The Dog Bowl Pet Supply and BARF Raw Food Blog

Fats are an essential and biologically appropriate part of our pets' healthy diet.

Fat is a major source of energy in the evolutionary or BARF Diet. Fatty acids, together with protein, are part of every cell membrane and take part in the majority of bodily processes. Life does not proceed without fat in the diet and healthy life depends on healthy fat.

Our pets' ancestors derived healthy, raw unprocessed fats from the bones, flesh, organ meat, eyes, brains, spinal cord, testicles and adrenals of animals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects and also from the crushed raw vegetable material in the intestines of their prey. The raw meaty bone component of the BARF Diet continues its brilliant role as the most important food item for our pets by supplying the bulk of our pets' lipid or fat requirements. (It should be noted that the BARF diet also supplies essential fatty acids in organ meats, glandular materials and crushed raw vegetables.)

However, because most modern farm animals are not raised on their evolutionary diet (particularly those animals "fattened" with grain), their fatty acid profiles will not be optimal for the health of our pets. For that reason, it is often necessary to supplement the BARF Diet with biologically appropriate supplementary fats or oils.

Beware of the fats found in pet foods or the oils on the supermarket shelf! They are both supply heat-damaged fat of poor biologically value. This type of denatured fat causes massive biological damage, which actively promotes degenerative disease in our pets.

As a general rule, cats need more fat than dogs and cats need animal fat almost exclusively. Dogs can generally use fat from both animal and plant sources, although some dog breeds and some individual dogs need most of their fat from animal sources.

When considering how much bone to feed our pets keep in mind that bones are rich in fat. If your pet is overweight, then of course you must feed less fat and often means less bone. If your pet is underweight, then extra fat may be required. Bones may help solve this problem. Active pets need more fat whereas sedentary pets need less. A diet that is richer in fat (and that could mean more bones) is required in cool areas or in the colder months, etc.