28/08/2025
🚫 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗕𝗲 𝗔 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Many people add rice to their dog’s meals without really knowing why, often because they’ve seen it listed in commercial dog foods. But here’s the reality:
𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 – If your dog is already eating a high-carb diet, adding rice doesn’t improve anything. It’s basically just more filler.
Cheap Ingredient in Kibble – Pet food companies use rice because it is inexpensive compared to animal protein and fat.
Also...
👉 It provides a bulk energy source that helps keep production costs down.
👉 Rice starch helps bind kibble together during the extrusion process.
👉 Rice is easy to digest compared to some other grains.
👉 Consumers often see rice as “healthier” than corn or wheat.
“With brown rice” or “with rice” can make a product sound more premium, even though the nutritional contribution is minimal.
𝗔𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 – Research found that dogs consuming dry dog foods with rice listed as the first or second ingredient had significantly higher hair arsenic levels compared to dogs whose diets contained no rice. Dogs on rice-rich diets showed higher arsenic levels than both non-rice-fed dogs and dogs from other studies.
𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗮𝗽𝘀 – Rice adds calories but very few nutrients. If it makes up a big part of the meal, it displaces vital proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals your dog actually needs.
👉 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Rice is a cheap ingredient, often used as a filler in many pet foods, not a functional food for dogs if it's being included in a large portion. If it’s a regular part of your dog’s bowl in a larger amount, they could be missing out on truly essential nutrients.
⭐ Rice as leftovers every now and then isn't a concern.
⭐ A Balanced homemade recipe that uses rice as a moderate portion of the recipe, which isn't being fed every day, isn't a concern.
⭐ Brown & White rice have different nutritional profiles but still shouldn't form a large portion of your dog's regular diet.
⭐ If your dog has an upset tummy, you can swap the typical recommendation of chicken and rice for 50:50 boiled turkey/white fish and pumpkin.
