Mashed Potato vs. Rice?

[daisyandduke]

Hello there - Duke has been on a bland diet for the last couple of days due to acute diarrhea. He seems to be turning his nose up to the rice quite a bit, I heard that the grain may irritate the stomach a bit. He is still very active and has an appetite, very playful. This morning because he would not eat the rice mixture I made, I fed him some boiled burger with no rice instead which he ate up.

My question is, can I substitute peeled and boiled mashed potato instead of rice for his bland diet? I have always fed the rice and have not deviated from it. But one thing I learned here at BW is to listen to your dog's instinct....there may be something about the rice that is upsetting to his tummy. Dog's have an instinct of knowing....I do not want to keep forcing the rice on him if there is another option. Besides the rice, he is eating all the other ingredients.

Thanks for the input in advance.

 

[johann]

I do mashed potatoes with Johann (am lazy and just buy instant, plain ones) instead of rice. He seems to do much better on it and his stomach issues resolve quicker. Added bonus- I don't have to spend 10 minutes picking up grains of rice after each meal.

 

[daisyandduke]

That is good to know, I will boil some potatoes and mash them. Yes...it would be good to not have to pick up rice pieces after the meals!

 

[Gatorblu]

I get the frozen potatoes. You steam them in the bag. You can mash them but since I have a pancreatic dog so I just give him the steamed potatoes. If I can find them I'll get the steamed sweet potatoes as well.

 

[daisyandduke]

I gave him mashed potatoes last night and his poop was so much better this morning than it has been the last couple of days! It was actually formed, mushy but formed. I think the masked potatoes made a world of difference.

 

[TwoDogs]

A few notes on potatoes vs. rice...

Potatoes are much higher on the glycemic index than white rice. They will raise the blood glucose level higher. If your dog is diabetic you will probably want to opt for the rice.

Potatoes have almost twice the phosphorus and ALOT more calcium than white rice--like 5 times or something. I think the treatment of some health conditions suggest regulating these two minerals so if your dog suffers from one of those conditions you might want to rethink the potato over rice choice.

Potatoes rate better than white rice in the Vitamin B category though as they provide more B6 than white rice and riboflavin and thiamin. Sweet potatoes do even better in this respect.

If you are looking to increase fiber in your dog's diet to help with diarreah you might want to leave the skin on and bake the potato rather than peel and boil it. A baked, skin-on potato gives you about 3 grams of fiber--about 2 grams without the skin. But a cup of white rice has less than 1 gram of fiber.

Sometimes we think of carbs as carbs and consider them interchangable but there can be pretty big differences. Before you make changes to a vet recommended diet, you should always run it by your vet or a veterinary nutritionist just to make sure it is an appropriate change.

 

[daisyandduke]

A few notes on potatoes vs. rice...

Potatoes are much higher on the glycemic index than white rice. They will raise the blood glucose level higher. If your dog is diabetic you will probably want to opt for the rice.

Potatoes have almost twice the phosphorus and ALOT more calcium than white rice--like 5 times or something. I think the treatment of some health conditions suggest regulating these two minerals so if your dog suffers from one of those conditions you might want to rethink the potato over rice choice.

Potatoes rate better than white rice in the Vitamin B category though as they provide more B6 than white rice and riboflavin and thiamin. Sweet potatoes do even better in this respect.

If you are looking to increase fiber in your dog's diet to help with diarreah you might want to leave the skin on and bake the potato rather than peel and boil it. A baked, skin-on potato gives you about 3 grams of fiber--about 2 grams without the skin. But a cup of white rice has less than 1 gram of fiber.

Sometimes we think of carbs as carbs and consider them interchangable but there can be pretty big differences. Before you make changes to a vet recommended diet, you should always run it by your vet or a veterinary nutritionist just to make sure it is an appropriate change.

I checked with my vet and she gave the thumbs up to give Duke some mashed potatoes and maybe even sweet potato if I wanted. Duke will be happy.

 

[LILYLARUE]

I had Bella who showed signs of allergy or intolerance to rice. BUT wild brown rice was ok. She couldn't do any potatoes. Wild rice is considered a grass, not a grain......so this may have helped her digestion on her bland diet. Much more fiber and digests better than regular white rice. Sprouted grains are also good for grain tolerant dogs with temporary IBS or other digestive issues. I personally will go to wild rice if I have digestive issues, IBS, or my esophagus is flaring up. Could be another alternative for you.

 

[TwoDogs]

Ha! This just goes to show how different foods can cause very different results in different dogs. When I had my guy on a bland (ground beef and rice) diet I thought that brown rice would be a better choice than white rice, but the brown rice just went right through him completely undigested. He literally was pooping complete grains of the brown rice with no signs of having digested it at all. When I switched to the white rice his poop actually looked like poop so I knew he was actually getting something out of the white rice.

 

[LILYLARUE]

Ha! This just goes to show how different foods can cause very different results in different dogs. When I had my guy on a bland (ground beef and rice) diet I thought that brown rice would be a better choice than white rice, but the brown rice just went right through him completely undigested. He literally was pooping complete grains of the brown rice with no signs of having digested it at all. When I switched to the white rice his poop actually looked like poop so I knew he was actually getting something out of the white rice.

I can see how the white rice would be a better binding agent with the starch and the skin of the rice is shucked. Brown rice, the skin is on and can cause more upset because it has to be digested with much more acid than white rice. Sprouted grains have the skins removed after it sprouts, so no skin, but not much starch to bind either.

I think assessing the reason for the diahhrea is more important before feeding binders. If it's extremely watery, then I would think the white rice is a good start, plus white holds more water and can help in dehydration. If it's just loose, with mucus, then I would try the sprouted grains to bulk up with fiber and add some digestive biotics that come naturally in sprouted grains. Brown rice I would use if lose stools due to stomach upset, again not much starch but the passing would be quicker, less digestion, and help pass the bacteria quicker through the system = partnered up with a pro-biotic.

When I get digestive upset, it can be from several issues: GERD, coilitis, excessive acid, excessive bacteria. So I often have to diagnose what is the cause before I can decide on what food I need to administer.