Dog Upset Stomach? Bland Diet Feeding Amounts Explained!

Okay, here's my blog post about figuring out a bland diet for my dog, and how much to feed him.

So, my dog, Buster, had a bit of a tummy upset last week. Nothing serious, thankfully, but the vet recommended a bland diet for a few days to get him back on track. I'm like, "Okay, bland diet... what's that?" I'd heard of it, sure, but never actually done it.

The Research Begins!

First thing I did was hit up the internet, looking for what a bland diet included. I started googling "bland diet for dogs" and "upset stomach dog food." Turns out, it's pretty simple: usually just boiled chicken and plain white rice. Some people also mentioned using lean ground beef, but I decided to stick with chicken for Buster. Seems safer.

Cooking Up a Storm (Well, a Small Pot)

Next up, I got cooking. I took one boneless, skinless chicken breast and popped it in a pot of water. No seasonings, no oil, nothing – just plain old chicken and water. Brought it to a boil and then simmered it until it was cooked all the way through. I used to add a little bit salt, but this time I made sure not to add anything.

While the chicken was cooking, I made some plain white rice. Again, no butter, no salt, no nothing. Just rice and water. I wanted to make sure it was super easy for Buster to digest.

Once the chicken was done, I took it out and let it cool down. Then, I shredded it up into small pieces. I mixed the shredded chicken with the cooked rice. I was aiming for a ratio of about 1 part chicken to 2 parts rice, but I mostly just eyeballed it.

The Big Question: How Much?

Now for the tricky part: how much of this concoction should I actually feed Buster? He's a medium-sized dog, about 40 pounds, and normally eats about 2 cups of kibble a day. Googling "how much bland diet to feed dog" gave me some general guidelines, but it was all a bit confusing.

I decided to start small. The first day, I gave him about half a cup of the chicken and rice mixture, three times a day. I figured it was better to underfeed him a little than to overfeed him and upset his tummy again.

• Day 1: 1/2 cup, three times a day.
• Day 2: Upped it to 3/4 cup, three times a day. He seemed to be doing well, and his, um, "output" was looking normal.
• Day 3: Gave him a full cup, three times a day. Still good!

Success!

After three days on the bland diet, Buster was back to his old self – bouncy, happy, and with a perfectly normal appetite. I gradually started mixing his regular kibble back into the chicken and rice, and within a couple of days, he was completely back on his normal food. I'm just very happy, and now I can share this with all of you.

So, that's my experience with the bland diet. It's pretty simple, really, and it worked wonders for Buster. Of course, every dog is different, so it's always a good idea to check with your vet if you're unsure. But for a temporary tummy fix, this seemed to do the trick!