Can Dogs Eat Brown Rice?

The answer lies in one word ‘YES’.

Brown rice is a chief source of carbohydrates and too much carbohydrate on a daily basis can be harmful for your dog. A bowl of finely cooked brown rice now and then is actually good for dogs. Just like we human rely on carbohydrate for energy requirements, dogs get the energy for daily works from fat. Before we discuss the benefits of brown rice for dogs, let’s have a quick look on the nutritional profile of brown rice:

Brown rice is rich in fiber, carbohydrates and various other vitamins and minerals. 85 percent calories in brown rice comes from carbohydrates while protein and fat account for eight and seven percent of calories respectively. 100 grams of brown rice contains about 23 grams of carbohydrates, 2.6 gram protein and 1 gram fat. Brown rice also provides us thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, folate and niacin in small amounts. Consumption of brown rice also provides you magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. For fluid balance and heart functions, potassium and sodium are also present in brown rice.

Now, I bring you 6 reasons why you should feed brown rice to your dog:

• You should feed brown rice to your dog if you want to feed him variety.
• Brown rice is good for skinny dogs if they want to gain some weight.
• Since brown rice contains rich amount of fibers, it is exceptionally good for dogs with intestinal problems.
• When you feed home cooked brown rice to your dog, there are less chances of allergies as well.
• Since brown rice has phytic acid which prevents the absorption of minerals, it is easy to digest brown rice.
• If you feed brown rice to your dog 2-3 times in a week, it will save you significant money on dog’s meals

 How to feed?

You can feed home cooked brown rice to the dogs with chicken or veggies.

Put rice and water (water should be twice the amount of rice) in a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Brown rice takes more time to be cooked. If you bring brown rice which are precooked and take less time in cooking, there will be less nutrients in that rice. Mix the chicken or veggies whichever you want to add and feed to your dog.

Brown Vs White Rice

It may be a topic of debate as which rice is better for dogs. Brown or white?

Well, the answer lies in their manufacturing.

After harvesting, the rice is processed through rice huller to remove husks. After removing the husk, you get the brown rice.

For the manufacturing of white rice, a few more steps are added which kill all the nutrients. The rice is polished which is not good for absorption. Synthetic nutrients are added which worsen the situation. For a good health of dogs, brown rice is highly recommended.

Before you make your mind, read it:

A recent study by United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that rice contains arsenic in levels which can be hazardous for dogs. Since brown rice is not processed much, and for this arsenic is concentrated in the outer layer of the rice. However, there is no upper limit of arsenic has been declared by FDA till now, so do owners can wait for the further investigation by FDA so that the upper safe limit of arsenic consumption by dogs can be announced.