The challenges of a bland diet for a diabetic dog

A bland diet usually includes plain boiled chicken or lean ground turkey and white rice or boiled potatoes, without any seasoning, oil, or butter. Sometimes, vets also recommend adding a bit of pumpkin or prescription bland foods specially made for recovery.

A bland diet helps:

• Calm an irritated stomach
• Reduce the risk of further vomiting or diarrhea
• Make it easier to keep food down while healing

Bland diets can be tricky for diabetic dogs

White rice is a simple carb and can spike a dog’s blood glucose levels, making it hard to regulate their diabetes. 

We’ve had to feed our border terrier Parker a bland diet several times since is diabetic diagnosis a couple of years ago, and it has not been easy. He has always been a very picky eater and can get an upset stomach from chicken, so already our options are limited. 

Being prescribed a bland diet

Parker recently had a bad case of gastroenteritis after a road trip that must have stressed him out. When we arrived home he was vomiting bile and had blood in his poops. We took him to emergency and decided to run a series of tests as he was in an unfamiliar environment for a couple of days and could have ingested something unusual. 

The good news was that the x-rays and thorough bloodwork were all negative for serious issues like cancer, blockages, and inflamed organs.

The bad news was that he wasn’t showing much appetite and would need to be put on a bland diet, which we had experienced when he got pancreatitis a couple of years ago right after being diagnosed diabetic.

We knew from experience that we would have to try different combinations of proteins and carbs. 

Alternatives to the standard bland diet

We have this handy reference guide which tells you the amount of ingredients needed based on your dog’s age, weight and activity level. 

So we prepared white rice and barley, which I overcook so that it’s mushy and easier to digest. No salt. No fats. Just plain rice or barley.

Carbs

Barley is a complex carb, which means it takes the body longer to break down, providing slow, steady energy instead of a quick spike. Barley is also high in fiber which helps support digestion, blood sugar stability, and even heart health. We prefer it over white rice. 

Proteins

For proteins, we have had success with tuna in water, sometimes using the tuna water to disguise the flavor of the barley as it’s more pungent than white rice.

We also use boiled low-fat ground turkey. There are different fat levels in the reference guide so I always take a picture of the label as it often lists the fat percentage. 

We poached tilapia in simmering water for about 10 minutes. It’s a bland fish that doesn’t have too much fat.

We’ve twice boiled extra lean ground beef. It needs a second boil to reduce the fat. I strain and rinse it after each boil to ensure it’s as low-fat as possible.

And a small amount of cooked egg whites often works as a topper.

Sometimes Parker eats the protein-carb combinations right away, but most times he needs encouragement.

It's important to get the proportions right

Using a kitchen scale, I weigh the ingredients not only to get the right proportions, but also to track how much he eats. This is important for a diabetic dog because his insulin dose is based on how much he ingests, so I always jot down how much we gave him and subtract the weight of the remainder when he doesn’t eat a full bland meal. 

If the scent of food isn’t working, I may add some zero sodium beef broth to the protein-carb concoction. I will fry it in a non-stick pan for a minute or two to reduce the broth and infuse the beef scent in the food. 

We discovered this advice online and it seems to work. Some people create small patties from the ingredients and fry them in a non-stick pan. Just be sure to cool everything before serving.