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 mailto:[log in to unmask] Artworks website: <http://www.borg.com/~atelierk/>