chocolate, grapes and raisins because these are very toxic to dogs. Best of luck with Jessi!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Copper. The goal of feeding chicken and rice is that it is a bland diet. This can help to settle a dog's stomach. It is not absolutely necessary though. I typically have the owner withhold food for 24hours if the dog is otherwise healthy. This will accomplish the same goal of resting the GI tract. If this does not resolve his symptoms, then he will need to see his veterinarian. I hope this information helps!

The short answer is...yes. Plain canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling) can be used to add fiber to the diet, promote healthy stool and a healthy gut, but may cause loose stool if too much is given or if Romeo has an allergy to pumpkin. The rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight once or twice daily. Decrease the amount if the stool is soft. As long as he is behaving normally, he does not need to be seen by your veterinarian. What you can do at home is withhold food for 12-24 hours. Allow small amounts of water or unflavored PediaLyte. Resume feeding a bland diet in small amounts until the stool is normal then transition slowly back to his regular diet. You can try the pumpkin again at a later date, but if he develops loose stools, then discontinue it and consider an alternative. Make sure he has plenty of fresh, clean water to drink at all times. Dehydration may cause firm stool. Monitor for lethargy, vomiting persistent diarrhea, loss of appetite or abdominal pain. These are symptoms that should be addressed right away by your veterinarian or at the nearest veterinary ER.

Here is a guide on feeding a bland diet. I would feed this until at least 3 days have passed beyond the resolution of the diarrhea and feed the diet twice daily. If there is no improvement, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Lucky so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.