Ivan’s Pumpkin Slurry Recipe

“Ivan’s Pumpkin Slurry for (In)delicate Dogs” is turning out to be one of the most popular posts on our Mangasaga page (although it has nothing to do with making a manga), so I’m reposting it here too, as people are obviously finding it useful. This, as the post on my other site says, is a useful recipe for owners of dogs who, like Mr Wicked, have irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. It’s probably also handy for dogs who are dogs, and who therefore eat things they shouldn’t, especially at this time of year when all the bits of garbage the crows have stashed for later melt out of the snow. Actually, the vet said earlier this week that it sounded pretty good and maybe she’d come over for supper.

The recipe: Ivan’s Pumpkin Slurry for (In)Delicate Dogs

Cook about one cup of brown rice, with a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil, and make sure it’s quite well done, not the least chewy. This will give you about 2+ cups of cooked brown rice.

Cook some lean or extra-lean ground beef by simmering it gently in just enough water to almost cover, stirring occasionally so it cooks evenly. The quantity should be about equal to that of the cooked rice. A lump you need both hands to hold is about right. (If you have a dog who can’t eat beef, use whatever meat they find most digestible.) When the meat is well cooked, there should still be a fair bit of water left. Add several big spoonfuls of oat bran, stirring them in one at a time and continuing to simmer, until the liquid is absorbed. You could add a little more water if it all boiled off while simmering the meat. The soluble fibre in the oat bran is very good for this complaint.

Mix these together along with a can of cooked pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, but pure pumpkin, no sugar or spices). You can, of course, cook a pumpkin or squash, in which case use about 2 cups of cooked, mashed pumpkin (or squash).

And that’s it. It’s actually a lot like the filling for a Middle Eastern stuffed pumpkin recipe I’ve made in the past, except without all the onions, raisins, and spices. It’s a fairly nutritious meal for humans too, actually, though bland — which is of course the idea.

I generally feed fairly generous servings of this for several days, with a small portion of his regular food in a separate bowl, so he can eat it afterwards if he feels like, and clean his teeth on crunchy nubbins. It seems to, er, firm things up nicely, which in itself makes him feel better and everyone else’s life easier. It soothes the insides, gets the dog eating again, and makes him feel better so he’s not so stressed and therefore speeds up recovery from the bout. This makes about enough to fill a two-litre ice-cream tub, but it freezes well, so you can put it up in single-serving bags and throw it in the freezer to have on hand for emergencies. I wouldn’t recommend it as a full-time homemade dogfood, because I have no idea if it’s nutritionally complete for a dog or not over the long term. I generally find he has to be weaned back onto his regular food by having a small spoonful of pumpkin slurry as a garnish for a few meals. Otherwise your dog will look at you: “Hey, where’s my pumpkin?”

(Just as an aside, if your dog is on potassium bromide for epilepsy, you need to be very careful to make sure there’s enough salt in a homemade dogfood, even something like this you’re only going to be feeding for a few days, or you can quickly end up with a dangerous imbalance between potassium and sodium, affecting the nervous system. No, this isn’t one of Ivan’s problems, but it’s something to be aware of.)

I hope this is helpful for other IBS dogs out there.

"You just ate WHAT?"