Lean meat and minute rice?

Uh, well, that's a new one.  Not the diet suggestion, but that a vet would be the one saying "Just forget about that whole nutrition thing." 

This is a common diet for therapeutic reasons, usually to rest the gi following or during some trauma.  But it's not balanced - a dog could go pretty long on it but eventually the Ph overage would catch up to the dog, leading to muscle tone problems (including heart muscle), skeletal problems, and thyroid disorder.   Depending on the meat used, you can also have unacceptable deficiencies in potassium, various vitamins, and copper and zinc.

You can feed such a diet safely.  You just need to provide the missing micronutrients as best you can in the form of supplements.  But it's sort of putting all your eggs in one basket nutritionally.  Variety is much better for dogs, just as for humans, and you'd be missing out on one of the best advantages of doing home cooking. 

If you didn't misunderstand what your vet was saying, that may be the most impressive example of the principle that a DVM degree doth not a nutriton expert make! 

PERHAPS if the meats were rotated and included organ meats, but the same meat all the time is sure to be deficient in some things (ie: a chicken and rice diet is sure to be deficient in zinc without me even having to do an analysis !).    you'd definitely need to supplement some nutrients.

And Minute Rice ?  I won't even eat that myself - preprocessed rice - yum yum - NOT !  LOL

But at least the vet isn't against homecooking with is a very good thing !   I was told I was killing my dog by homecooking by my EX vet (which is why he's an ex !) 

boredpuppy08

one half minute rice...

If you use the rice you cook you can add extra water and overcook it so the dog can handle it.  You might end up with digestive issues using minute rice or any of the ones in the bag that you just boil.

I find this very interesting....My neighbor has a Jack Russel terrior who has been raised on chicken and rice that she makes herself, the dog has eaten nothing else, treats probably is all, she did give a vitamin supplement, this dog is now l6 years old.  Her vet just told her recently she should give her dog, dog food now.  She bought some and now the dog will eat it, would never eat it before,  I guess the chicken and rice worked all those years though.

kind of depends on what was in that vitamin supplement- you could feed chicken and rice successfully by adding back the missing vitamins and minerals in a supplement.

About 36 years ago, I had a little street stray (a pom/peke mix) who was about 2, and she suddenly came up with a deathly bout of pancreatitis.  that was back when I knew ***NOTHING*** about dog health issues, cooking, etc.  Prissy hovered at death's door for almost 2 weeks (and the almost $400 vet bill almost crippled me financially).

As I left with her, the vet told me she'd have to avoid fats for the rest of her life -- particularly vegetable fats.  And then he handed me a recipe. He said "If you want her to live, you'll cook for her and forget dogfood"

The "recipe" was 2 c. of minute rice plus the water needed to reconsitute it, 1/4 pound of ground beef and a little garlic powder for taste.  As you take it off the heat, add 1 raw egg so the residual heat will cook it and stir it in.

She ate that for 15 years and in her late years I did give her *some* kibble.

Prissy lived to be almost 21 years old. 

Rice has little nutritional value -- brown rice is almost never able to be processed by a dog's body no matter how much you over-cook it.  White rice is pretty much white rice -- I worked then and do now and I've used it many millions of times.

It was for pris that I learned to mash up carrots, peas and other veg so she couldn't pick them out.  (Back then I didn't think there WAS any other veg aside from corn and I couldn't mash that up so I didn't give it to her)

The only chicken I use is dark meat -- white chicken has darned little nutrition in it to be honest, and I don't even rotate it much because it's nut not all that great - red meat is better for them. 

Today I use little grain because of the dogs I have -- but when you have a dog with digestive issues, sometimes you use what WORKS. 

And -- you can make darned nice dog cookies using baby food -- you don't have to use "carrots" (as in slices of raw carrot) for treats -- you can use them in a different form (like pureed carrots that are cooked a bit) and make a nice treat that way. Use any treat recipe and substitute the veggies that are pureed for another food.  Carrots, squash - they're sweet and most dogs like them.  Combine it with a babyfood meat for a meaty taste and you'll get what you want.

 That recipe is pretty much what saved my airedale Rush everytime he came down with HGE, except we boiled and rinsed the hamburger, he was that sensitive to fats.  I wish I knew then what I know now, I might have been able to buy a few more years for him and avoid his death of bloat. 

You're right, when you have dogs with tummie issues, you use what works.  For me, brown rice and oatmeal are staples in my dogs' diet.  The brown rice is overcooked and then pureed with beef broth and they seem to handle it well.  These days, I'd feel safer feeding minute rice and lean meat than I would most kibbles!  It's getting pretty bad out there with ingredient switches and formula changes.  I'm glad I know what I do about home prepared food for my dogs.  I hope it buys them the extra years Rush didn't get.
 

When I went to a home cooked diet, my regular vet had no problems with the idea, but cautioned me that I absolutely had to have a source of iodine or likely suffer thyroid problems. Kelp tablets are extremely cheap and last a long time.

My dogs do just fine on grains. Some dogs don't, but there's no real reason to avoid them if they work for your dog. The rice doesn't have a lot of nutritional value, it is just a carb source. Although carbs aren't mandatory for dogs, they generally utilize them well. I have three large breed dogs and financially it is mandatory that I use carbs in their diet. A holistic vet did recommend 50/50 for meat and barley, with added veggies, supplements, etc.

Callie - I'd bet the egg had alot to do with Prissy's success on the limited diet.   Eggs are probably the only complete food there is.    I really don't like Minute Rice.  I have no issue at all with white rice, but precooked rice - maybe it's just me - just seems too easy LOL

As you know I have NO issue with homecooking but I think we need to be aware of potential deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.   Organ meat generally meets the needs pretty darned well but its rich so not much is needed.   I DO like egg -- its absolutely part of the homecooked portion of our food here.    You know the issues I had with my ex vet and despite the fact that the man was a fool I really haven't been able to bring myself to 100%  homecooked .... but I've learned a TON because of my desire to.