# I need fat...



## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Buck isn't getting enough fat in his diet and all of the meat we have access to is pretty lean. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to get fat? Gosh that sounded funny. Hahaha


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

Fish oil? Coconut oil? Chicken/turkey skin? Some butchers will have pork fat available/can get some for you.


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## LucyinSweden (Feb 20, 2012)

Pork fat would be really good. Or lard. I know someone who has an incredibly active springer spaniel and they give him lard to keep his weight up. 

Crisco? (kidding, kidding!)


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Sheep is fairly fatty meat, ie lamb and mutton and of course pork.
Brisket is a fairly fatty cut too, although not sure what you would call it in USA.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

My issue is that the only sheep meat I can find is ridiculously expensive and Buck needs something like that every single day. I think I'll look into the pork fat from our butcher but I will continue to keep my eyes open for affordable sheep.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

...have you seen Fight Club? :heh:


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## LucyinSweden (Feb 20, 2012)

Brisket.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

BoxerParty said:


> ...have you seen Fight Club? :heh:


Yes, but it's been years. I'll have to watch it again.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

So we were just talking about fat in the kidney disease thread. This info is from research I was doing on kidney disease. 
Lamb is especially high in fat, with Pork coming in second. Dark meat chicken and turkey has more fat than white meat so it's best to include the skin when feeding poultry.
Egg yolks are also high in fat.
Fat can be added in the form of bacon fat (no or low sodium) chicken fat, unsalted butter. 
*Be very careful about adding pure fat to the diet. Start with very small amounts and stop immediately if you see signs of problems.*
Generally vegetable oils are not recommended as a source of fat. They are high in Omega-6. 
Fish oil such as Salmon or EPA are recommended.


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## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

Our supermarkets sell pig skin for crackling and comes in rolls for about 20p I get them as often as needed as Chance needs more fat in his diet


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Khan said:


> So we were just talking about fat in the kidney disease thread. This info is from research I was doing on kidney disease.
> Lamb is especially high in fat, with Pork coming in second. Dark meat chicken and turkey has more fat than white meat so it's best to include the skin when feeding poultry.
> Egg yolks are also high in fat.
> Fat can be added in the form of bacon fat (no or low sodium) chicken fat, unsalted butter.
> ...


I just want to say thanks for sharing the information here and on the other thread. I have learned an immense amount from all this.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Buck definitely doesn't have enough fat in his diet. I do know that. I'm not looking to add a big amount into his diet. Just enough to balance it out better. I appreciate the info and all the sources you gave me, Khan. Very helpful  And you as well, pogo.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I would think fish oil would be one of the easier things you could add.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Help me remember when your over here, I have at least 2 gallon ziplocks of fat from Huginn's first days of backs!!:thumb:

Oh and I wish you would have said something before(had you known) I could have split a case of pork trim(which is mostly fat) with you from Plymouth.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I use pork skin, it's REALLY cheap here and a little goes a long way. Tess keeps her weight now that I throw her a couple cubes of it a few times a day as a treat. It's basically all fat.


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## Maritan (Nov 11, 2011)

One more suggestion - you could feed beef head meat. That is in general a pretty fatty "cut" of meat. My dogs both love it. I also save the lumbar/ kidney region fat that I get along with the kidneys (from grass fed cows ONLY) and give that to my dogs.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Caty M said:


> I use pork skin, it's REALLY cheap here and a little goes a long way. Tess keeps her weight now that I throw her a couple cubes of it a few times a day as a treat. It's basically all fat.


It is so wild to me that you have a dog that eats ten percent of her body weight a day, and you still have to give her fat to keep weight on. I wish I was like that!!!!!


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Do you feed beef heart? Whenever I receive my order of heart there is usually a lot of fat surrounding it-- sometimes an inch thick!

Otherwise, I can't really add to what others have suggested-- except that coconut oil is a really healthy fat... as well as fatty fish.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> Do you feed beef heart? Whenever I receive my order of heart there is usually a lot of fat surrounding it-- sometimes an inch thick!
> 
> Otherwise, I can't really add to what others have suggested-- except that coconut oil is a really healthy fat... as well as fatty fish.


I agree about the beef heart, there is a lot of fat around it.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> Do you feed beef heart? Whenever I receive my order of heart there is usually a lot of fat surrounding it-- sometimes an inch thick!
> 
> Otherwise, I can't really add to what others have suggested-- except that coconut oil is a really healthy fat... as well as fatty fish.


I am irritated when I get beef hearts and it looks like they are half fat. But, I do think it's good for the dogs. Sometimes though I am just expecting a little more of the heart part and a little less of the fat part.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Buck eats primarily beef heart but the heart we get has almost no fat on it. We can get it for close to a dollar a pound. Its human grade so I think they trim it. I am considering all options here so if I can find somewhere else with fattier beef heart in a smaller than 60 lb case I'll take it! Hahaha. I need to go down to our butcher and see their beef heart and compare prices with what we are getting now. 

I am so glad I posted this. I have gotten so many suggestions (some of them so obvious that I can't believe I didn't think of them sooner!).


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## BeagleCountry (Jan 20, 2012)

Pork picnic roast has a lot of fat. The fat can be seen at the bottom of the cryovac package. It has been on sale locally from 99 cents to $1.47 a pound. Prices should go down near Easter. Also, look for beef heart at Walmart and ethnic grocery stores as it may not be as well trimmed as what you are buying.


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## liquid (Dec 28, 2011)

When you order beef heart, have you tried telling them you want it untrimmed, and want *all *of the parts including the tubes and etc?

Yesterday I noticed my butcher was cutting off the tubes of the heart and tossing it (nooo! ) when he was cubing it up for me. Last time I ordered beef heart a different guy cut it up for me and I got to keep all the gross-but-yummy tubes and and odd heart parts. When I told him that I wanted to keep the entire heart, tubes and fat and all, he was surprised until I told him it was for my dog. Haha! So I'd imagine almost all butchers would assume that the beef heart is for you, so they'll trim it and cut the weird pieces off to make it fit for human consumption.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

liquid said:


> When you order beef heart, have you tried telling them you want it untrimmed, and want *all *of the parts including the tubes and etc?
> 
> Yesterday I noticed my butcher was cutting off the tubes of the heart and tossing it (nooo! ) when he was cubing it up for me. Last time I ordered beef heart a different guy cut it up for me and I got to keep all the gross-but-yummy tubes and and odd heart parts. When I told him that I wanted to keep the entire heart, tubes and fat and all, he was surprised until I told him it was for my dog. Haha! So I'd imagine almost all butchers would assume that the beef heart is for you, so they'll trim it and cut the weird pieces off to make it fit for human consumption.


Nick picks up the beef heart on base before he comes home since it is the cheapest we have been able to find but I think I'm willing to pay a bit more for fatty beef heart. We have fed this nice and trimmed stuff for so long that I forgot how great a fat source beef heart can be! It comes in vacuum packed packages that weight anything from .5 lbs to 2.5 lbs. 

Geez... now I feel so ridiculous having all of these obvious fat sources pointed out to me! Hahaha.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Raw bully sticks have a TON of fat on them. When I order them, I separated most of the fat and saved it.


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## liquid (Dec 28, 2011)

Dude and Bucks Mamma said:


> Nick picks up the beef heart on base before he comes home since it is the cheapest we have been able to find but I think I'm willing to pay a bit more for fatty beef heart. We have fed this nice and trimmed stuff for so long that I forgot how great a fat source beef heart can be! It comes in vacuum packed packages that weight anything from .5 lbs to 2.5 lbs.
> 
> Geez... now I feel so ridiculous having all of these obvious fat sources pointed out to me! Hahaha.


Hell, they probably wont charge you any more for wanting it untrimmed! That's just less work for them :wink:


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## werecatrising (Oct 15, 2010)

This is an interesting thread! I was going to ask the same thing. Quinn gets the extra fat from everyone elses food but till needs more.


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## liquid (Dec 28, 2011)

Quick question - how do you know when your dog needs more fat? Do you guys just notice that the meat is too lean or are the dogs showing signs/symptoms? I'd like to know what to look out for :thumb:


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## OnyxDog (Jun 15, 2011)

liquid said:


> Quick question - how do you know when your dog needs more fat? Do you guys just notice that the meat is too lean or are the dogs showing signs/symptoms? I'd like to know what to look out for :thumb:


I also would like to know this!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I'm having the same issue and its hard finding affordable fatty pieces that arent pork. So I'm using a lot of salmon oil, coconut oil and eggs.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

When you're at the butcher's ask if they could give/sell you the trimmings/scraps. I know one place here just dumps it into a can and is willing to sell it for .10 a lb. It's mostly fat with an ocassional meaty piece. Just be on the look out for bone pieces and that the butcher only takes the meat from the top (or go early) 'cause lower down the meat might be a little to ripe.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

> Quick question - how do you know when your dog needs more fat? Do you guys just notice that the meat is too lean or are the dogs showing signs/symptoms? I'd like to know what to look out for


For me the most obvious sign is dull, dry coat and/or dandruff. I noticed it since Uno has been eating mostly white meat and venison, he has a shiny coat, but still dandruff and felt coarse. So I upped the fats and it went away.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Just what Unosmom said. A duller than usual coat that has a rougher feel than normal. It dosn't take long for fats added back to make a difference.


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## werecatrising (Oct 15, 2010)

liquid said:


> Quick question - how do you know when your dog needs more fat? Do you guys just notice that the meat is too lean or are the dogs showing signs/symptoms? I'd like to know what to look out for :thumb:


With Quinn it's a weight issue. He is getting fed more than 5% of his body weight and is still too thin.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

xellil said:


> It is so wild to me that you have a dog that eats ten percent of her body weight a day, and you still have to give her fat to keep weight on. I wish I was like that!!!!!



Dear Tess, I have some fat you can have.  Love, Emma.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

xellil said:


> I am irritated when I get beef hearts and it looks like they are half fat. But, I do think it's good for the dogs. Sometimes though I am just expecting a little more of the heart part and a little less of the fat part.


You and the OP should do a mail swap - send her your beef heart fat in exchange for some leaner meat. :tongue:


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## Bamiboerboel (Feb 24, 2012)

is it ok to feed with cow fat?


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