Brown rice

Brown rice is fine for dogs, but do not treat it as interchangeable with white. It is less processed and keeps the bran and seed coat, and the AKC points to exactly that structure as the reason it is harder to digest. It is also why AKC says brown rice is never prescribed for dogs with gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea: those dogs need the starch in white rice to bind the stool, while brown rice's fibre pushes the gut the other way. For a bland diet after vomiting or diarrhea, use white rice. For everyday feeding the balance flips. Brown rice raises blood sugar more slowly than white, which can make it the better topper for a dog on a weight-management plan or one whose glucose you are watching, and it brings more fibre and minerals along. That advantage is real but small, and it does not change the basic arithmetic: complete dog food already supplies carbohydrate, so rice on top is extra calories. Cooking matters more than most people expect. The bran layer resists water, so brown rice needs far more water and far longer on the stove than white. Undercooked grains pass through whole and arrive as gas and loose stool. Soak it, simmer it until a grain squashes between your fingers, and add no salt, butter or seasoning. Keep it out of pilafs and rice bowls built on onion, garlic and broth. Portion it inside the 10% of daily calories that treats and toppers should occupy. For a 20 lb dog that is about a tablespoon of cooked brown rice, and for a first try use half that and watch the stool for two days. A sudden jump in fibre reliably produces gas and softer stool. If loose stool runs for a few days, cut the amount or switch to white rice. Call your veterinarian instead if you see repeated vomiting, diarrhea past 24 hours, blood in the stool, a hunched painful belly or a dog that will not eat at all, because at that point the grain is probably not the problem.