# Chicken and rice diet



## jbh06751 (May 16, 2014)

OK, my Max was put on a chicken and brown rice diet for two weeks for a bout of sensitive tummy and now he won't eat anything else! I don't mind cooking for him but that's not a well rounded diet for long term. He loves sweet potato so I was thinking of adding some of that in with some minced up green beans. I have no idea what I'm doing. I never had a fussy dog before. Would he need a supplement with that kind of diet?
I tried him on canned Wellness Simple Turkey and Potato and he walked away. Absolutely would not touch it. He went a day without eating so I just gave in and fixed some chicken and rice and he dove right in. What a little stinker!
Before he went on chicken and rice I used to mix chicken with grain free kibble but he won't touch that now either. 
Does anyone else have a dog who just won't eat dog food? What did you do?


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Well they tend not to starve themselves so you could just keep offering the kibble/canned until he finally eats without giving in, in between.

You could also visit www.balanceit.com and purchase their supplement-and use their recipes to make his food. The good news is, they have a ton of great recipes to choose from. The only reason I have decided NOT to go with balance it is that you have to figure out for yourself how to convert one recipe for one days worth of food into a weeks worth-or however much you wish to prepare. That is just a pain in the rear for me-taking 1/8 of a tsp or some crazy small measurement and trying to calculate it.... I just don't want to do it. They do have a different supplement you can use if you're wanting to serve just a protein source-cook up some chicken-add the supplement per instructions and you're done.

We are going to go with Just Food For Dogs | It All Starts With Nutrition. a company I have been looking at for a while. There are others on the forum who already use them. If you are in Cali, you might be close enough to one of their locations to visit and purchase the food already made. Myself, being in Iowa, will order the DIY packets and make the food at home. It makes fairly large batches so we'll freeze into daily portions.

You can also look for a local holistic vet or consult a nutritionist if you have one local. There are lots of books I could list, however, sometimes you have to question their resources and other times, they are often very complicated to follow. It's just up to you how you want to go about it.


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## AshleyAndSophiePup (Aug 24, 2012)

Shelly is right, he's not going to starve himself, he's just playing chicken. He knows you're gonna worry if he doesn't eat and that you'll cave and give him what he really wants. I'm willing to bet him skipping a few meals will entice him to eat again. I wouldn't let it go more that 3 days without looking to see if there's something else going on, but he'll be just fine if he misses a few meals. It just comes down to the battle of the stubborn 

If you don't think you can hold out, and you don't mind cooking a few more days, you could always little by little add kibble back into his diet. It may take a week or so, but it's a compromise. He gets mommys home cooking and proper nutrition, and you get peace of mind that he's eating and that you don't have to cook forever, lol.


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

I have a pack that won't eat dog food either == I have had a challenge feeding them when I am unable to cook == but I guess I encouraged that when I started cooking

My cooking started with Tweety who was really really sick from eating dog food == instead of the prescribed Limited Ingredient RX diet the Vet prescribed == i started cooking...but i do mix in kibble too and they sometimes snack a few kibbles

Gustave and Mieke's mom shared the Just Food for Dogs idea and they are awesome as they cook just like I do at home...not a lot of unnecessary herbs and stuff that dogs don't need... https://www.facebook.com/gustavethemaltese 
You can buy the nutritional additive packet ...I bought it to make my life easier!


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## jbh06751 (May 16, 2014)

Ashley, I know I wimped out. It's just that when we rescued him he was underweight and has just now come to a good weight for him. I didn't want to see him slide backwards. A pound is a big deal when you're only 7 1/2 pounds. I will try sneaking a few kibbles in his food and steel myself for the rejection  The canned food was a complete flop and I'm kind of glad. I hate the smell and texture of it. 
He's my first toy dog and I'm getting used to how little they actually eat. I give him about 1/3 to 1/2 cup twice a day. Does that sound about right? He did gain weight, about a pound in 8 weeks.
My other dog is a beagle and a bottomless pit!


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## jbh06751 (May 16, 2014)

Hedy, I clicked on the link but it brought me to their Facebook page and I didn't see any recipes there. Do they have a web site? I'm interested in looking at the recipes.
Right now I cook and mince chicken thighs put into ice cube trays, freeze and dump the cubes into a bag. I microwave one cube and add the brown rice and a bit of low sodium broth, just enough to flavor the rice. He loves it and who wouldn't, it's chicken rice soup flavor! Now he's spoiled for anything else!


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

My Dewey was on chicken and rice for awhile after his gastritis. I just added a few Kibbles at a time, each day adding more Kibble and less chicken and rice. I did it slowly (over a week) and now he's back to Kibble and Fresh Pet. He REALLY loved the chicken and rice.


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

jbh06751 said:


> Hedy, I clicked on the link but it brought me to their Facebook page and I didn't see any recipes there. Do they have a web site? I'm interested in looking at the recipes.
> Right now I cook and mince chicken thighs put into ice cube trays, freeze and dump the cubes into a bag. I microwave one cube and add the brown rice and a bit of low sodium broth, just enough to flavor the rice. He loves it and who wouldn't, it's chicken rice soup flavor! Now he's spoiled for anything else!


sorry..here is the link...I linking Gustave and Mieke's fb page cuz they gave me the tip

here is a food thread with some good feedback from my recent challenge of my dogs not eating when I stopped cooking 
http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/52-...4737-pack-protesting-food-so-frustrating.html

and the food that Gustave and Mieke suggested was Just food for dogs... Just Food For Dogs | It All Starts With Nutrition.

Good luck!!!


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## jbh06751 (May 16, 2014)

Hedy, what a wonderful web site, thank you! I have it bookmarked. I think the supplements added to the home cooked meals will be just the thing to do. It looks like you can make very big batches and freeze so this will work out well.
I added some crushed kibble to his breakfast this morning and he gobbled it up. He's such a little fusspot when it comes to food.


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## Sophieanne (Aug 1, 2013)

Im not an expert by any means but... when we got Sammie when he was 5 months old (middle child now 3) he would whine and follow me in the morning. I was really concerned about this. The breader was in constant contact with me for the first week just to make sure he had adjusted well. I had told her that he was whinning and I was concerned. She then told me that every morning her maltese ate "chicken and rice". So I got her recipe for it and fed him. He has not whinned since. Now all my babies eat it. This is the only people food they eat (besides string cheese and raw or steamed brocolli). I just cook a cup of brown rice in the microwave and add a bad of frozen peas and carrots to it. As for the chicken, I cook a pack of chicken breast (used to use thighs but got tired of deboning) once a week in the pressure cooker or crock pot then. I divide it up and freeze it. When im making the rice I defrost a pack and add it to the rice mixure. This work well for my babies. I give then about 2 tbs (give or take ) a night for dinner. I have enough for 3 for a full week. And they also have kibble that we get from the Co-OP that has no grain, byproducts, ect.. made with bison and sweet potatoes. 

Everyone is right your baby will not starve himself. All of mine look forward to "C.R" ( we cant say the words or they get spastic) but if they miss a night it would be ok. Good luck.


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

jbh06751 said:


> Hedy, what a wonderful web site, thank you! I have it bookmarked. I think the supplements added to the home cooked meals will be just the thing to do. It looks like you can make very big batches and freeze so this will work out well.
> I added some crushed kibble to his breakfast this morning and he gobbled it up. He's such a little fusspot when it comes to food.


Jan I am glad Max ate good. Max isn't the only fusspot and thanks to the others here on SM I got a lot of good ideas.

Yes I was very happy when Gustave and Mieka's mommy shared about JFFD as the store was soooo close by and I NEVER KNEW! 

and boy did I feel dumb when I realized that they actually freeze their food == well whey didn't I think of making bigger batches and freezing?...hahaha learning is so much fun! 

HUGS TO MAX!!!!


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## jbh06751 (May 16, 2014)

My vet called today with the news that he thinks Max has a low grade allergy to chicken which is causing his vomiting yellow bile every morning anywhere from 3-6 am. He says no more chicken so I cooked up a 1/4 batch of the Just Food For Dogs beef and russet potato meal without the supplement and he absolutely loves it! In fact when I was spooning it into a container to store he was stretched out trying to reach up on the counter to see what I was doing and whining. He's never done that with any other food. I think we have a keeper! I'll see how it goes over the next few days and then order the supplement to mix in.
It was funny; my husband actually tried it, turned to Max and told him what a lucky dog he is. He says it's bland because there are no spices or salt but it's pretty darn good! Thanks Hedy!


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

Oh no Jan! well at least the Vet has identified the allergy!

Loved that you are so on top of things that you already cooked up a batch and AWESOME that MAX loves it!...Definitely safe for us humans to snack on it too!

We both can thank Aastha == Gustave and Mieka's mommy! The supplement packet makes 30lbs of food so the packet I bought will last forever for me. I do add a pinch of salt to my food that I cook though...just a pinch!

Glad your sweetie MAX is a happy camper! I'm gonna make and FREEZE a batch too!! Good EATS!!


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