If you are an amateur dog owner, then minute details about the dog's health and food are most likely to make you finicky. No matter what, it is extremely important that you feed your dog with well planned and highly nutritious food. There are a lot of foods that strictly fall under the category of harmful foods for dogs. Avoiding such foods is not really a daunting task. But there are some other foods that create an uncertainty in the mind of a layman, and makes him question how ideal these foods are for the dog. Rice and other grains for instance. As we know, various types of grains are an inseparable part of the diet for us humans, but when it comes to pet dogs, this gets questionable. People ask questions like - is rice good for dogs? Well, there is more than one possible answer to this question. Whether rice is good or bad for dogs, entirely depends on how you plan to add the rice to the regular dog food. There are many pet owners who regularly feed rice to their dogs. But whether you should follow their suit or not depends on a number of factors. Continue reading the following section of the article for an insight on a rice diet for your canine friend.

Rice Diet for Dogs: Is Rice Good for Dogs?

After the recent pet food recall for numerous unhealthy commercial pet food brands, many dog owners prefer to feed their dogs with home cooked dog food, which is one of the healthiest foods for dogs. Since you are personally preparing the food, there is least possibility of food poisoning, which is caused due to artificial flavoring and food additives that are abundantly found in canned / dry commercial dog food. A rice diet or adding rice to regular dog food is quite a well researched subject with a lot of views and counterviews about it. Since rice is a healthy source of carbohydrates, ideally, there should not be any problem with feeding it to dogs of all ages. Rice is easy to cook for the dog owner and is easy to digest for the dogs as well, and hence, one may continue feeding it to his dog if there are not many significant health issues that are evident after introducing rice into the dog's regular food.

Rice is Good for Dogs When...
Many people argue that adding supermarket foods or foods that we eat like rice, vegetables and fruits, is not such a great idea. In contradiction, experts claim that at least portion of the dog food should contain healthy carbohydrates. Since rice is one of the most tolerable grain sources for dogs, it is commonly added in their regular dog food or special diets that are designed for their illnesses. Along with providing all the essential nutrients like carbohydrates, phosphorus, iron and calcium, rice also helps the dogs to fight various health conditions. For instance, food allergies, that are caused due to contaminated seafood; meat sources like chicken, beef, pork; protein sources like milk, meats, whey, soy, and additives found in dry commercial dog foods. Veterinarians mostly prescribe a rice diet for dogs that are suffering with food allergies. Rice is found useful in certain health problems and illnesses of dogs like disturbed digestive health, diarrhea, upset stomach, loss of appetite, digestive diseases like colitis, and other colonic problems.

Rice is Not Good for Dogs When...
There are a few conditions wherein feeding rice to dogs can get a bit risky. As we all are aware, carbohydrates are healthy only when they are consumed in the required amount. If you exceed the amount of rice in the dog food, he is likely to suffer with various health conditions like obesity and diabetes; that are the root causes of various diseases. Similarly, if your pet dog is already suffering with any health condition that can get aggravated by carbohydrates, then you should not feed him with foods that contain high amount of carbohydrates, including rice. If the dog is already suffering with diabetes or is slightly overweight, then it is always better to consult with the veterinarian, before you start a rice diet for your dog. Feeding the dog with uncooked, undercooked or excessively processed rice can also be harmful. According to various dog health experts, if you have never added rice in the dog's diet, then it is perfectly alright. Bringing sudden changes in dog's diet should be avoided. Also, if your dog is prescribed with rice and other such easy to digest food, the duration of such a diet depends on the veterinarian only.

What Kind of Rice is Good for Dogs
Now this is yet another obvious query. Many pet owners want to know how they can add rice in the regular dog food. They also want to know whether they can include brown rice or white rice in the dog food. Well, both brown rice and white rice are healthy. However, brown unpolished rice has an edge over the white one. When it comes to adding rice to dog food, there are a few suggestions. For instance, you can either use precooked canned dog food that contains rice. There are a few dog food brands like Flint River Ranch, Purina One, Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo, Pedigree, Diamond Naturals, etc., that contain rice. If you don't want to use commercial dog food, then you can prepare various rice dog food recipes for dogs, that contain healthy sources of protein and dog friendly vegetables. For instance, cook rice and meat or other protein sources separately. Then combine them together with a few finely chopped vegetables that are suitable for dogs, and serve the dog food.

I would advise you to consult a veterinarian, prior to making any changes in the regular diet of your dog.