How much chicken and rice for dog?

Graceland

My dog is having problems with his poo at the moment. It has blood/mucus in it. I've been told to give him rice and chicken for a few days but the thing is - how much do I give him of each? The bags of rice are 62.5 in size. Is one of these enough. And how much chicken should I give him.
He's a labrador cross, about 21kg.

Whispered

One of mine is 26kg. If I'm doing the chicken and rice thing I would usually measure by eye. Basically one chicken breast and a small serving (human small) of rice. I'm not sure if that is enough or too much, because seeing as how he's only ever eaten like that for a few days at a time it doesn't effect his weight.

Who told you to give a dog with blood in his poo chicken and rice? Was it the vet? If you haven't seen the vet I'd really recommend it. While it might not be much to worry about, it can sometimes indicate something serious. How is he otherwise?

Graceland

He had this same problem about a year and a half ago and the vet said to give him this rice and chicken but he was very vague about amounts. The vet said at the time the dog was getting too many nutrients in his food and this was causing the blood/mucus. It was sorted out at the time and he went back to his regular food, but I think his dinners must be getting a bit bigger lately when the problem has returned.

He has always been a very lively dog and still is. Only for I actually see his poo, I wouldn't think there was anything wrong with him. He acts the same as usual.

ILoveToast

If one of my dogs have an upset tummy, I'd usually go with mince(cooked), instead of chicken, and mix in rice. I'd feed them a few times during the day, 4 times usually, it needs to be small portions. So I'd put in about 4-5 tablespoons of food.
Then gradually increase the food after a day.
I'd also use carrot puree for mine, carrots seem to help with an upset tummy. I put in about a table spoon with the mince and rice for mine.

Best of luck.

Graceland

Thanks for replying. I'll keep in mind what you said but I'll just try him on the rice and chicken for now.

Would anyone happen to know the daily amount of calories for a 21kg dog.

Irishchick

Graceland wrote: »

The vet said at the time the dog was getting too many nutrients in his food and this was causing the blood/mucus.

As a vet nurse I would strongly advise you to get a second opinion on this. As far as Im aware no type of hypervimatminosis will cause melena.

What colour is the faeces? Bright red suggests it's from the inestines and could be caused by a heavy parasite burden or something more sinister. Dark red/black indicates digested blood which means it comes from farther up the tract which could indicate an ulcer, or again, something more sinister.

For now give your dog a worming tablet (from the vets ie drontal or milbemax) for his weight and repeat 2 weeks later.

However again I would strongly advise a second opinion.

juniord

if its only for a few days it wont do much harm if your not getting the amount right , about 650 grams a day should be enough, thats roughly 3% of body weight

Graceland

Thanks for your reply. My vet comes highly recommended and I have been with him for years now.
The dogs feces isn't fully blood/mucus, when he does it first, it comes out normal, it's just more the end bits of it. In fact for the last two mornings it was perfect with no trace of this at all, but there was some later on.

When he had it a year and a half ago, it was much worse than this, and I got tablets and a liquid from the vet which cleared it up (also giving him the chicken and rice diet for a few days). The vet said that his food was too rich at the time and that it wasn't actually blood even if it did look like blood. I brought up a sample at the time as well.
He has been wormed up to date as well.

ISDW

Irishchick wrote: »

As a vet nurse I would strongly advise you to get a second opinion on this. As far as Im aware no type of hypervimatminosis will cause melena.

Oh did you qualify, congratulations, hope you got a job okay

OP, apparently pumpkin is excellent for upset tummies, not too easy to get here though if its not around halloween, you can get tinned pumpkin, but not sure how many shops stock it.

tk123

What do you feed him?

boomerang

My own lady is 22kg and her nutritional requirements per day would be 10oz rice and 10oz cooked chicken, divided into several meals. It is calcium-deficient but there is no need to go out and buy a calcium supplement if the chicken and rice is only given occasionally, during a tummy upset. If he likes the taste of natural yoghurt you could give him a few spoonfuls. If it's pro-biotic yoghurt it would also help his tum.

Keep your doglet on the chicken and rice until his tum settles and then re-introduce his normal food gradually, like you did before. If it's not improving he *might* need an antibiotic, which is probably what the vet gave you for him eighteen months ago. In that case I'd talk to him again. Don't take veterinary advice from us here on t'interweb too seriously. Vet nurses are *not* qualified to diagnose and suggest treatment. And no vet would dispense advice without having seen the dog and having taken a full clinical history. There's no substitute for speaking to the vet you trust.

Graceland

ISDW wrote: »

OP, apparently pumpkin is excellent for upset tummies, not too easy to get here though if its not around halloween, you can get tinned pumpkin, but not sure how many shops stock it.

I looked for pumpkin before but couldn't get it. No-one seem to stock it where I live.

Graceland

boomerang wrote: »

My own lady is 22kg and her nutritional requirements per day would be 10oz rice and 10oz cooked chicken, divided into several meals. It is calcium-deficient but there is no need to go out and buy a calcium supplement if the chicken and rice is only given occasionally, during a tummy upset. If he likes the taste of natural yoghurt you could give him a few spoonfuls. If it's pro-biotic yoghurt it would also help his tum.

Keep your doglet on the chicken and rice until his tum settles and then re-introduce his normal food gradually, like you did before. If it's not improving he *might* need an antibiotic, which is probably what the vet gave you for him eighteen months ago. In that case I'd talk to him again. Don't take veterinary advice from us here on t'interweb too seriously. Vet nurses are *not* qualified to diagnose and suggest treatment. And no vet would dispense advice without having seen the dog and having taken a full clinical history. There's no substitute for speaking to the vet you trust.

Thanks for your reply. I'll continue with the rice and chicken and hopefully this will sort him out. I'd forgotten about the pro-biotic yoghurt so I'll get some of that too.
If he isn't improved in a few days, then I'll definitely bring him to my vet.

Graceland

boomerang wrote: »

My own lady is 22kg and her nutritional requirements per day would be 10oz rice and 10oz cooked chicken, divided into several meals.

Just wanted to ask you if you give this amount to your dog everyday - not just when she is sick. Is this her normal amount of food all the time.

boomerang

Hi Graceland,

Her normal amount of cooked food per meal (fed twice daily) would be 5oz spud/pasta/rice and 4.5 - 5oz cooked meat or raw mince. With about 3oz low-calorie veggies chucked in, and a calcium tablet.

tk123

Graceland wrote: »

I looked for pumpkin before but couldn't get it. No-one seem to stock it where I live.

Somebody posted recently that butternut squash works too

Graceland

tk123 wrote: »

Somebody posted recently that butternut squash works too

That's good to know. At least that is easy to buy.

ILoveToast

Graceland wrote: »

That's good to know. At least that is easy to buy.

I know I mentioned it to you previously, but carrots has the same effect, it's used for puppies and babies as well to treat an upset tummy.

Graceland

boomerang wrote: »

Hi Graceland,

Her normal amount of cooked food per meal (fed twice daily) would be 5oz spud/pasta/rice and 4.5 - 5oz cooked meat or raw mince. With about 3oz low-calorie veggies chucked in, and a calcium tablet.

I appreciate you telling me this as I'm trying to get a better balanced diet for him. He's gets broccoli and carrots but I think lately he might have gotten a bit too much of them.

Instead of giving him a calcium tablet, do you think I could give him a couple of spoons of natural yoghurt.

He went to the toilet this morning. It was only a small amount and even though it was still a bit dark in colour, it was formed so hopefully this is a sign he is starting to improve.

Graceland

ILoveToast wrote: »

I know I mentioned it to you previously, but carrots has the same effect, it's used for puppies and babies as well to treat an upset tummy.

He's always gotten carrots as part of his food anyway. I usually cook them for him but someone was telling me that they might be better given to him raw.

ILoveToast

Graceland wrote: »

He's always gotten carrots as part of his food anyway. I usually cook them for him but someone was telling me that they might be better given to him raw.

To treat an upset tummy it's carrot puree, but whatever works best for you, you obviously know you dog best

I give mine raw carrots for their teeth normally.

Edit-Broccoli can be toxic for dogs btw, just saw your post above mine.

Graceland

ILoveToast wrote: »

To treat an upset tummy it's carrot puree, but whatever works best for you, you obviously know you dog best

I give mine raw carrots for their teeth normally.

Edit-Broccoli can be toxic for dogs btw, just saw your post above mine.

Sometimes you can't win, lol as I went into various animal sites and they mostly said that broccoli was ok for dogs. His diet for the last year had broccoli and it didn't seem to affect him.

They are like children, lol. You worry about them all the time.

boomerang

I would get the calcium tablet to ensure he is getting sufficient calcium. You can get plain calcium carbonate tablets in Holland and Barrett. I give a 500mg tablet crushed over the food with each meal. It's super-important to give the correct amount of calcium in relation to phosphorus - if you don't it is drawn from the bones and they demineralise.

Just bear in mind that the key to feeding a home-made diet is variety over time! For instance you should be feeding offal occasionally - I combine cooked lambs' liver and boiled egg. I give tuna occasionally too, with egg.

Oh, and yep, look out for feeding too many cruciferous veggies, on account of the oxalates.

Please do a lot of research on feeding home-made. It looks deceptively simple, and it's not. I had to work out Boo's calorie requirements, protein requirements, etc. etc. She has blood work done every four months and is under the care of a vet.

My go-to website is www.dogaware.com

boomerang

Graceland wrote: »

He's always gotten carrots as part of his food anyway. I usually cook them for him but someone was telling me that they might be better given to him raw.

Naw, if fed raw they basically pass through and just add bulk to the diet. The vitamins are better absorbed if the carrot is cooked.

Graceland

boomerang wrote: »

I combine cooked lambs' liver and boiled egg. I give tuna occasionally too, with egg.

I give him a boiled egg twice a week and tuna once a week. I have tried to give him a good home diet, but I think the portions have gotten a bit bigger lately.

Graceland

Just an update - he went to the toilet again tonight. It was just another small bit but it was formed so hopefully he is on the mend.

boomerang

Yay Graceland, that's great to hear. He's lucky to have you.

Graceland

I'm wondering what are peoples views on giving a dog some milk every day (just a little). I did read myself that milk isn't supposed to be good for dogs yet my mother always gave her dogs milk through the years and they never had problems and all lived to be old.

ILoveToast

I'd say no to milk, If your dog already has had issues with getting an upset tummy, why risk it Dogs can be lactose intolerant.

Graceland

ILoveToast wrote: »

I'd say no to milk, If your dog already has had issues with getting an upset tummy, why risk it Dogs can be lactose intolerant.

I wouldn't take the risk and give him milk at this stage, but I was curious what others thought about this.

Whispered

In general my dogs get a huge mix of foods. We are very careful with salt, sugar and processed food, but will give milk rather than throw it out, they get cheese and yoghurt too as well as all manner of veggies, occasional pieces of toast if we're having it, dinner left overs etc.

I used to be very strict on their food but am starting to relax a bit. I think personally that if their basic diet suits them and is healthy then some additions, within reason, are ok.

Although in saying that, if they had sensitive stomachs I couldn't do that.