What is a Bland Diet for Dogs?

Just like humans, our dogs can suffer an occasional upset stomach or intestinal issue. On the other hand, there are also dogs that suffer from long term chronic intestinal issues. Dogs in both of these groups are often if not always given bland dog food or put on a bland diet.

So just what is this bland dog diet?  Bland diets are not spicy, raw, or fried and they are easy to digest, meaning they are low in fiber. They also usually consist of soft foods. What kinds of foods are included in bland food for dogs? You have two choices. You can purchase a prepackaged bland dog food diet or you can make it yourself with your own bland diet recipe. Let’s look at what is generally in these two versions of what is a bland diet for dogs.

• Prepackaged/processed bland diet: There are many prepackaged and commercial bland diets available from veterinarians. The most prominent of these is Science Diet by Hills. They offer a wide variety of prescription diet dog foods including the bland ones. W/D is the most prominent and is made with one single protein source and rice. Other commercial brands producing bland diets include Iams and Nutro.
• Homemade recipe: If you choose to make your own recipe, you can just follow the format of a single protein source with rice. Some people also choose to add yogurt and sweet potato for flavor, and pumpkin is also a good option. You might also use baby food, tofu, cottage cheese, or boiled chicken.

These extra ingredients will add flavor while remaining easy on the dog’s digestive system. You will want to limit this type of diet to a few days or a week without consulting your vet. Too long on this diet can cause other issues unless a supplement of vitamins and minerals are added.

When Do Dogs Need a Bland Diet?

Dogs need bland dog food usually when they have digestive issues. These issues may involve simple indigestion to nausea and vomiting, gas, heartburn, diarrhea, ulcers, and pancreatitis. Dogs will also need bland diets following some surgeries, especially intestinal or stomach surgery.

Some dogs go on bland diets because they have sensitive stomachs and a difficult time digesting food for most of their lives. These dogs have to be treated carefully to ensure they are receiving all the vitamins and minerals they need to maintain muscle and bone health while on these diets. Feed them the bland foods in small amounts several times per day. If you are transitioning back to a regular diet than mix regular food with the bland diet over the course of several days.

Most of the time the bland diet will be prescribed by your veterinarian for a short term but serious incident such as eating a food that dogs are unable to digest or eating too much of a good thing, or for a longer time for issues like pancreatitis, urinary tract infections or disorders, and inflammatory bowel disease.

For many dogs with these long term conditions, commercial food is too fatty, too salty and too rich for their systems to handle. A longer period on a dog bland diet greatly benefits these dogs.

Bland Diet for Dogs with Diarrhea

There are dogs who specifically need a bland diet when they have diarrhea. Acute diarrhea is a very serious condition that can cause an imbalance of electrolytes and cause the dog to become dehydrated. This then causes deficiencies in healthy nutrition and can cause life-threatening conditions for the dog.

To treat this type of diarrhea a bland diet is always prescribed along with filtered water. The bland diet and filtered water will allow the dog’s intestinal tract to heal through resting. The most common bland diet for dogs with diarrhea consists of boiled hamburger and boiled white rice. This diet is usually prescribed for several days if not a week. If the dog is vomiting as well as having bouts of diarrhea, then the vet will determine other measures to take.

Bland Diet Ingredients

Bland Diet for Vomiting Dogs 

When a dog is vomiting, the first thing you need to do is take away all food and water. Wait several hours and then give them water only. Do this is very small amounts to see if they continue to vomit. If the dog continues to vomit, see the veterinarian as soon as possible.

If vomiting stops and the dog can keep down the water you then can start a bland diet for dogs vomiting. This diet is made up of boiled meat – it can be hamburger, turkey or chicken. It does not need to be just hamburger as suggested with diarrhea. Don’t add any seasoning or flavoring additives.

Do not give full portions to begin with. Make the portion about the size of a small meatball and feed every couple hours if there is no further vomiting. After the first few times, you can begin to increase the portion size slowly until you are at one half of a cup every 4 hours. Do this for two days. If the dog can handle this bland diet for two days, then return to the dog’s normal diet.

Bland Diet for Dogs with Pancreatitis

When a dog has pancreatitis, whether chronic or acute, a bland diet for dogs with pancreatitis is essential. Studies have shown that this diet can actually extend the dog’s life, since pancreatitis can be such a deadly disease. It is important to keep the amount of protein to a minimum while increasing carbohydrates.

The bland diet for dogs with pancreatitis is designed to keep the dog’s enzymes in check and prevent bouts of intense inflammation. Commercial dog foods are too high in fat and acids while diets that contain milk thistle have a history of success in treating pancreatitis. If a dog is overweight from these commercial dog foods, the chances of getting pancreatitis are high, affecting as much as 43% of overweight dogs.

If your dog has pancreatitis, during an inflammation you won’t want to feed them anything at all and your veterinarian will want to give them IV fluids. Oral fluids will be given after the attack subsides. Following this the bland diet will be introduced. Once again this will be fed in very small amounts to begin with and built up to a normal amount.

Your veterinarian will probably recommend that your dog be put on a canine pancreatitis diet for the rest of their life. This diet is different from other canine bland diets as it must be low in fat and acids. This usually requires a prescription diet and no human food of any kind for the life of the dog.

Bland Diet Recipe

Here are some possible bland diet recipes from Dog Health Guide.

1. Half rice and half low-fat meat to which you can add yogurt. Do not use any salt or butter.
2. One part low-fat meat and two parts rice with a few tablespoons of sweet potato and yogurt.
3. One cup of rice, two eggs, and one pound of chicken livers. Beat the eggs and add them to the chicken livers when cooking them.
4. Substitute cottage cheese for the meat in these other examples giving you 50% cottage cheese and 50% rice.
5. Substitute baby food for vegetables and meat mixed with the rice.
6. Lastly, you can use use half white rice and half brown rice, 4 eggs, hamburger or ground chicken, sea salt, magnesium citrate and calcium citrate.

There are many reasons that a dog may need to be fed a bland diet. These reasons vary from a very simple upset stomach to the very serious condition of canine pancreatitis. With the help of a good veterinarian you should be able to choose the right diet for your dog when needed.

* This article is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the knowledge and experience of a trained veterinarian. We do not support the self-diagnosis and treatment of your pets without first seeking advice from a professional.