Balancing fats in dog foods
The scientific evidence is overwhelming—dogs who eat balanced fat diets are healthier, happier and more intelligent than dogs who do not consume a proper balance of fats. Yet most dogs do not eat balanced fat diets, and consume little, if any, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, often referred to in this booklet), an omega-3 fat, probably the most important fat for the brain and eyes. Fortunately, it’s easy to improve the balance of fats in your dog’s diet, but not by putting DHA in bags of dog food.
Here’s what you need to know about fats to make sure your dog eats a balanced fat diet.
For dry food feeders
For homemade and raw food feeders
Why improve the balance of fats?
The balance of fats that a dog consumes has a profound influence on the dog’s cell membranes, those semi-permeable layers that allow cells to receive nutrients and eliminate wastes. Because every cell in the body has a cell membrane made mostly of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, consuming the proper amounts of omega-6s and -3s has the potential to affect every organ system in the body.A good dietary omega-6/-3 balance makes the cell membranes fluid, permeable, flexible and healthy. On the other hand, too much omega-6 (from chicken fat, corn oil, safflower oil, soy oil, canola oil, etc), makes the cell membranes, including those in the brain, brittle, sluggish and inefficient, so that the dog thinks and moves a little slower. Likewise, too much of an omega-3 fatty acid called DHA in the diet can make the cell membranes prone to oxidation, which leads to premature aging.
The fats that a dog consumes affect every cell in her body, especially the cells in her brain and eyes. The consumption of balanced fats is especially important to fetuses and puppies; for example, consumption of proper fats (and the avoidance of rancid fats) when young can reduce the incidence of eye problems when dogs are old.
Fats in dog foods
Fats represent a broad category of nutrients. Just as your dog needs to consume a variety of vitamins and minerals, your dog needs to consume a variety of fats, including the three omega-3 fats: alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and DHA; and linoleic acid (LA), an omega-6 fat.A balanced fat diet has the proper amounts of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The balance—that is, the relative amounts—of omega-6 and omega-3 fats, which must include EPA and DHA, is of particular importance.
The science of fats is relatively new, and few dog professionals, including veterinarians, understand the importance of balanced fat diets. Until recently, most nutritionists thought that the primary function of fat was to provide energy, flavor, and deliver vitamins. It was not until the 1980s—more than 30 years after the introduction of commercial dry foods—that most canine nutritionists understood that linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat, was essential. “Essential” means that the dog must consume the nutrient in the diet because she is unable to make the nutrient from other nutrients.
In 1985, the National Research Council (NRC) of the Academy of Sciences’ report titled Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats listed LA alone as an essential fat for dogs. By 2006, however, the NRC had updated its findings and listed four fats as essential for all dogs: LA, and three omega-3 fats: ALA, EPA and DHA.
Even though the NRC and almost all nutritionists now consider DHA to be an essential fat, as of 2010 the Association of American Feed Control Officials or AAFCO has not updated its recommendations and still considers LA to be the only essential fat for dogs. Hence DHA is not in most dry dog foods. I think the regulators are hesitant to require DHA in dog foods because, at least with today’s technology, this expensive fat is just too fragile to be included in a product meant to be kept on the shelf for up to 12 months and left open in the kitchen for weeks. Fragile fats oxidize, which means they turn rancid. Rancid fats can cause diarrhea, liver, eye and heart problems, cell damage, cancer, arthritis and even death.
That being said, some dry foods, most often premium puppy foods, do include fish or fish oils, the most common and available sources of DHA. The problem is that DHA is very fragile—think fish kept at room temperature. Extrusion processing (where the food is quickly cooked under high pressure, the way most dog foods are produced) and long-term storage make oxidation of the DHA likely. The 2006 NRC report stated, “Many of the PUFAs [polyunsaturated fats, which includes DHA] in the diet such as those from fish undergo peroxidation during processing and storage before ingestion.” Peroxidation means the fats turn rancid.
