Our question this week was:

My dog has been vomiting today. I called my vets office and they told me to feed a bland diet. I tried to call back to ask how to make a "bland" diet and they were closed? Can you tell me how to make a bland diet for dogs?

Peter Brown

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. These are the most common bland diet instructions. First, after a dog has been vomiting, most veterinarians recommend that you withhold food and water for a couple hours. If there is no vomiting after that period of time, water can be started. Only offer small amounts at a time. If there is no vomiting of the water after 2 to 3 hours, then you can slowly begin a bland diet.

A bland diet can be made form a boiled lean meat (chicken, hamburger or turkey) mixed 50/50 with boiled white rice. Do not use any additives such as butter, salt, garlic, or seasoning.

Start with a very small amount such as one tablespoon or a small meatball sized portion. If there is no vomiting after 2 hours, you can offer a little more. Gradually the the quantity can be increased and the frequency increased. For example, instead of 2 Tbsp every 2 hours, you can gradually increase the amount to maybe a ½ cup then a cup every 3 or 4 hours. Generally if this plan is working, you can feed this diet for 1 to 2 days then begin gradually mixing your pet's normal food. Over a couple days, you can slowly decrease the bland diet and increase is regular food until he is back on his normal food.

An article that might be helpful to you is Vomiting in Dogs.

Best of luck!


Dr. Jon


P.S. Do you have a favorite bland diet recipe? Email me and maybe I can include your tip in my future newsletters!




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