Can Dogs Eat Jasmine Rice? (Jasmine Rice Safety Explained)

You may already know a bit about how dogs can eat white rice as a nice treat every once in a while, but what about jasmine rice? Can dogs eat jasmine rice? Is it healthy for dogs? Here’s what you should know about this fragrant type of rice and your dog!

Dogs can eat jasmine rice, just like white rice or brown rice. Jasmine rice is loaded with benefits for your dog, including providing an energy boost, boosting brain power, regulating blood pressure, easing stomach and digestion concerns, and helping supplement iron, protein, Vitamin Bs, and more.

There are many reasons that you can feed your dog jasmine rice, though you’ll want to pay special attention to portion size to keep the benefits stronger than the risks!

Can dogs have jasmine rice instead of white rice?

Yes, definitely. In fact, many recommend jasmine rice in place of traditional white rice. White rice doesn’t have as many health benefits, so it’s essentially just filler for your dog. Jasmine rice is still a filler (as opposed to a dietary staple,) but it also has some health benefits to carry along with it.

Is jasmine rice good for dogs?

As already touched on above, yes. Jasmine rice has some great, widespread health benefits that make it an excellent choice for those pet parents that want to give their dogs something that they’ll love to eat, but not at the expense of their health.

As we’ll touch on more below, jasmine rice has some great perks as a general food, and it’s going to be rich in nutrients that are missing in traditional white rice. Plus, it helps with stomach upset or digestive issues, like with white rice.

Benefits of jasmine rice for dogs

There is no shortage of health benefits in jasmine rice for your dog enjoying it as a diet choice. Some of the main ones to look forward to including:

• A boost energy
• Engaging the brain
• Regulating blood pressure
• Settling the stomach
• Promoting better digestion
• Supplementing much-needed vitamins and mineral

A boost in energy

This is a high-carb snack, which means it will help boost your dog’s energy level and support them in feeling their best. If your dog is weak, tired, or old, it will support a naturally heightened energy level.

Engaging the brain

Jasmine rice is excellent for brain health and can help your dog focus easier, get more done with brainpower, and have a healthier brain as far as nutrients and vitamins. Your dog’s brain will flourish with the nutrients waiting in this rice. Perfect for those that want to help keep aging dogs sharp mentally.

Regulating blood pressure

The vitamins and minerals in jasmine rice will help regular blood pressure. If your dog is predisposed to heart health concerns or has a heart condition, this is something to think about! Your vet can give you more advice on this.

Settling the stomach

Do you know how vets and experts always recommend feeding rice to dogs as a bland diet? This is because it will settle the stomach and promote more comfort and a passing-through of symptoms much easier and faster than skipping the plain diet.

Support your dog’s stomach with jasmine rice as a key ingredient in what you want to give them to help them enjoy better comfort. This also delivered more nutrients so that both dogs and pet parents would be happy with the outcome.

Promoting better digestion

Since jasmine rice will settle the stomach, it will promote better digestion. As it absorbs food and pushes through the digestive tract, it will also push out debris and other lingering food common in dogs with indigestion.  

It can ease discomfort in their symptoms and help them enjoy complete trips to the bathroom, which also helps regulate their appetite. There is a lot to be said for a dog with a healthy digestive tract!

Supplementing much-needed vitamins and minerals

There is iron, protein, various B Vitamins, and more when it comes to what’s in there. Simultaneously, it’s low in fat so that dogs can eat it in small servings without compromising their fat content.  

If your dog needs a nutritional increase or a diet re-do, jasmine rice will help them to better their nutritional profile overall and give them a delicious treat at the same time.  

Dangers of jasmine rice for dogs

Despite the great benefits and perks waiting for your dog with this kind of rice, there are some health concerns that you should know about. These are important to keep in mind so that you’ll be able to promote the best health with the least risk.

Firstly, jasmine rice is loaded with carbohydrates. These are going to make weight gain much more likely. While this is fine if you are dealing with an underweight dog who could use some extra calories, it’s something to keep in mind when your dog is already the proper weight. Having too much rice at a time, or having rice too often, will stack up that cab and calorie count, encouraging a dog to pack on some weight. Excess weight is often a gateway to obesity and other health conditions, such as joint issues, respiratory concerns, and organ deterioration.

As well, jasmine rice has a high sugar content compared to other kinds of food. Dogs are naturally on a low-sugar diet, so feeding your dog a lot of jasmine rice will pump up that sugar content and leave them with a sugar high. This will cause issues such as short-term hyperactivity, but it can cause long-term health problems. Excess sugar long-term can cause inflammation and diabetes, among other health problems.

Can puppies have jasmine rice?

Puppies can definitely have jasmine rice! In fact, it can help them grow better than puppies that don’t. The high iron content will help them develop strong muscle tissue, joints, and bones!  

Can jasmine rice cause diarrhea in dogs?

Some pet parents discover that jasmine rice causes diarrhea in dogs, but the intention is actually the opposite. It will help curb diarrhea instead of supporting a steady stomach and better digestion.  

If you notice that your dog is dealing with diarrhea each time they eat jasmine rice, it’s actually an indicator that your dog has a rice allergy! You can confirm this with a test from your vet if you wish. Or try an elimination diet to see if the diarrhea is actually being caused by something else entirely.

How to safely feed jasmine rice to my dog

To promote the health benefits and minimize the health risks, you’re going to want to focus on safety in how to feed jasmine rice to your dog. Below, we’ve gone over some of the best things you can do to help.

Check with your vet first regarding allergies

As briefly mentioned above, you’ll want to check with your vet first to see if your dog has any rice allergies. Common symptoms include stomach upset, hives or rashes, itching, and hair loss. If you’ve never given your dog rice before, give them a tiny amount at first and see how they react to it. If you notice any potential reactions, you’ll want to get them to the vet right away. This potential risk is why many will recommend getting an allergy test done beforehand.

Stick to plain white jasmine rice

When you decide to give your dog some jasmine rice, you’ll want to skip the temptation to add seasonings or other additives. While human tastebuds will crave those, dog tastebuds will not. They will not miss the seasonings, but they also will not have the risk of a reaction to those seasonings and additives.  

Many common choices are either bad for dogs or even dangerous. For instance, salt, garlic, and onion can cause toxic reactions. Stock powders are no better because they will contain many of those same ingredients.

Dogs are content and safest with plain white boiled jasmine rice. Feed it to them this way to prioritize the health benefits and minimize the health risks. If you are sharing your rice with them, make a portion separate just for them so that you can keep your seasonings!

Enjoy small servings

Your dog doesn’t need 2 cups of rice to enjoy it. He will be as content with a quarter cup or even less. The more you feed, the higher the risk of health concerns. So, be careful to keep his amounts small and carefully controlled.

This is especially important in the beginning when you are trying to get your dog used to jasmine rice. Since it’s naturally rich food, you’ll need to start them off with a tiny portion and then slowly add up the amounts to get enough health benefits without overworking their stomach as it adjusts.

Rinse the rice to remove the starch 

When you’re ready to actually get the rice ready to go, you’ll want to soak the rice in cold water for at least 3 minutes, draining thoroughly after you’ve done so. This removes the starch from the rice to help reduce the carb count for your dog.

In general

Dogs can safely eat jasmine rice, similar to brown and white rice, recommended in small portions for dogs with no health risks. Keep portion sizes small to keep the health benefits (energy level and brain boost, blood pressure regulation, stomach and digestion support, nutritional supplementation) without the health risks (obesity and diabetes).

Jasmine rice can be an excellent choice for your dog to enjoy as a nice little addition to their food bowl as a treat, but you’ll want to ensure that you know how to properly prepare it and spot a problem. Do you know an aspiring pet chef? Share this with them and get a feel for what’s needed.