When will rice help my dog's diarrhea? How long does it take?

Hello, sorry to hear about Rusty. Dietary indiscretions that lead to a decreased appetite, vomiting and even diarrhea may take up to 3-5 days to resolve. You should continue to feed a bland diet consisting or plain white rice, skinless and boneless boiled chicken, and low fat cottage cheese for 5 days to see how his GI tract responds. If the diarrhea continues, then Rusty may need anti-diarrhea medications, probiotics, and to rule out infectious parasites. Have your veterinarian examine Rusty if the he develops bloody diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, or even a severely decreased appetite. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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.

You can change his food to boiled chicken and rice as this is very bland. You can also get probiotics from any pet store to start. If he starts vomiting or has a decrease in appetite, or starts with bloody diarrhea, then he needs to be seen by your vet. If it continues past 48 hours with no improvement, then I would get him checked also

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Chloe. I am happy to hear that she is feeling better. I typically recommend feeding a bland diet (ie the beef and rice) for about 48 hours after the symptoms have resolved. After this point, you can reintroduce her original diet. Be sure not to give treats, dental chews, or other food human as you want to make things easy on her gastrointestinal tract. If her symptoms recur when she is back on her original diet, you can offer the beef and rice for 24 hours. If this does not resolve the issue or she has blood in her stool again, then she will need to see her veterinarian again. I hope this information helps!

Glad to hear there is some improvement in Tuckers diarrhea. I would stop all food for 24hrs, he can continue to have water. Then reintroduce a bland diet of plain boiled chicken and rice for 2-3 days. After that you can reintroduce the dog food. Sometime the stomach just needs a complete reset and will take a few days for the stool to return to being completely firm. If after this Tucker is still experiencing diarrhea he should be seen by his veterinarian. Hope this helps and Tucker starts feeling better soon.

Continue giving the rice and boiled chicken for the next 4-7 days and then slowly transition him back to his normal diet. You can also try adding in 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in to his food daily to see if this helps also. If he is still having diarrhea after 2-3 days, then it’s best to get Harley seen by your local vet for a proper exam, fecal exam (to check for intestinal parasites), and bloodwork should be considered if he hasn’t had any in the last 6 months to a year. Underlying liver disease and gallbladder disease can cause subtle signs like loose stool in pets, so it’s best to get things checked out if things don’t get better. Best of luck with Harley and I hope his diarrhea improves soon. Take care.

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!