 The Short Answer is:
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Yes there is no problem with dogs eating fried rice if it is eaten in moderation. The fried rice must however not contain onions garlic or soy sauce. |
In this research you will know the answer to the query “Can Dogs Eat Fried Rice?“.
Rice is one of those comforting foods that we tend to eat on a Friday or Saturday night when we are trying to shake off the stresses and strains of the previous week.
This dish is centuries old and originated in China to make use of leftovers.
Perhaps the Asian version of Bubble and Squeak?
As you sit on the couch with your feet up and your plate of fried rice in your lap you are left with only one question: should I let my dog have a bite?
There has been a long week for them too and it is the weekend!
Is fried rice safe for dogs?
What is Fried Rice?
In the UK we have double (or triple) cooked chips also known as fries.
Even though they have already been fried once the chips are fried a second time to make them even tastier.
What does this have to do with fried rice?
The reason is that fried rice is twice-cooked rice.
Initially the rice is boiled as is the case with most rice.
After that it is fried with oil and other ingredients are added.
Are you able to feed this dish to your dog?
Fried rice is as you have already gathered a very unhealthy food.
However it is the other ingredients that are added to fried rice that will determine if it is toxic and dangerous for your dog.
In the next section we will examine those ingredients
What are the ingredients in Fried Rice?
Here we will discuss the most common ingredients used in fried rice as well as how they may affect your dog.
Rice
Why do not we start with the obvious?
Boiling white rice does not contain much nutrition.
Because it is 80% carbohydrate it has a lot of calories.
Minerals and vitamins are not really present either.
You could call it bland which is exactly what it is.
It works best when combined with your dogs home remedy for diarrhea when they have a mild case.
Fried rice on the other hand?
Fried rice will only contain more fat (and calories) due to the oil it has been fried in without adding any other ingredients.
While oil isnot toxic to your dog it is unhealthy and frying the rice might cause some dogs to have stomach upset depending on how much you give them.
Its okay because you can then feed them plain boiled rice until they recover.
Eggs
It was once said that eggs are one of the most perfect foods when it comes to nutrition — which isnot surprising considering that eggs need to contain everything needed to grow and maintain life.
Eat them in moderation and they may boost your dogs health as well.
Despite their high cholesterol content eggs are about 10% fat and 13% protein although I’m not certain there is a connection between eating cholesterol-rich foods and having high cholesterol…
In addition eggs are a good source of B vitamins specifically B2 and B12.
In addition to boosting a dogs immunity B vitamins have other benefits as well.
Chicken
Dogs enjoy chicken as a healthy food choice. Chicken meat has low fat and high protein content.
Vitamin B3 and B6 are abundant in chicken.
There is also an abundance of phosphorus and selenium in it.
As far as dogs are concerned phosphorus is a very important mineral.
Bones and teeth need phosphorus and calcium to develop properly.
The mineral selenium may help dogs maintain a healthy metabolism.
When it comes to writing about dogs and food it is one of my favorite subjects as you can see here and by reading this lengthy research on whether dogs can eat chicken.
The next section will talk about another popular choice of meat you may find in fried rice besides chicken.
Pork
A popular choice when it comes to Chinese cuisine.
Although my dogs do not seem to enjoy pork very much it is dog friendly.
Their stomachs seem to turn upside down when they hear it.
Pork is classified as red meat which is harder for humans to digest but I doubt this would be the case with dogs since they have a digestive system that is designed to break down meats and bones quickly.
When you use pork in your fried rice you must make sure that it is cooked correctly.
It is possible that undercooked pork will become infected with Trichinella spiralis which is a parasite.
Raw chicken is potentially dangerous due to salmonella or campylobacter.
We have looked at eggs chicken and pork. Lets take a closer look at the common vegetables that are found in fried rice dishes.
For ease I will just focus on vegetables you should avoid.
Which vegetables should dogs not eat in fried rice?
As much as possible I will keep this simple.
Onions and garlic of any kind or form pose the biggest threat to your dog.
It includes red yellow or green onions as well as onion and garlic powder.
In fact the powders are more dangerous as they contain more onion or garlic per gram.
Moreover a quick look at recipes shows these two ingredients are regularly used in fried rice dishes.
The N-propyl disulfide is a compound found in onions and garlic.
As a result dogs cannot absorb it properly and it attacks and destroys red blood cells leaving them anemic.
The dangers that onions and garlic pose to dogs have been detailed in my articles.
You will find answers to specific questions in these articles such as what is a poisonous amount?
In addition to these two vegetables any other vegetable will be safe for your dog to eat.
Can dogs eat fried rice sauces?
As I conclude this section on ingredients lets talk about possible sauces that could be used in your fried rice.
More specifically oyster sauce and soy sauce.
Soy sauce contains the following ingredients:
- Water
- Wheat
- Soybeans
- Salt
- Sodium benzoate
Should dog owners be concerned about any of these ingredients?
Wheat might be an issue for a tiny percentage of dogs who are allergic to wheat and we do not want our dogs eating too much salt- even if we do not know how much salt is in soy sauce.
Oyster sauce contains extracts of oysters and MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is one of the ingredients not found in soy sauce.
Oyster extracts should not worry your dog too much but MSG is a very controversial ingredient for both people and dogs.
Lastly as this research draws to a close I’d like to offer some help to those of you who are devoted fans of fried rice and are desperate to feed it to their dogs.
Could you make dog-friendly fried rice?
Fried rice for dogs is available in many recipes.
Take a look at them for some inspiration.
During our conversation earlier we discussed the importance of leaving out onions and garlic.
Rather than frying the ingredients you might want to mix them and cook them in a wok instead of using oil and butter.
It would be a real genius if you prepared this and served it at the same time you were eating fried rice.
You should only give your dog a small portion if you do decide to eat this with him.
I wish you a good appetite!
If you want to read more about dog food tips read here: Dog Food Tips and Tricks.
