Rice is a popular ingredient in most commercial dog foods, it is a source of carbohydrate but the main use of rice in dog food is as a safe binder to help with food composition.
As rice is a safe food for dogs many people wonder if rice milk is something that they can give to their canines as an alternative to regular cow’s milk.
Rice milk is perfectly safe to give to dogs to drink. It should be used sparingly and your dog should take his main fluid intake from fresh water. Natural, organic and unsweetened rice milk should only ever be given to dogs and you should check the ingredients of any form of rice milk that you may be considering. Rice milk can be good for dogs that have upset tummies.
What is rice milk?
As the name suggests rice milk is made from rice. It is produced by grinding rice down in a mill to a powder which is then mixed with water and filtered.
Many commercially produced rice milks have added sugars and sweeteners, along with other artificial flavourings and you should never give these to dogs to drink. Only give organic, natural rice milk.
You can produce your own rice milk at home by boiling rice in a pan of water and then blending the cooked rice and liquid to produce a liquid.
This liquid can then be given to your dog as is or you can filter it to make a more milk like liquid without the rice pulp which is also suitable.
How much rice milk can a dog have?
Your dog’s daily fluid intake should always be water as this is the most natural and best source of hydration for a dog.
There are times when you might want to give your dog an alternative drink such as rice milk and there is nothing wrong with doing this occasionally for your dog and a small quantity once a week would be enough for the average dog.
Rice milk is suitable for dogs that are lactose intolerant and it can also help dogs that hve tummy upsets and diarrhea.
How do you give rice milk to a dog?
The easiest and best way to serve rice milk to your dog is via his normal water dish.
Empty the dish of water and replace it with the rice milk. Let your dog drink as normal.
If you normally add water to your dog’s food then you can replace this with the rice milk – but only do this for about one meal a week.
Any milk that is left over should be thrown away.
Rice Milk for Dogs Overview
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1. Rude Health Organic Rice Milk
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2. Rice Dream Natural Rice Milk
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3. Rice Dream Original Organic Rice Milk
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4. Provamel Organic Rice Milk
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Final words
Rice milk is safe for dogs to drink so long as it is organic with no added sweeteners, sugar or preservatives.
You should only give your dog small amounts of rice milk and only on the odd occasion, perhaps once a week.
Make sure that your dog’s main source of fluid intake is from fresh water.
Rice is also an ingredient in almond milk and you can read here about giving almond milk to a dog.
