Is it Good and Safe for Dogs & Puppies to Have Rice Cakes?
As the name suggests, rice cakes are made of rice and pretty solid. Apart from rice, rice flour or puffed rice can also be used to make such a cake. Although rice cake originated in the Asian subcontinent, it has become rather popular as a snacking item in different parts of the globe. Every culture and country has a style of their own when it comes to preparing rice cakes. They use their own recipes and ingredients to make a lovely lip-smacking snack. Places like Indonesia have people eating rice cakes as a part of their daily diet.
In North America, puffed rice cake is generally used as a snack in every household. If there is a dog at home, it is generally seen that dog owners like to share their foods with their pets. However, it is important for you to understand that not everything that you eat is safe for your canine friend. Most of you may wonder whether rice cakes are safe for dogs or not. Well, to keep things simple, rice cakes are absolutely safe for dogs. However, it is preferred to give them this type of cake as an occasional snack. Rice cakes contain a low amount of saturated fat and are free from sugar and gluten.
Rice cakes are also high in calories and are considered to be ideal if you wish for your dog to gain some weight. It is important for you to remember that rice cakes are foods for humans. Thus, always feed the snack in small quantities to your dog.
Do Dogs Like To Eat Rice Cakes?
There are different breeds of dogs. All the breeds like to have crunchy treats and simply love to munch them taking their own sweet time. Rice cake is also one of their favorite treats. When it comes to dogs, you can easily give the animal rice cakes and it shall never get tired of eating it.
Is It Healthy For Dogs?
It is true that rice cakes do not contain any harmful or toxic ingredients for pets. However, this does not mean that it is healthy for your mutt.
- High Calorie: What all essential nutrients lack in rice cakes, is made up by its calorie content. In other words, it ranks high in terms of calorie content. This makes it a bad choice, especially if you are worried about the general health of your pet dog. Dogs are one of the most active animals around. This makes it pretty simple for them to burn calories. However, if they are fed foods that are high in calorie content, such as rice cakes, it can make them lazy. It may also make them fat and obese.
- Low Nutritional Value: Rice cake happens to be a processed food. This simply means that it uses all the refined ingredients. Rice is one of those food items that sustains very little nutritional value once they are refined. If you check out the wrappings of rice cakes, you will not find much nutrients apart from a small quantity of protein and some vital vitamins and minerals. These will all be in negligible amounts. This is why it is said that rice cakes do not add any value to the diet of your pet dog.
- Sodium: If you buy rice cakes from a store, it will contain sodium in a higher quantity that will be bad for your pet. Consuming too much sodium for animals can cause dehydration. Some of the other health complications that may start after having large doses of sodium is diarrhea and vomiting.
- Glycemic Index: Refined rice ranks high in the glycemic index. This makes it unhealthy for dogs. Thus, consuming too many rice cakes at a time can give rise to a hike in blood sugar level of your pet in no time.
- Added Chemicals and Sugar: It is a known fact that sugar is harmful for dogs. Rice cakes contain sugar along with various other chemicals that help them last longer. Although these chemicals have no impact on your health, it may prove to be fatal for your dog.
How to Serve Rice Cakes to Your Mutt?
Is it the first time for you to feed rice cakes to your pet dog? It will be a good thing to discuss the matter beforehand with your vet. Since it is the first time, better start off in small quantities. This will help them get used to the taste and food itself. If there is any negative reaction, you can also take proper steps on time. You may gradually increase the quantity if there is nothing serious with the dog.
