sabresmum Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 I have just been reading another thread where it was mentioned that some people thought white rice wasn't good for dogs. Can I ask why this is as we give Sabre boiled white rice with every meal as otherwise he is very 'runny' when he goes to the toilet and this seems to bind things together. We have given him it with every meal virtually since we got him four months ago without any problems but I want to know if we are doing the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shedalot Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 I have just been reading another thread where it was mentioned that some people thought white rice wasn't good for dogs. Can I ask why this is as we give Sabre boiled white rice with every meal as otherwise he is very 'runny' when he goes to the toilet and this seems to bind things together. We have given him it with every meal virtually since we got him four months ago without any problems but I want to know if we are doing the right thing. How old is the dog and how long has he been "runny"? In my opinion, the runniness would indicate a problem of some sort. When my Sheba was a pup, she had this problem and I was told by my vet to give her white rice with some boiled hamburger for a couple of days or whenever this problem showed up. It always worked. What would be the normal diet for Sabre if he wasn't runny? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 hmm Im not sure why this is. I heard that chicken and rice was meant to be good for them if they had the runs. The only thing I can think of is rice being grain which for dogs is not something their stomachs are able to digest. I would be interesting to know why too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Chicken and rice is commonly used for dogs with upset tummies because it is plain. But feeding dogs rice as part of their regular diet is not recommended because dogs are simply not made to process grains. They have no nutritional value because dogs can't digest them, they basically go in and out. Grains like rice, maize, corn, wheat etc are all used as fillers in dogs food - hence why quality dried food uses little or no grains in the ingredients. Grains allergies are actually one of the most common food allergies we see in dogs. They will bulk food out but they are completely unnecessary in terms of nutritional value and in some cases detrimental to feed (in terms of causing allergies and yeast infections). What are you feeding him besides the rice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Thanks Bec answered my question added to rep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 No worries I should add that there are other ways to bulk out a food if necessary. I often use pumpkin or sweet potato. At the moment I have my little dog Cherry on an elimination diet. The idea is to feed as few foods as possible i.e. one source of protein, an 'alternative' protein source to the dog's regular diet (preferably something they haven't eaten before), and one carb source so the dog can maintain some energy. So at the moment Cherry is eating raw kangaroo mince mixed with mashed sweet potato. Pumpkin and sweet potato are often recommended for dogs that have upset tummies or dogs that need their food bulked out. Roo meat is very lean (like 97% fat free) so it's important to use the carb source to bulk the food out too so she doesn't lose weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice and Cripton Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 The thing is dogs dont need rice for any nutritional value, when my two have the run i give them rice with their meals. However if it was constant i would know something was up >>> the main thing is their diet. When i was feeding a very rich food Alaska got the runs non - stop! What food are you feeding may i ask? You may need to consider switching foods. I dont think anything is majourly wrong, if there was no amount of rice would make a difference. I feed James Wellbeloved, it's known for it's high nutritional value and it's sensitivity for the stomach.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabresmum Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Thanks for the replies. We feed Sabre on a dry dog food (our local pet supplies own label called Chesterfields I think). It does seem though that if we don't give him the rice on an odd occasion he is runny again and that is why we continue feeding him it. I think I read to do this on the American version of this website where they said to give either boiled rice or pumpkin but as we don't get the tinned pumpkin like they do over there, we obviously went for the rice. I just wondered that if by giving him this we were doing something wrong that may damage his health in the long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Do you know what the top ingredients are in the food he's on? Or, have you tried giving raw? I alternate kibble / barf for my two, gives them a variety stops them having the same thing all the time and they got lots of different nutritional items from the foods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Thanks for the replies. We feed Sabre on a dry dog food (our local pet supplies own label called Chesterfields I think). It does seem though that if we don't give him the rice on an odd occasion he is runny again and that is why we continue feeding him it. I think I read to do this on the American version of this website where they said to give either boiled rice or pumpkin but as we don't get the tinned pumpkin like they do over there, we obviously went for the rice. I just wondered that if by giving him this we were doing something wrong that may damage his health in the long term. As others have said, yep you can use rice or pumpkin etc as a food if the dog has an upset tummy but be careful you aren't using it to 'hide' what is a long term problem he is having with his diet. Finding the right diet for your dog can be trial and error, personally if my dog had the runs consistently with the food I was feeding and the only way to manage it was to bulk his food out with something else I would be changing his diet. What's the list of ingredients on the dried food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice and Cripton Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Best advice i think would be to change his food, when Alaska was a pup i went through 3 different brands, do you live in Amercia? Maybe we could do some research for you on good foods near you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberianandy Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 our sibe had this problem when he was a littlt pup and with the advice of people on here we changed his food and since we found a good food that agrees with him we had no problems with his stools he is never runny unless he has certain comercial treats then he gets a bit runny but he goes back to normal the next day if he don't eat the treat are you in the uk or the us as that will determine what food you can get. our sibe doesn't seem to be able to eat anything with rice in as a main ingredient so we have to feed salmon and potatoe variety of foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Bec, never heard of using Pumpkin may give that a try sometime. Do you feed all the contects from them or just the seeds or not the seeds, etc etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Bec, never heard of using Pumpkin may give that a try sometime. Do you feed all the contects from them or just the seeds or not the seeds, etc etc? I know it can be hard to get in the UK (it grows like a weed here and is really cheap to buy!) so you can also try sweet potato if it's more readily available. I chop it up and puree it raw, minus the skin and seeds, and feed it to Micha and Daisy as part of their raw diet (with other vegies/fruit like celery, carrot, apple etc). I've been lazy with Cherry with the sweet potato as I've been chopping it up skin and all and boiling, mashing it and mixing it in with her raw roo meat. I should feed it raw but it's hard to puree enough so that she'll eat it and digest it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Ive not tried the sweet potato with mine, they have a little normal potato with their veggies, will try them on the sweet potato, may make them a little cuirous with a new smell (Thats if I dont eat it myself first, lol love sweet potato!) We can only usually get pumkin around October time (when we have halloween, lol) but I may keep that in mine and try it maybe as a treat with them when we can get them. Thanks Bec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 No worries! I know it's hard to get there as when I was over in January visiting my dad, he had a cold and I said I'd make him pumpkin soup (an Aussie classic!). BIG MISTAKE!! I was gobsmacked at how hard it was to get pumpkin, how tiny it was when I found some and how ridiculously expensive it was! My goodness lol. It ended up being a pumpkin and sweet potato soup because I couldn't bring myself to pay so much for pumpkin when it is so cheap here lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabresmum Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Can't tell you the ingredients as we always put the food into a plastic container and have thrown the bag away. Can anyone recommend any other dry foods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberianandy Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 we use wainwrights salmon and potato it suits suka very well i would reccomend just buying a small 2kg bag to try to see how he gets on with what ever food you decide on so if it don't agree with him you won't waste as much as if you buy a big 15kg bag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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