Can I give my dog cold chicken and rice? What to Know

Chicken and rice dog food recipe

Can I give my dog cold chicken and rice?

When getting ready to make this recipe of chicken and rice for your dog, be sure to get the right ingredients. You’ll want to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts to keep the dish easily digestible.

Stay away from brown rice, which has more fiber than your dog needs. White rice is just gentle enough to help the digestive system get back on track.

Next, resist the temptation to add seasonings like you would for you and your family, as many can be toxic for pups. Also, stay away from any oils or butter. Let the chicken be the flavor on its own — trust us, your dog will love it!

Once you have everything ready to go, heres what you need to do:

  • Boil 2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in water until fully cooked, then remove from broth.
  • Use a rice cooker to cook 1 cup uncooked rice, or boil 1 cup uncooked rice in the chicken broth once the chicken has been fully cooked and removed.
  • Shred chicken.
  • Allow rice and chicken to cool before feeding to your dog.
  • Once you have your ingredients, its time to mix them up. The rule of thumb here is to mix 1/3 portion of meat to 2/3 portion of rice. Now that you have your chicken and rice mixture, youre ready to feed it to your dog.

    Be sure to feed your dog no more than they would normally eat in a day. For a big dog that normally eats 4 cups of food daily, start with 1 cup of the chicken and rice mixture. Then, later in the day, give another cup, and continue on until you have given the amount your dog would eat regularly. (But don’t be surprised if your dog eats less until they feel better.)

    Likewise, for a little doggo who only eats 1 cup of food a day, start with a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the mixture, and so on. The rules are the same for puppies who need a chicken and rice diet, but be sure to consult your vet for the specific needs of your growing furball.

    When should you feed your dog chicken and rice?

    Can I give my dog cold chicken and rice?

    Dogs can have tummy trouble just like us. When this happens, we want to do everything we can to make them feel better.

    When your dog is vomiting, or has persistent diarrhea, gas or constipation, their system can get stressed. Always go to the veterinarian when symptoms seem serious or last longer than a day. In some cases, your vet may recommend a temporary change to a bland diet thats easy to digest, and can help lower your dog’s stress, get essential nutrients into them, and reset their digestive system.

    Homemade chicken and rice is the pup’s equivalent of chicken soup, an all-time favorite for us humans when were feeling low. Chicken is easy to digest and contains tons of the right vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to help your dog recover.

    For dogs with diarrhea, chicken and rice can be soothing and just what they need to help form better stools. Its also super tasty, and most dogs will gulp it down before you can blink, making it a “pawtastic” choice for those puppers who don’t seem to have any appetite.

    This meal is good for most gastric problems, though veterinarians often recommend that if you are making chicken and rice for a vomiting dog, let the dog fast for a day first, then begin this yummy diet. A bland diet for puppies with stomach trouble is sometimes needed too, though be sure to consult with your veterinarian first, as these growing pups need lots of additional nutrition.

    Do dogs prefer warm or cold food?

    Pet food companies suggest their products be served at room temperature so that, as Purina says, “your dog can taste and smell it properly.” But it might take an already-opened can stored in the fridge two hours to get up to room temperature by simply setting it out on the kitchen counter.

    Safe: Cooked White Rice and Pasta. Dogs can eat plain white rice or pasta after it’s cooked. And, a serving of plain white rice with some boiled chicken can sometimes make your dog feel better when they are having stomach problems.

    Can I Feed My Dog Chicken & Rice Every Day?

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    It is common knowledge to offer your pet a ‘bland’ diet when they develop signs of gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting or diarrhoea. The thought behind this is to simply give their gut a ‘break’ and reduce workload by eating easily digestible foods instead. Traditionally, the go-to bland diet has been boiled chicken and rice.

    At My Vet Animal Hospital, we often see pets with acute gastrointestinal issues that are managed through dietary modifications. Nutrition is pivotal in the management of gastrointestinal problems as well as the overall health and development of your pet. Although ‘chicken and rice’ smells and tastes amazing, we have started to trend away from a home-cooked bland diet and instead recommend you trial better alternatives first. Just because ‘chicken and rice’ is common, doesn’t mean it’s the best for your pet!

    Here are some of the pitfalls and reasons why you should look beyond the traditional ‘chicken and rice’ bland diet:

    1. Not complete and balanced nutrition, and not suitable for long-term use or growing pets Just feeding ‘chicken and rice’ is simply not a complete and balanced diet as it is lacking in certain nutrients, vitamins, amino acids and minerals that are important for your pet’s health. If fed for more than three days or longer-term, your pet may start to have multiple nutritional deficiencies that can develop into serious health concerns. We regularly see puppies and kittens for gastrointestinal issues as they often have more sensitive stomachs than adult pets as their immune system continues to develop. Growing puppies and kittens have special nutritional requirements and being on an unbalanced diet, even very briefly, may be detrimental to their health and development.

    2. Low energy dense nutrition, inconvenient, higher risk of contamination A 10kg dog requires around 470 kilocalories a day which approximately equates to around 2 chicken breasts and 1.5 cups of rice. Many pets with gastrointestinal issues often have a reduced appetite and are in a negative energy balance state so it is difficult to ensure they eat enough to maintain their daily caloric intake. Although it may appear to be a lot of food (which is already an added challenge for an upset gut to digest), because of the low energy density of ‘chicken and rice’, you may still actually be underfeeding your pet. Additionally, ‘chicken and rice’ should be cooked fresh every time during feeding to reduce risk of contamination. Despite daily effort to prepare ‘chicken and rice’, as mentioned above, it isn’t even nutritionally complete and balanced!

    3. Does not replace lost electrolytes and vitamins Gastrointestinal issues often cause vomiting and/or diarrhoea. Besides falling short of meeting your pet’s daily maintenance requirements, a ‘chicken and rice’ diet does not contain additional electrolytes and vitamins to replenish any losses that may have occurred with vomiting and diarrhoea.

    4. Lacks prebiotics & probiotics to support the gastrointestinal microbiome Gastrointestinal issues are often caused by or are the result of an imbalanced gut microbiome. Compared to better alternative gastrointestinal diets, a ‘chicken and rice’ diet contributes very little to correcting these imbalances to support the gastrointestinal system. Simply put, the gut microbiome is a dynamic population of microorganisms, mostly bacteria, that play a key role in the digestion, synthesis and absorption of nutrients. Probiotics are live microorganisms which provide health benefits when consumed and are often called ‘good’ bacteria. Prebiotics are types of dietary fibre that feed the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut and allow them to flourish. The addition of prebiotics and probiotics can help restore any imbalances and promote a well-function gut microbiome.

    At My Vet Animal Hospital, an alternative to ‘chicken and rice’ that we often recommend is the Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d (Digestive Care) range as it is a complete and balanced, high-energy dense nutritious diet, that is conveniently pre-made and contains prebiotics and probiotics. It also exceeds the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrition standards and also has a 100% money-back guarantee for quality, consistency and taste.

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    If your pet develops any vomiting or diarrhoea, please call My Vet Animal Hospital on (02) 8484 2020 for an appointment and consider better alternative diet options before cooking up some homemade chicken and rice.

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