What is a bland diet for dogs?

A bland diet usually means boiled skinless chicken breast mixed with plain white rice, fed in small frequent meals while a dog recovers from diarrhea or an upset stomach. The term has no precise veterinary definition — it broadly means low in fat, highly digestible, and free of seasoning, and it is a short-term bridge rather than a treatment.

Should I fast my dog before starting a bland diet?

A short fast of 12 to 24 hours can be appropriate for an otherwise healthy adult dog, particularly if there is vomiting, because it reduces vomiting frequency and fluid loss. Fasting beyond 48 hours should be avoided: it causes the intestinal lining to thin, delays recovery and can worsen gut bacterial balance. Puppies, small breeds, diabetic dogs and cats should not be fasted without veterinary advice.

How long can a dog stay on chicken and rice?

Two to three days at most. Cooked chicken breast with white rice is deficient in more than ten essential nutrients, so it is not complete or balanced and should not be fed long-term. If your dog still has diarrhea after 48 hours on a bland diet, the problem needs a diagnosis rather than a longer course of chicken and rice.

What is the chicken to rice ratio for dogs?

One part boiled skinless chicken breast to two parts plain cooked white rice, measured by volume. The rice-heavy ratio keeps the fat content low, which matters because fat is the component most likely to prolong diarrhea. Both should be plain: no oil, butter, salt, garlic or onion.

Is a prescription GI diet better than chicken and rice?

For anything beyond a couple of days, yes. Veterinary therapeutic gastrointestinal diets are formulated to be complete and balanced while still being highly digestible, and they remove the guesswork around portions and nutrient gaps. Chicken and rice is what most owners have in the kitchen tonight, which is its main advantage.

Bland Diet for Dogs With Diarrhea: Portions by Weight (2026)

Q: How much chicken and rice should I feed my dog with diarrhea?

Start at roughly a quarter to a third of your dog's normal daily calories on the first day back on food, divided into 4 or more small meals. For a 20 lb dog that is about 90-120 kcal total, or roughly half a cup of a one-part-chicken to two-parts-rice mix across the whole day. A 50 lb dog needs about 180-240 kcal, roughly one cup. Build back up to full portions over 2 to 3 days.

The ratio: 1 part chicken to 2 parts rice

Boiled skinless chicken breast and plain white rice, by volume, fed in four or more small meals a day. Start at about a quarter of your dog's normal daily calories and build back up over two to three days.

Almost every version of this advice tells you what to cook and then stops. The part owners actually get wrong is how much — and the part that has genuinely changed is how long to wait before feeding anything at all.

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How Much to Feed, by Body Weight

The reason portions matter more than the recipe: feeding a normal-sized meal to a gut that has just been inflamed tends to restart the diarrhea. The target on the first day back on food is roughly a quarter to a third of your dog's resting calorie needs, split across several small meals, then built back up over the following two days.

The volumes below assume the one-to-two chicken and rice mix described above, which works out at roughly 214 calories per cup or about 13 per tablespoon. Measure after cooking, not before.

5 lb dog

Day 1 total32–43 kcal (3 tbsp)

Per meal (4 a day)1 tbsp

Day 2–3 total⅔ cup

10 lb dog

Day 1 total54–72 kcal (⅓ cup)

Per meal (4 a day)1 tbsp

Day 2–3 total1 cup

20 lb dog

Day 1 total91–121 kcal (½ cup)

Per meal (4 a day)2 tbsp

Day 2–3 total1¾ cups

30 lb dog

Day 1 total124–164 kcal (⅔ cup)

Per meal (4 a day)3 tbsp

Day 2–3 total2¼ cups

40 lb dog

Day 1 total154–203 kcal (¾ cup)

Per meal (4 a day)3 tbsp

Day 2–3 total3 cups

50 lb dog

Day 1 total182–240 kcal (1 cup)

Per meal (4 a day)¼ cup

Day 2–3 total3½ cups

60 lb dog

Day 1 total209–275 kcal (1¼ cups)

Per meal (4 a day)¼ cup

Day 2–3 total4 cups

80 lb dog

Day 1 total259–342 kcal (1⅓ cups)

Per meal (4 a day)⅓ cup

Day 2–3 total5 cups

100 lb dog

Day 1 total306–404 kcal (1¾ cups)

Per meal (4 a day)⅓ cup

Day 2–3 total5½ cups

Dog's weight	Day 1 total	Per meal (4 a day)	Day 2–3 total
5 lb	32–43 kcal (3 tbsp)	1 tbsp	⅔ cup
10 lb	54–72 kcal (⅓ cup)	1 tbsp	1 cup
20 lb	91–121 kcal (½ cup)	2 tbsp	1¾ cups
30 lb	124–164 kcal (⅔ cup)	3 tbsp	2¼ cups
40 lb	154–203 kcal (¾ cup)	3 tbsp	3 cups
50 lb	182–240 kcal (1 cup)	¼ cup	3½ cups
60 lb	209–275 kcal (1¼ cups)	¼ cup	4 cups
80 lb	259–342 kcal (1⅓ cups)	⅓ cup	5 cups
100 lb	306–404 kcal (1¾ cups)	⅓ cup	5½ cups

Calculated from the standard resting energy requirement formula, 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75, at 25–33% for the first day. If your dog is overweight, use their ideal weight rather than their current one.

One thing the day 2–3 column is not: their usual dinner. It is resting energy requirement, which for a healthy active dog runs roughly 60% of what they normally eat. That is the right target while the gut is recovering, but it is also a reason not to stay on this mix longer than a few days — a dog held at those portions for a fortnight will lose weight.

Should You Fast Your Dog First?

This is the part of the standard advice that has moved. The instruction used to be a flat 24 to 48 hours of no food. Current veterinary guidance splits it:

• A short fast, 12 to 24 hours, is reasonable for an otherwise healthy adult dog — especially alongside vomiting, where it reduces how often a dog brings food back up and limits further fluid loss
• Fasting past 48 hours is actively harmful. The intestinal lining depends on food passing through it. Without that, the villi shorten and the gut's surface area drops measurably, which delays recovery and can tip the bacterial balance the wrong way
• Water is never withheld. Diarrhea loses fluid, and dehydration is the thing most likely to turn a manageable problem into a hospital visit

The direction of travel in veterinary medicine is towards feeding sooner rather than later — sometimes described as feeding through the diarrhea. In parvovirus cases, where the comparison has been studied directly, dogs fed early recovered faster and did better overall than dogs held on bowel rest.

Who should not be fasted at all

• Puppies — they have minimal energy reserves and can become hypoglycaemic quickly
• Toy and small breeds, for the same reason
• Diabetic dogs, or any dog on insulin or medication that must be given with food
• Cats — feline livers tolerate fasting poorly, and 6 to 8 hours is the practical limit
• Any dog that is already weak, thin, or has stopped eating on their own

How to Cook It

The chicken

Skinless, boneless breast, boiled or poached in plain water until cooked through, then drained and shredded. No skin, no oil, no butter, no seasoning. Discard the cooking water rather than pouring it over the food — the fat ends up in it.

The rice

Plain white rice, cooked soft with extra water and no salt. White rather than brown: brown rice has more fibre and is harder to digest, which is the opposite of what you want here. Overcooking it slightly is an advantage.

Meal timing

Four or more small meals across the day rather than one or two normal ones. Small volumes are easier for an irritated gut to handle, and frequent feeding keeps the intestinal lining supplied.

What to leave out

No garlic or onion, both toxic to dogs. No oil, butter, stock cubes or gravy. No dairy. Rotisserie chicken is not a substitute — it is seasoned, salted, and usually cooked with the skin on.

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Why This Is a Bridge, Not a Treatment

Chicken and rice has a real weakness, and it is worth knowing before you settle into feeding it for a week. Cooked chicken breast with white rice is deficient in more than ten essential nutrients for dogs. It is not a complete diet and it is not balanced — it is two ingredients that happen to be gentle and happen to be in most kitchens.

That is fine for two or three days. It is not fine for two or three weeks, and the risk is higher in a growing puppy than an adult. Veterinary nutritionists have largely moved away from the phrase “bland diet” for exactly this reason: it is vague about what it is trying to achieve, and it gets used as a long-term answer when it was only ever a short-term one.

The alternative, if the diarrhea lasts or keeps coming back, is a veterinary therapeutic gastrointestinal diet. Those are built to be highly digestible and complete — typically lower fat, moderate fibre, with protein digestibility above about 87% — so you are not trading nutrition for gentleness. They also remove the portion guesswork, because the feeding guide is on the bag.

Coming Off the Bland Diet

Going straight back to normal food is a common way to restart the problem. Transition over several days, mixing the two:

Days 1–2: Bland diet only, building from a quarter of normal calories up to full portions

Days 3–4: Three parts bland to one part their usual food

Days 5–6: Half and half

Days 7–8: One part bland to three parts usual food

Day 9: Back to their normal diet

If the stool loosens again at any step, drop back to the previous one for a day rather than starting over. Probiotics made for dogs may shorten the time it takes for stools to firm up, though the evidence base is still thin and they are not a substitute for getting a persistent case looked at.

When to Stop and Call a Vet

A bland diet is only appropriate for a dog who is otherwise bright, drinking, and having straightforward soft stools. Any of the following means this page is not the right plan:

Call the same day

Blood in the stool, black tarry stool, repeated vomiting, a painful or bloated abdomen, lethargy, pale gums, or a puppy with diarrhea of any kind. Full severity guide.

Book an appointment

Diarrhea still present after 48 hours on a bland diet, diarrhea that keeps returning every few weeks, or weight loss alongside it. Recurring cases point to an underlying cause rather than a passing upset.

One thing worth knowing if you do end up at the vet: antibiotics are no longer routine for uncomplicated diarrhea. Current guidance reserves them for dogs showing signs of sepsis or at clear risk of it, because giving them unnecessarily disrupts gut bacteria and drives resistance. If your dog comes home without any, that is usually the guidance being followed rather than something being missed.

Key Takeaway

One part boiled chicken breast to two parts plain white rice, starting at about a quarter of your dog's normal daily calories and split into four or more meals. Skip the long fast — 12 to 24 hours at most for a healthy adult, none at all for puppies, small breeds or cats. Stop after two or three days: the mix is missing more than ten essential nutrients, so if the diarrhea has not resolved by then it needs a diagnosis, not more chicken.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much chicken and rice should I feed my dog with diarrhea?

Roughly a quarter to a third of their normal daily calories on the first day back on food, divided into four or more small meals. For a 20 lb dog that is about 90–120 kcal, or half a cup of the mix across the whole day; a 50 lb dog needs about 180–240 kcal, roughly one cup. Build up to full portions over two to three days. The table above gives figures by weight.

What is the chicken to rice ratio?

One part chicken to two parts rice, by volume. The rice-heavy ratio keeps fat low, and fat is the component most likely to prolong diarrhea. Some vets use a half-and-half mix for fussy dogs who will not eat something that rice-heavy — getting a reluctant dog to eat matters more than hitting the ratio exactly.

Should I fast my dog first?

A 12 to 24 hour fast is reasonable for a healthy adult dog, and it genuinely helps if there is vomiting. Do not go beyond 48 hours — that thins the intestinal lining and delays recovery. Puppies, small breeds, diabetic dogs and cats should not be fasted without talking to a vet first. Water always stays available.

How long can my dog stay on chicken and rice?

Two to three days. It is deficient in more than ten essential nutrients, so it is a bridge rather than a diet. Diarrhea that is still going after 48 hours on a bland diet needs a diagnosis rather than a longer course of the same thing.

Can I add pumpkin?

Plain canned pumpkin — not pie filling, which is spiced and sweetened — is commonly added a tablespoon or two at a time for its soluble fibre. It is low risk and many owners find it helps firm things up, though the evidence is anecdotal rather than trial-based. Count it towards the daily calories rather than adding it on top.

Can I use the same diet for my cat?

The principles carry over but the fasting rules do not. Cats tolerate fasting much less well than dogs, with 6 to 8 hours a practical maximum, and cats are obligate carnivores so a rice-heavy mix suits them less. A cat who has not eaten for a day, or has diarrhea lasting more than 24 to 48 hours, should be seen rather than managed at home.

Is a prescription GI diet worth it instead?

For anything longer than a couple of days, yes. Therapeutic gastrointestinal diets are formulated to be both highly digestible and complete, so they avoid the nutrient gaps, and the feeding guide removes the portion guesswork. Chicken and rice wins on being available tonight without a vet visit.

Sources

• VCA Animal Hospitals — Bland Diet Instructions for Dogs and Cats (nutrient deficiency, feeding frequency, fasting)
• Purina Institute — Canine Acute Gastroenteritis (25–33% RER target, 3–6 meals, fasting limits)
• Merck Veterinary Manual — Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals (resting energy requirement formula)
• Scarsella et al. — Acute Diarrhea in Dogs: Current Management (diet composition, probiotics, antibiotic use)

This article is for general education and does not replace veterinary advice. Portions are a starting point calculated from standard energy formulas, not a prescription for an individual dog.

Bland Diet for Dogs With Diarrhea: How Much to Feed, by Weight