Quote: yuko blum

I wonder if dogs have a "need" for saturated fats as well. I really have no clue

From what I remember reading, yes.

I have no citations handy, but my memory is that dogs use sat fats and unsat fats in different ways, and require both, which makes sense from a nutritional anthroplogy viewpoint. They would have evolved getting both from their prey.

I can look it up later.

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

Am I correct in that the chicken fat I'm talking about is considered saturated fat? Is this the same type of fat that would accumulate in, say, a bunny? or a cow, or other animal?

Yes. I believe that the advantages to humans of eating, say, white meat chicken instead of beef is from the lower fat levels, period, and not from a different type of fat.

Sat fats and unsat fats are usually present in the same meat. About half the fat of commercially-raised slaughter meats is sat fat.

In the unsaturated fats, there are Omega EFAs like 6 and 3 (and I'll ignore 9 here), which are stored in the fat of the animal, and which lean very heavily toward being 6s instead of 3s in aniimals fed grains, as opposed to wild plant-eating or commercial grass-fed animals.

This is only what I have read; I'm not a health professional, and I'm much better at reporting the results of research than I am at really understanding the chemistry of food components.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

This is only what I have read; I'm not a health professional, and I'm much better at reporting the results of research than I am at really understanding the chemistry of food components.

I know you're not a dietician Connie - but you do have a good handle on what other people are studying, and where to find the info. And boy do we love you for it!

So, it's the omega 3's that are better for the dogs, since wild prey would not be feeding from grain-based diets?

Also, I'm supplementing with flax oil right now (I blend it into his veggie mush) - but I've been reading about the Salmon oil a lot of people here use as being more readily utilized by dogs. If I switch to Salmon oil, will this take the place of feeding fish, like sardines or makeral? Or are there additional benefits to feeding fish?

~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

... So, it's the omega 3's that are better for the dogs, since wild prey would not be feeding from grain-based diets? ... Also, I'm supplementing with flax oil right now (I blend it into his veggie mush) - but I've been reading about the Salmon oil a lot of people here use as being more readily utilized by dogs. If I switch to Salmon oil, will this take the place of feeding fish, like sardines or makeral? Or are there additional benefits to feeding fish?

~Natalya

1. No, that's not how I'd put it. The thing is that Omega 3s and Omega 6s, which not long ago (evolutionarily speaking) were roughly equal in an average diet (humans and canids, since both were eating either direct sources of Omega 3s or the Omega 3s stored in the fat and some of the organs of the meat animal that had been eating short-chain Omega 3s and converting some into the highly beneficial long-chain Omega 3s, like EPA and DHA), are now completely unequal in a modern diet. So the modern diet, very rich in Omega 6s, which are pro-inflammatory (and remember that inflammation is a healing mechanism of the body), is no longer rich in 3s, which are (over-simplified) anti-inflammation, and which help to keep inflammation in check --- to keep inflammation from running amok and causing damage and disease on its own.

So while both are necessary, one is no longer supplied in the amounts that are desirable in most modern diets.

2. http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=12&Number=138174&Searchpage=1&Main=14726&Words=omega+Connie+Sutherland&topic=0&Search=true#Post138174
Flax is, IMO, a good thing (if there's no allergy to it), but is not a substitute for fish oil for dogs.

Humans can convert short-chain Omega 3s to DHA and EPA at maybe a 10% rate, but dogs cannot. I've posted the Tufts research in 2005 that confirmed this many times on this board , but it comes up again and again. Flax is good for humans and probably fine for most dogs; it does not, however, substitute for marine sources of Omega 3 EFAs for dogs, who no longer get sufficient long-chain Omega 3s from their diet.

I feed some fish. I do not modify the fish oil amounts the dogs get on those days (or any days) because I think it'd be very hard to overdo Omega 3 consumption, especially on a diet that includes poultry. Poultry is very rich in Omega 6s.

If a dog is on a blood-thinning prescription, then Omega 3 supplementation should be discussed with the vet.

To make a long story short, if you look at the Leerburg suggested raw menu, you'll see that the Omega-6-rich poultry and beef are balanced by the daily pumps of Grizzle Salmon Oil.