How long is too long to eat rice and ground beef? When to transition back to previous diet?

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I would love some wisdom with regard to switching food. Here's an abbreviated version of the story, leading to my dilemma:  

As a result of a very upset GI tract (not caused by food), I switched Wally's diet from Primal's frozen raw to a combination of rice and boiled lean ground beef. Now that his digestive system appears to be better, I am thinking about moving him back to his previous Primal diet.  Also, because I was concerned that Charlotte was getting sick, too, I shifted her over to the same rice/meat diet.  She is ready to move back to her previous diet, as well. I should add that they are both getting a probiotic powder, plus fat-free yogurt and pureed pumpkin with each meal.  

What is complicating matters is that in 10 days, I will be leaving for a 2-week vacation, and my dogs will be staying with a pet-sitter.  Normally, I would wait for several more days before slowly transitioning Wally and Charlotte back to their raw diet.  

So, should I continue to feed them rice and boiled ground beef for what will be three weeks (the 10 days prior to my trip and the 2 weeks that I'm away) or should I try to move them back to their Primal diet before I leave?  

I really value the opinions of this group.  The right decision isn't clear to me, so thank you in advance for your thoughts.

[Marcia & MoneyPenny]

Penny was on rice/boiled beef & probiotics most all summer. We have just recently moved her to new food. We gradually added her kibble while reducing the rice/beef . It didn't take long to be back on the regular diet of kibble with pumpkin. We also fed her 3 times a day to make the switch & are now on twice a day schedule although she has turned out to be a grazer so she often does not finish her daily amount.
Try a gradual switch & you should know pretty quickly if Wally can handle it.
Good luck.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with this, although I would not introduce a third meal per day if the dogs are being fed twice a day and doing well with that. 

It is also very important to continue with the probiotics through the transition. 

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I'm wondering if there would be any real downside to maintaining this rice/boiled meat diet until after my trip, which would be on October 17.  This is the decision I'm facing.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Do you know what caused the GI upset? 

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

The veterinarians believe that it was a reaction to an insect or spider bite, or to the medication given to Wally to reduce the facial swelling that resulted from the bite.  Two days after the bite and meds, he regurgitated his food and had bloody, liquid diarrhea.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, if that was actually the cause, the medications and the toxins from the bite would long be out of Wally's system, and the GI upset therefore resolved. There can still be a bacterial imbalance, but the probiotics should take care of that. Food in itself would not play a role unless it was contributing to the bacterial imbalance. 

However, I am confused by your comment that Charlotte was "getting sick, too". If the bite and the meds caused Wally's issue, that isn't really an illness, and Charlotte would not have been affected by it either. 

How long have they been eating the homecooked diet?

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I can see how that would be confusing.  We were out of town from Thursday morning through Saturday night, and my daughter (who stayed here to watch them) misinterpreted Charlotte's spitting up some bile in the morning as her getting sick.  Since there was no way of knowing for sure if Wally's GI upset was the result of the bite or something entirely unrelated, and there was a chance that Charlotte had caught it (if it was something that was contagious and not from the bite), I told my daughter to give Charlotte the same rice/meat meals as Wally.  

Wally has been on the home-cooked food for about eight days, and Charlotte for three.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The a.m. spitting up bile is usually due to an empty stomach from all night, fairly common in dogs. A small snack in the evening before bed usually helps that. Your being out of town could also have contributed, as anxiety can affect the GI system, too. :)

Personally, I'd start transitioning both of them back to their usual diets, continuing with the probiotics, yogurt and pumpkin. 

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Thanks, Karen and Marcia, for taking the time to help me figure out how to proceed. After much thought, I have decided to transition them to Acana Ranchlands over the next 10 days, and then switch them back to their previous raw diet upon my return from vacation in three weeks.  I believe that this approach will be easier on their stomachs and simpler for our pet sitter.