Rice

Rice mills prepare harvested grain for food and feed. They remove the tough hull, then may remove the bran to make white rice. Whole and broken kernels are sorted; either may be ground for a dog food recipe.^8,11

1. 01 // Source Harvested rice The grain reaches the mill with an outer hull that must be removed before the kernel is used.
2. 02 // Process Hull removed Milling takes off the hull, leaving brown rice with its bran layer still attached.
3. 03 // Process Optional polishing Further milling removes bran to make white rice and also produces broken kernels.
4. 04 // Output Rice kernels or meal Sorted kernels, whole or ground, arrive as a dry starch ingredient for mixing into dog food.

1. 01

   Supplies digestible energy

   Cooking makes rice starch available to dogs. Feeding trials found high starch digestibility, though cooked corn performed similarly in some comparisons.^1,2,3

2. 02

   Helps shape kibble

   Starch thickens during extrusion and helps bind the mixed ingredients as kibble takes shape. Rice supplies that starch along with calories.^1,3

3. 03

   Offers a cost tradeoff

   Rice cost more than corn or sorghum in a published dog food comparison. Milling also yields broken kernels that sell for less than whole rice.^3,11

How much One feeding study used 36.13% rice powder in a complete dog diet; that is a tested amount, not a standard recipe.¹

1. Brands say

   Rice gives dogs easily digested energy

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In an 8-dog comparison, rice and corn diets had similar dry matter digestibility, about 92% and 93%. A separate 36-dog trial found more than 98% starch digestibility across its cooked diets. Rice earns the digestible label, but has no exclusive claim to it.^1,2

2. Owners say

   Rice settles a dog's upset stomach

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Digestibility is not a diarrhea treatment test. In an 18-dog comparison, the rice diet produced looser stools than corn or sorghum diets, though all were in the study's ideal range. It showed no special stomach benefit.³

3. Critics say

   Rice causes dangerous blood sugar spikes

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In a 36-dog trial, the brewers rice diet produced a greater early glucose and insulin response than some pulse diets. The trial measured responses after meals in healthy dogs, not diabetes or harm from eating rice.²

4. Brands say

   Rice is hypoallergenic for dogs

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Rice was reported as a trigger in 5 of 297 selected dogs with food reactions. The review says inconsistent rice challenges prevent an estimate of its true trigger frequency. Calling rice hypoallergenic goes beyond those data.^3,4

5. Critics say

   Rice in dog food causes arsenic poisoning

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   A small observational study found higher hair inorganic arsenic in 7 dogs eating rice based food than in 9 dogs eating no rice. The authors said the measured levels did not indicate toxicity. Exposure was measured; poisoning was not.^5,9