The recipe for a sensitive stomach
A sensitive stomach is usually a fat problem and a portion problem before it is an ingredient problem. This bowl removes both.
Why this bowl is built this way
Fat is the slowest thing a dog digests. A bowl at 20% fat sits in the stomach for hours, and a dog with a marginal gut brings it back up. Dropping the fat and raising the digestibility of everything else solves the majority of recurring mild upsets without changing a single ingredient name.
The second half is mechanical: three or four small meals beat two large ones, and a food change made over seven days beats a food change made overnight. Most 'reactions' to a new food are actually a reaction to the speed of the switch.
What goes in — by share of the bowl
Shares, not grams. The gram column is per kilogram of finished food, so it scales to any batch you cook. Your dog's actual portion comes from the calculator, because it depends on body weight and not on the recipe.
| Component | Share | Per 1 kg | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lean protein — chicken, turkey or white fish | 40% | 400 g | Skinless, poached, no fat added to the water. |
| White rice, well cooked | 32% | 320 g | Overcooked is better than al dente here. Rinse the surface starch. |
| Cooked pumpkin or carrot | 20% | 200 g | Soluble fibre firms loose stool and slows transit. |
| Added fat | 3% | 30 g | Deliberately low. A little is still needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. |
| Veterinary completer | 5% | 50 g | Introduce only after the gut has been stable for a week. |
Method
- Poach the protein in plain water and skim anything that floats. Fat is what you are removing.
- Cook the rice until it is soft and slightly wet; drain and rinse.
- Cook the pumpkin or carrot until it mashes against the side of the pot.
- Feed four small meals a day instead of two for the first week, then move to three, then two.
- Switch over seven days: a quarter of the new bowl, then half, then three quarters, then all of it.
- Add the completer last, once stools have been normal for seven consecutive days.
What each part is doing
| Part | Job |
|---|---|
| White rice | Almost pure starch, very little for the colon to ferment — exactly why it calms a gut. |
| Pumpkin | Soluble fibre that holds water in the stool without bulking it up. |
| Low fat | Cuts the gastric load that causes most recurrent mild vomiting. |
| Smaller meals | Less volume per meal means less reflux and better digestion. |
How much to feed
Per day, for this type of dog. Two meals a day is standard for adults; puppies and dogs recovering from stomach trouble do better on three or four smaller ones.
| Dog weight | kcal / day | Food / day | Per meal (2×) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kg (11 lb) | 374 | 288 g | 144 g |
| 10 kg (22 lb) | 630 | 484 g | 242 g |
| 20 kg (44 lb) | 1059 | 815 g | 407 g |
| 30 kg (66 lb) | 1436 | 1104 g | 552 g |
| 40 kg (88 lb) | 1781 | 1370 g | 685 g |
Calculated for a neutered adult at moderate activity. Use the calculator for your dog's real numbers. Use the calculator for the exact grams.
What to watch for
- This is a short-term bowl. Fed for months without a completer it causes calcium deficiency, and the skeleton pays for it quietly.
- Blood in the stool, repeated vomiting, weight loss or a dog that stops drinking are not sensitive-stomach problems. Those are vet visits today.
- Do not add probiotics, pumpkin and a new food all in the same week. If it works you will not know what worked.