What to Feed a Dog With Diarrhea at Home (Vet-Backed Plan)

First, How Bad Is It?

Before pulling out the chicken and rice, make a quick judgment call. A bland diet at home is fine for soft stool or mild diarrhea in an otherwise normal-acting adult dog. It’s not the right answer if any of these apply:

• Diarrhea has been going for more than 48 hours
• Blood in the stool, or stool that’s black and tarry (digested blood)
• Vomiting on top of diarrhea — especially repeated vomiting
• Lethargy, weakness, or refusing water
• A puppy under 6 months, a senior dog, or a small breed (they dehydrate fast)
• Known conditions like pancreatitis, IBD, kidney disease, or diabetes
• Possible toxin exposure (chocolate, xylitol, garbage, plants)
• Distended or painful belly
• Pale or tacky gums (a dehydration sign)

If any of those are true, call your vet now. Bland diet doesn’t fix poisoning, blockage, parvo, pancreatitis, or any of the other things that look like simple diarrhea but aren’t.

For everything else — your dog ate something weird, got into the trash, switched foods too fast, or is just having an off day — the home plan below works for most cases.

Step 1: Brief Fast (Adults Only)

For a healthy adult dog who’s had loose stool but is otherwise acting fine, skip the next meal. A 12-hour rest gives the gut a chance to settle without new food coming in. Always keep water available — fasting is about food, not fluids.

Don’t fast:

• Puppies (their blood sugar drops fast)
• Toy breeds and small dogs
• Senior dogs
• Dogs who are already lethargic or losing weight
• Diabetic dogs (talk to your vet first)

For those dogs, skip straight to the bland diet in smaller portions.

Step 2: The Bland Diet

After the rest period — or right away if you’re not fasting — start a simple, low-fat, easy-to-digest meal.

Base recipe (covers a 30-pound dog for a day):

• 1 cup boiled, plain chicken breast — no skin, no bones, no seasoning, no oil
• 2 cups overcooked white rice — cook 5-10 minutes longer than usual until soft
• Mix together and let cool

Portion sizing:

• Small dogs (under 20 lb): about ½ cup per meal
• Medium dogs (20-50 lb): 1 cup per meal
• Large dogs (50-90 lb): 1½ to 2 cups per meal
• Giant breeds (90+ lb): 2-3 cups per meal

Feeding schedule: Small portions every 4-6 hours, not one or two big meals. The point is to take pressure off the gut. Even 4-5 mini-meals a day is better than two normal-sized ones until things firm up.

Step 3: Optional Add-Ins That Help

A few things you probably already have at home that work well alongside the bland diet:

Plain canned pumpkin — not pumpkin pie filling, which has sugar and spices. The soluble fiber absorbs excess water and binds stool. Add:

• Small dog: 1 teaspoon per meal
• Medium dog: 1-2 tablespoons per meal
• Large dog: 2-4 tablespoons per meal

Plain low-fat cottage cheese — easy protein if you don’t have chicken. Skip if your dog is sensitive to dairy (most are at least mildly).

Probiotic — a vet-formulated probiotic like Purina FortiFlora or Nutramax Proviable can shorten the recovery. Don’t substitute human probiotics; the strains are different.

Bone broth (low-sodium, no onion or garlic) — encourages drinking and adds gentle calories. Many store-bought broths contain onion or garlic powder, which are toxic to dogs. Make your own or buy a pet-specific brand.

Step 4: Substitutes If You Don’t Have Chicken and Rice

The standard recipe works for most dogs, but a few alternatives if you’re out:

Protein options	Carb options
Boiled lean ground turkey	Plain mashed sweet potato
Boiled lean ground beef (90/10 or leaner, drained)	Plain pasta (cooked very soft)
Plain low-fat cottage cheese	Boiled, peeled potato
Hard-boiled egg (whites only is gentler)	Oatmeal (plain, water not milk)

Avoid for now:

• Anything fatty — bacon, sausage, chicken thighs with skin
• Dairy, except cottage cheese in small amounts
• Anything seasoned, fried, or with sauce
• Treats, chews, table scraps
• Raw food, even if you normally feed raw — switch back after recovery

Step 5: Transition Back to Regular Food

Once stool has been firm for 24 hours (typically by day 2-3), start mixing in their regular food gradually:

• Day 1 of transition: 75% bland diet + 25% regular food
• Day 2: 50/50
• Day 3: 25% bland + 75% regular
• Day 4: Back to 100% regular food

Skipping the transition is the most common mistake — going straight from bland back to kibble often kicks off another round of soft stool. Take the extra few days.

What to Skip Entirely

A few things people commonly try that don’t help, or actively make things worse:

• Imodium (loperamide) — Don’t give without vet okay. It’s safe for most dogs at the right dose, but contraindicated in herding breeds (Collies, Aussies, Shelties) due to the MDR1 gene mutation. It also masks symptoms, which can let a real problem progress unnoticed.
• Pepto-Bismol — Contains salicylates similar to aspirin. Can be okay short-term in some dogs but risky in many; ask your vet first.
• Milk or yogurt as a “calming” food — Most dogs are mildly lactose intolerant and dairy can make diarrhea worse.
• Switching foods mid-episode — Now is not the time to “try” a new diet. Get them better first, then evaluate the food question with the vet.
• Charcoal capsules, “natural” remedies, herbal blends — Some interfere with absorption of nutrients or medications, and most haven’t been studied in dogs.

How to Tell If It’s Working

You should see signs of improvement within 24-36 hours of starting the bland diet:

• Day 1: Stool may still be soft or unformed, but volume should decrease. Frequency of pooping should drop.
• Day 2: Stool starting to take shape — possibly still a bit soft, but no longer pure liquid.
• Day 3: Mostly normal stool. Energy returning to baseline.

If stool is not improving by 48 hours — still watery, still frequent, or your dog is getting worse — stop the home plan and see your vet.

Watch for Dehydration

Diarrhea moves water out of the body fast. Check your dog twice a day:

• Skin tent test: Gently lift the skin between the shoulder blades. It should snap back instantly. If it stays tented for more than a second, your dog is dehydrated.
• Gums: Should be wet and pink. Tacky, dry, or pale gums = dehydrated.
• Drinking: Are they drinking on their own? If they haven’t taken water in 8+ hours, that’s a problem.

A dehydrated dog needs a vet visit, not more home care. Subcutaneous fluids fix mild dehydration in 20 minutes at the clinic.

When to Stop the Home Plan and Go to the Vet

• No improvement after 48 hours
• Worsening at any point — bloodier, more frequent, more lethargic
• Vomiting starts
• Refusing water
• Painful belly, hunched posture, whining
• Pale or tacky gums

A vet visit for uncomplicated diarrhea is usually quick and inexpensive — they’ll typically run a fecal test, check hydration, and send you home with anti-nausea meds and a prescription bland diet. Worth it for the peace of mind and to catch the rarer serious causes.

The Bottom Line

For a healthy adult dog with mild diarrhea, the home plan is straightforward: brief fast, chicken and rice in small portions, gradual transition back. Most cases clear up in 2-3 days. Where home care goes wrong is in skipping the warning signs that mean it’s not just a stomach bug — blood in stool, lethargy, vomiting, dehydration. When you’re not sure, call the vet. The cost of a “nothing serious” visit is way lower than the cost of waiting too long on a serious one.

Related: our dog poop color chart helps decode what different stool colors actually mean, and the human foods dogs can eat guide covers safe vs. unsafe ingredients beyond just the bland-diet basics. For dogs with chronic GI issues, see our roundup of best dog foods for sensitive stomachs.