# Chicken & Rice - How much?



## SitkatheGSD (Aug 24, 2017)

Hi guys,

My 85lb, 2.5yr old male GSD had a scare yesterday. After some bloody diarrhea he started defecating straight blood with no fecal matter. I brought him to the vet and got an anti-diuretic, something to thicken/coat his stomach lining, and some probiotics. I was told to keep him on a very plain diet for a few days so have been giving him rice and chicken twice a day. 

My question is, how much should he get?

I've been giving him 1 chicken breast (about 1 cup) and 2 cups of rice, every 12 hours.

Thanks for your input!

-- Ruth & Sitka


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## banzai555 (Sep 2, 2019)

I've read they should be smaller portions but more often, like 3-4 times a day. My pup was just going through this (no blood, but persistent diarrhea) and I was feeding probably 1 cup of rice with 1/2 cup boiled ground turkey or chicken 4 times per day. She's smaller than your dog though, only 60 pounds. I google searched this very question a lot, and 2 parts rice to 1 part protein seemed to be the general recommendation?

I also added about a tablespoon of pumpkin puree 2x per day, and I gave an entire Fortiflora packet with one of the meals. I honestly don't know if it's better to portion that packet out throughout meals, but you're supposed to stick to just 1 packet per day. TBH, the bland diet by itself didn't do much for my pup over 5 days (she started pooping straight orange goo), until I started giving her metronidazole.


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## SitkatheGSD (Aug 24, 2017)

Thanks for your response. Yes, I read the 2:1 ratio as well... I hadn't thought of more frequent meals, it sounds like overall you were feeding your 60lb pup the same as I'm feeding my 85lb so maybe he needs more... his meds have to be given to him every 12 hours on an empty stomach with food given after 1.5-2 hrs


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Fast him 24 hours first.
I am of the school that believes that rice ferments, and it should be replaced with pumpkin. 3/4 pound boiled meat and a quarter cup pumpkin, add 3/4 teaspoon of bonemeal to the pumpkin purée.


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## Bramble (Oct 23, 2011)

Not my video, but I share his opinion about feeding an ill dog chicken and rice.



https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17845692169737034/


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Bramble said:


> Not my video, but I share his opinion about feeding an ill dog chicken and rice.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17845692169737034/


Can’t connect, too many redirects.


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## banzai555 (Sep 2, 2019)

Bramble said:


> Not my video, but I share his opinion about feeding an ill dog chicken and rice.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17845692169737034/


I've seen this discussed a lot online and I'm just not sure....it seems to me that yeah, rice is obviously not super healthy or nutritious, but the point is to give your dog something with calories that is easily digestible--i.e. something that he can process without causing more inflammation in the gut. Giving him something more nutritious that's harder to digest (like fiber) doesn't make sense to me. 

I do think the thing about chicken makes sense, though--except again, since chicken is lower in fat than other proteins, it's easier for a sick dog's guts to deal with. Carnivores DO eat ground birds though, which tend to be "white meat" because the breast muscles are not used for flying. (White meat is basically muscle used for short bursts of energy, as in chickens and turkeys, not sustained use like the dark-meat breast muscles of ducks and other flying birds--and the legs of ground birds.) Most carnivores are opportunistic eaters and WILL eat ground birds when given the opportunity; I've documented mountain lions and bobcats eating wild turkeys and grouse, although I honestly don't know how often wolves do this. 

But regardless, I'm intentionally going to avoid feeding my dog chicken-based kibble if I can help it. When my dog was sick I switched from boiled chicken to turkey hoping that'd be a bit better, though it's basically the same kind of meat, I guess. I also fed ground beef for a while but worried it was too fatty.

Another thing I've seen conflicting info on is the protein that has the highest chance of causing an allergy---what I've found, looking at dozens of pages from vet clinics and universities, is that beef seems to be the most common culprit, not chicken. 

It's worth noting that none of these things actually seemed to help my dog in her most recent case of diarrhea, though. So....it's sorta just gonna be my plan for next time, along with doing the 24-hour fast, which I didn't do. 

All that's to say....studies on dog nutrition appear to be not nearly as available, comprehensive or reliable as human nutrition studies. Honestly the more I read, the more confused I get. Some dogs live to be OOOOOLD on "bad" food. Who the heck knows.


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## SitkatheGSD (Aug 24, 2017)

Thank you everyone for your feedback. While I appreciate and will consider your suggestions about nutrition value, but at this point I want to take my vet's suggestion to feed chicken and rice as an easily digestible food to line his stomach. I'm just not sure how much I should be feeding him; he normally grazes all day, but with this he is fed the 3 cups of chicken and rice every 12 hours and finishes the bowl in approx. 3 minutes! 

I have a prescription anti-diuretic for the diarrhea, and the chicken and rice is just to coat his stomach. (He is most likely sick because of his intestine being scraped by a bone or stick fragment.) This is only his diet for a few days until his gut is healed (he's got meds for that too).

How many cups of protein and carbs should an 85lb pup get per day?


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Don’t worry too much about volume the first few days. Mine was on only white rice and pumpkin for two days due to eating some spoiled hyperallergenic treats. They had mold on them but I didn’t see it until after he got sick. He is allergic to the meats I would usually give him. But he wouldn’t swallow the pills, so I added back some canned allergenic food to use as a pill pocket. He couldn’t eat anything the first day. I fed him 1 C of pumpkin and 1 C of rice twice a day the second day. The third day I gave the same amounts plus added about 1/2 can of his regular allergenic food. The fourth day I added back 1 C of kibble twice a day. Today I cut back in rice and pumpkin and gave him 2 C of kibble and will do the same tonight. Then tomorrow he will be back on 5 C of kibble and enough canned food to hide the pills.

Cooked meat has different properties than raw, so it’s less likely to cause allergies. Boiled chicken breast works well. So does lean ground beef. Ground turkey sometimes has a lot of fat, so read the labels.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

SitkatheGSD said:


> Thank you everyone for your feedback. While I appreciate and will consider your suggestions about nutrition value, but at this point I want to take my vet's suggestion to feed chicken and rice as an easily digestible food to line his stomach. I'm just not sure how much I should be feeding him; he normally grazes all day, but with this he is fed the 3 cups of chicken and rice every 12 hours and finishes the bowl in approx. 3 minutes!
> 
> I have a prescription anti-diuretic for the diarrhea, and the chicken and rice is just to coat his stomach. (He is most likely sick because of his intestine being scraped by a bone or stick fragment.) This is only his diet for a few days until his gut is healed (he's got meds for that too).
> 
> How many cups of protein and carbs should an 85lb pup get per day?


Well...If you want to follow your vet’s advice, why not call him and ask him?


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## crittersitter (Mar 31, 2011)

I think you are feeding an appropriate amount for his size because he needs to eat a little on the light side while his tummy heals. I also agree with others about feeding him more often and in smaller meals while he recuperates.


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## SitkatheGSD (Aug 24, 2017)

crittersitter said:


> I think you are feeding an appropriate amount for his size because he needs to eat a little on the light side while his tummy heals. I also agree with others about feeding him more often and in smaller meals while he recuperates.


Thank you for helping answer my question!


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