Unsaturated Fats

Unsaturated Fats are often called "good fats", because they can be beneficial to your heart, while saturated fats increase the levels of LDL (bad) Cholesterol in the blood stream. Unsaturateds can actually lower LDL and raise HDL Cholesterol or "good cholesterol".

As far as Boxers are concerned, fats are actually quite a necessity. As an extremely active breed, Boxers burn proportionately more carbohydrates in a day than most breeds, and fats are the main source of carbohydrates in foods.

Besides carbohydrates, fats also are essential for a healthy skin and hair coat, immune function, and the dog's natural anti-inflammatory functions.

Correct fat levels are particularly important during pregancy, as fats contribute substantially to pre-natal development.

PetEducation.com suggests that dogs require between 9% to up to 50% fat content in foods (50% being required for sled dog racers).

We estimate Boxers come close to the "pregancy dog" category, and suggest 20% may be a reasonable level for them.

The unsaturateds that are probably the easiest to include in your Boxer's diet is fish oil. We feed ours mostly fish-based protein sources, with occasional(once/ or twice a week) beef or chicken based foods just to break the monotony and as a special treat.

We have read some reports that excessive fish oil consumption could lead to Vitamin E deficiency, we are doing more research into that subject.

Leave Unsaturated Fats and Ruturn to Dictionary.