Rice for upset tummies?

[MaggieDog]

So Maggie and I just got back from 3 days at my fiance's mom's house w/ a 4 year old and another dog sharing a small house (think <1000 sq. ft.) w/ Maggie, Scott, his mom, and I.

 

All went well, but Maggie has developed a nasty case of diarrhea. For the last 24 hours she's pee'd once and her other outputs are pure liquid. Sad Luckily she seems to feel ok other than that - she played with the boxer this morning and was trying to hide from a bath this afternoon.

 

I think much of this tummy upset is stress related - the 4 year old is used to dogs he can do anything with and Maggie is NOT that kind of dog, plus she's always a bit nervous around new dogs and in new situations.

 

In addition to the stress side of things, she managed to snag a large number of rich salmon and lamb treats while I was out with friends on Saturday night and I had to put Frontline Plus on before we left since the boxer often has fleas. She also had to deal w/ cigarette smoke for the 3 days.

 

We have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow afternoon if needed.

 

So far I've given her pumpkin, but it hasn't seemed to help, though she's only eaten a little since she refused her 2 TBS of pumpkin this morning. She has been fasted other than pumpkin for the last 24 hours.

 

I'm thinking about making up some rice w/ chicken broth tonight for her dinner, perhaps w/ some pumpkin mixed in, which brings me to my question:

 

Is there much difference between using the regular rice and instant rice for this purpose? Both are whole brown rice, the only difference is the cooking time as far as I can tell. Thoughts on which I should use?

 

Anything else I might want to try? I think I'll give her some probiotics tonight w/ her rice, but other than that I don't know what else to do.

 

Luckily she doesn't seem to need to go out every 30mins to 3 hours - it's been about 5 since she last asked to go out. Last night she was up every 3 hours.

 

I hate when my girl is sick - she usually has a stomach of steel when it comes to food, but too much stress is another story.

[Tassie]

Hi Erin - I'll preface this with the obvious - I'm not a vet! However, on my vets advice - my strategy is to use plain boiled/nuked chicken breast amd plain boiled white rice. I wouldn't use brown rice, since I think that is quite aggravating to the tummy. I also wouldn't use chicken broth - could be a little greasy, and sounds like Maggie might have had too much in the way of fat - in addition to the stress.

 

I would be inclined to use that vet appointment anyway - if only to get some clues on what to do if there's another time.

 

Your major concern would be to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated - if she's not drinking anything, I'd be inclined to move the vet appointment up.

 

Hope poor Maggie feels better soon.

[Bordercentrics]

A lot of folks swear by canned pumpkin for diarhhea. I have tried it and it does seem to help. You can add it to the chicken and rice. You can also give dogs Pepto-Bismol, though they get pink on their faces if you use the liquid! That also has helped at our house.

 

Kathy Robbins

[SoloRiver]

When my dogs are having bad diarrhea, I fast them to give their systems some time to relax, and then give overcooked white rice and lean chicken (white meat) the next day.

 

At least Maggie doesn't have a fluffy butt. When Solo has the runs it's a crisis for a number of different reasons, not the least of which is that I have no hose to wash him off and no yard to hose him off in.

[Anda]

I have a dog with sensitive stomach and I can tell you what works: White rice mixed with his food. Mainly rice. His food is lamb and rice, so he's getting plenty of rice. Fed with a fork or spoon if necessary If I put salt in, he likes it. If it looks like he's actualy in pain from the diarrhea, I shove a Pepto pill (much less messier than liquid - I cannot stand the liquid so I bought pills for myself ) in his mouth, then feed him rice. Puts a good cork in , then it lets him clean his system without any drama.

 

Had to use this cure just this past weekend - someone got into the garbage and stole some chicken bones (my dog is super sensitive to chicken!!!)

[Sue R]

Other than checking with your vet, I would recommend fasting (water only) for about 24 hours or about six hours after the last loose movement.

 

Then I would feed, as Melanie suggested, boiled white rice and chicken breast (a heaping teaspoon of pumpkin has been fine along with this for my youngster who is sensitive).

 

It wouldn't hurt to introduce this in smaller, more frequent meals (I've done as many as six in a day, dividing the food between them) to make it less stressful on the dog's system, and consolidating the meals as the dog's feces return to normal. Then I reintroduce the regular food gradually over several days and cut back on the chicken/rice/pumpkin as the dog continues with well-formed feces.

 

I find the hard part to be fasting the dog but, in my experience, for significant diarrhea, it is essential.

 

Best wishes!