At 08:00 AM 11/4/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Question: We hear that when marrow and organ fats were carefully
>and thoroughly eaten, excess muscle meat was given to the dogs.
>But don't dogs also experience "rabbit starvation" if they don't
>get enough fat, or are they in fact adapted to a lower fat,
>higher protein diet, as a result of their partnership with
>humans?

I know there's been some work done in this area, but I haven't been
able to
find the exact reference. In his book, "Natural Health for Dogs &
Cats",
Dr. Pitcairn writes: "Dr. Ben E. Sheffy of Cornell University in
Ithaca,
NY, has developed detailed minimum protein standards for dgos that
range
from 13 to 37 percent, depending on how much fat is in the diet and
upon
special needs..."

I've read other references to this work of Sheffy's yet I cannot find
a
citation. I have done medline searches and can't come up with anything
that
sounds like it might be the one, either. Maybe I'm looking in the
wrong
databases?

There's also been quite a bit of work done with the energy
requirements of
sled dogs. Basically, there is no known minimum requirement for carbs
in
the diets of non-reproducing dogs (and cats) and the sled dog studies
indicated that the dogs actually ran better and had more endurance on
a low
carb diet. However, they recovered more quickly if supplemented with
carbs
following exercise. I've listed some references below, though I've
only
read the Medline abstracts.

My own experience with feeding my dogs a raw "natural" diet (aka BARF
-
"Bones And Raw Food" or "Biologically Appropriate Raw Food") with no
grains, dairy or brewer's yeast has shown me that without good levels
of
fat, I couldn't keep weight on them. On a dry weight basis, my dogs'
diet
now is 43% protein, 45.8% fat, 5% carb, 2% fiber and 3.2% ash. IOW,
28% of
their calories comes from protein, 67% from fat and 3.2% from carbs
(from
fruits and veggies). I rely very heavily on chicken backs (with fat
globs)
and 75% lean ground beef. They are thriving and have muscle tone that
I
can't believe (with no increase in exercise). Coats are plush and
gorgeous.
I can't see myself ever going back to commercial foods.

AUTHOR:  Reynolds AJ; Fuhrer L; Dunlap HL; Finke M; Kallfelz FA
      ADDRESS:  Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary
                Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
        TITLE:  Effect of diet and training on muscle glycogen storage
and
                utilization in sled dogs.
       SOURCE:  J Appl Physiol (HEG), 1995 Nov; 79 (5): 1601-7

AUTHOR:  Reynolds AJ; Carey DP; Reinhart GA; Swenson RA; Kallfelz FA
      ADDRESS:  Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary
                Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
        TITLE:  Effect of postexercise carbohydrate supplementation on
                muscle glycogen repletion in trained sled dogs.
       SOURCE:  Am J Vet Res (40C), 1997 Nov; 58 (11): 1252-6

 AUTHOR:  Hammel EP; Kronfeld DS; Ganjam VK; Dunlap HL Jr
        TITLE:  Metabolic responses to exhaustive exercise in racing
sled
                dogs fed diets containing medium, low, or zero
carbohydrate.
       SOURCE:  Am J Clin Nutr (3EY), 1977 Mar; 30 (3): 409-18

Kathy Partridge
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Artworks website: <http://www.borg.com/~atelierk/>