[Gary W]

As a rule, veterinarians consider a diet with less than 10 percent fat on a dry matter basis (less than 17 percent of calories from fat) to be low fat, while diets with 10 to 15 percent fat (17 to 23 percent of calories) are considered to contain a moderate amount of fat. Foods with more than 20 percent fat are considered high-fat. A few dogs may need a very low-fat diet, especially if they have hyperlipidemia, or if they react to foods with higher levels of fat.

To make a low-fat homemade diet, feed about half carbohydrates, and half low-fat meat, eggs, and dairy. The percentage of carbs can be decreased, and the amount of meat increased, if you use very low-fat cuts, or boil them to remove most of the fat.

The majority of the carbohydrates should be starchy foods, such as rice, oatmeal, barley, quinoa, pasta, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and winter squashes (e.g., acorn and butternut), to supply low-fat calories. Other types of vegetables, such as broccoli, summer squash, and leafy greens can be included, but they supply fewer calories so they can’t replace the starchy carbs. You can also use a low-fat pre-mix designed to balance out a homemade diet, such as Preference from The Honest Kitchen.

The other half of the diet should be mostly low-fat meats, or meats cooked to remove much of their fat. Skinless chicken breast is very low in fat, but other parts can be used as long as you remove the skin and visible fat. Turkey, venison, goat, buffalo, and rabbit are low in fat, while lamb and pork are generally high in fat. Ground beef comes in varying levels of fat.

Whole eggs are relatively high in fat but are highly nutritious, so they should be included in the diet in limited amounts. A large egg has about 5 grams of fat, which is not a lot for a very large dog, but too much for smaller dogs. You can hard boil eggs and then feed just a portion each day, or split them between multiple dogs. Almost all of the fat and calories are in the yolks, so the whites alone can be added to increase protein without increasing fat, if needed. When feeding just egg whites, they should either be cooked or a B vitamin supplement should be added, as raw egg whites can deplete biotin over time when fed without the yolks.

Low-fat or nonfat dairy products are also good to include in the diet. Cottage cheese, plain yogurt, and kefir (a cultured milk product that is easy to make at home using low-fat or nonfat milk) are all good choices. Avoid other cheeses; even low-fat ones are high in fat (nonfat is okay).

Homemade diets should include organ meat, and most organs are low in fat. Liver and kidney should be fed in small amounts only, no more than 5 to 10 percent of the total diet (around 1 to 1.5 ounces organ meat per pound of food). Beef heart is quite low in fat and is nutritionally more of a muscle meat, so it can be fed in larger quantities, as long as your dog does well with it.

Fruits such as apple, banana, melon, papaya, and blueberries are fine to include in the diet in small amounts. Avoid avocados, which are high in fat.