Adding rice to puppy’s diet

Hi guys,
I’m new to the forum so I hope I’m posting this in the right place.
We have a gorgeous Staffy girl puppy who had her 2nd jab today. She’s just over 11 weeks old. She’s bright and playful and just generally fab.
The vet today said she’s a little on the slim side and said to add chicken and rice to her diet. We’ve been feeding her Purina Beta (85g a day split over 4 feeds) with boiled chicken breast anyway, as that is what the breeder had her on. My question is, how much rice should we add to her diet? And I assume we keep to the usual amount of Purina Beta? I know I should have asked the vet, but it didn’t cross my mind until we had left that the amount was important.
She eats so quickly and we have a slow feed bowl for her, but She’s become quite the expert with that. We really don’t want to over feed her, but we don’t want her to be hungry either.
Thanks in advance for any advice

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Hello and welcome.
Congratulations on your new family member

I would venture to say that she’s not eating enough but I can’t see how the rice is going to help, tbh.
If you were feeding her just the beta kibble, packaging says she should be eating 150g a day over 4 feeds. How much chicken breast are you adding per day ?

Then I would say that the beta isn’t the best kibble
https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0254/beta-puppy
For the same budget of your beta + chicken, I would give a premium kibble which is supposed to be a balanced feed anyway. It won’t stop you giving a few extras like chicken or fish or egg, etc but you’ll have a balanced base feed. The chicken is also a great reward during your short training sessions

Typically chicken and rice is given to calm an upset tummy. If that’s your case, I’d suggest switching to another food asap.
And do be aware that alot of dogs can have intolerances to chicken so a change of meat protein could also help put on weight too.

Just a few thoughts

Hi, and thank you
We followed the breeders guidelines tbh. She has no tummy problems and is not worryingly thin, just “on the slim side”. I do feel some pressure now though to get things totally right. And obviously we adore her so we want the best.
I’ve read conflicting reviews about the Beta so am grateful for your input.
She has a handful of chicken with each meal and we use it for treats too. She’s a good girl so she gets many a treat
Once again, thank you. I will increase the kibble and see how we go. Would you suggest increasing slowly over a day or 2 or just go straight in with a larger amount?

Hey, don’t be putting any unnecessary pressure on yourself.
There’s no right or wrong answer, we’re all dealing with individuals who have different needs and reactions.
You’re doing a good job already and as you’re also questioning if you couldn’t be improving things, that’s a huge asset !

I would increase by 5-10g a day to reach the 150g per day and see how she goes. Keep the chicken for rewards for toilet training or basic sit commands, etc. If she gets too chubby then you can reduce the kibble a little bit, and so on. The feeding guides are just an indication so you need to adapt to your situation.

The problem with the beta is that all meat is added as “meal” so it’s already very processed. Then you have cereals and rice which most dogs don’t need in huge quantities.
As your breeder was adding chicken, it’s adding extra protein of better quality. Maybe look at your budget and consider a premium grain-free kibble to switch to when your bag of beta is finished ? I have used orijen and acana but there are alot of other very good kibbles. You can have a look at the site I linked in an earlier post for ideas too.

Maybe also ensure she’s being wormed monthly until her 6 months old, if it’s not already the case.
Do be careful of not doing too much exercise either, stick to the “5 minutes for each month of age” rule

Hi from me & Katy Congratulations on your new furbaby, What is her name? We would love to see pictures of her
Nifty has given great advice for feeding her & for intolerances with this breed. I would also agree on switching her onto grain free food as they don't really need them they are used as a bulker in the food!

Hi & welcome.

I don't see why adding rice would be helpful, either! Dogs get virtually no 'goodness' from rice, so where will the weight come from? I know vets are really well qualified, but they're not nutritionists & sometimes they can give somewhat odd advice in regards food!

At 11 weeks I like to see a pup with a slightly chubby look (not fat) rather than over thin - after all, they have an awful lot of growing to do. At about 5 or 6 months you can start to adjust her weight to a more lean, healthy state.

Just up the feeds a little, as already said, and look at getting a better quality kibble for her.

Hi all,
Thank you so much for kind advice. We have upped her feeds now and I will be looking to get a better quality of kibble when we’re nearing the end of this current bag.
Our pup is called Edie. I will get around to posting some pictures at some point
Thanks again, I’m so glad I found this forum.

What a lovely name, just need a little face to go with it now