There is a news story almost daily about the hazards of high fat diets for humans. For the working dog, however, this is certainly not the case.
By not feeding enough high quality fats in their diet may result in serious energy deficiencies.
Fats are made of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen and are known as lipids. Different lipids have a different function within the dog’s body.
One of the most important are a group called triglycerides. The dogs body primarily stores fat as triglycerides, these are stored around the internal organs, around the muscle and under the skin. The fatty acids that are attached to the triglycerides are an excellent source of energy for the dogs’ muscle and organ function.
Fat is not only an important source of energy; it also helps insulate the body and maintain a constant internal body temperature.
Essential fatty acids in the form of Linoleic and Arachidonic acids are also a type of fat. These are important because they are the primary component of cell membranes, which is the lining covering the cells in the body. Dog’s that have a fatty acid deficiency have coat loss, dull and dry coats and a long-term deficiency in fatty acids will result in skin irritations.
Animal fats provide greater amounts of free fatty acids for energy use than plant fats, and more importantly, dogs find animal fat more palatable.
Of the three main sources of energy, Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats, it is the latter the provides the most kcals. Fat is twice as calorically dense than either protein or carbohydrate. In simple terms, the more fat in the diet then the more energy dense the food.
Research has shown that dogs fed a high fat content food against a high carbohydrate food have more oxygen and energy stored for optimal performance. Let’s look at some examples. We will assume that we are feeding a Labrador Retriever weighing 30kg who is working in Field Trials most weeks:
FourFriends Power CSJ CP24 Skinners Field & Trial Superior
Protein 33% Protein 24% Protein 30%
Fat 22% Fat 14% Fat 20%
Fibre 2.2% Fibre 2.2% Fibre 2.5%
Ash 6.5% Ash 9.0% Ash 8.0%
Moisture 10% Moisture 8.5% Moisture 10%
Carbohydrate 29.4% Carbohydrate 46.3% Carbohydrate 33.5%
30kg Dog = 260g per day 30kg Dog = 575g per day 30kg Dog = 375g per day
17kg bag will feed for 65 days 15kg bag will feed 26 days 15kg bag will feed 40 days
17kg bag priced at £46.50 15kg bag priced at £32.90 15kg bag priced at£30.49
17kg/0.260 = 65days 15kg/0.575 = 26 days 15kg/0.375 = 40 days
£46.50/65 days = £0.71/day £32.90/26 days = £1.26/day £30.49/40 days = £0.76/day
Fat is the most concentrated form of energy, so, by increasing the amount of fat in a diet the caloric density is increased and the amount of food fed per day is less.
Just by increasing the amount of food digested means the dog will feel bloated and will not be able to run any distance.
It’s simple, increase caloric density by squeezing more kcals into a gram of food by using the power of animal fats.
FourFriends Power has all the requirements for any sporting or working dog. Why not request a Trial Pack today?