The Best Low Fat Dog Foods on the Market

Royal Canin has a veterinary diet for dogs that is low-fat. The low-fat composition also contains omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil, which are beneficial for digestive health. Suppose you need access to food for a recovering animal or access to exceptional food formulated to combat gastrointestinal problems and pancreatitis. In that case, this is a formula that can be highly beneficial.

This is a good formula because it has been researched and analyzed by veterinarians for many years. If you get a recommendation from your veterinarian, you can trust that this formula will be of high quality.

Key Features

• 5% Fat content (*on a dry matter basis)
• Designed for a prescription diet.
• Includes omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
• Comes veterinary recommended.

This product is good for your dog's digestion. It helps to build the dog's body tissues. But if the dog's fat level becomes too high, it can affect its digestion. It is important to give your pet the right amount of dry fat. This product has been clinically proven to help support digestive health.

Key Features

• 7.7% Fat content
• It targets excessive levels of fat in the dog.
• It promotes digestion.
• Facilitates the healing of tissues.

The wellness CORE reduction formula helps pets shed weight and maintain a healthy weight and is formulated with antioxidants, omega fatty acids, probiotics, and glucosamine. This may be an effective method for weight management and general wellness.

Key Features

• 10.9% Fat content
• Great access to extra vitamins.
• Rich reduce fat formula.
• Premium and natural ingredients.

Blue Buffalo created this formula with natural ingredients and highly digestible proteins. This formula is perfect for fussy eaters who need balanced and supported gastrointestinal systems.

Key Features

• 10% Fat content
• A taste to satisfy fussy eaters.
• Enhanced with vitamins and minerals.
• Easy to digest.

This food is appropriate for dogs with delicate stomachs. It aids in weight loss while keeping its muscular mass suitable for all dog breeds and has the proper proportions of protein and fat. In addition, it contains fiber, which helps your pet feel full quickly.

Key Features

• 5.7% Fat content
• It is appropriate for all dog breeds.
• It aids in weight loss in dogs.
• It has a fantastic flavor.

The Eagle Pack is a low-fat recipe with a balanced amount of proteins to aid in weight loss. This product's wide spectrum of dual animal proteins might help you maintain good muscle tone while you shed pounds.

Key Features

• 35% less fat.
• Glucosamine hydrochloride to maintain joint health.
• Robust vitamin and mineral blend.

This recipe contains a series of superfoods rich in B vitamins, minerals, and more. This can help keep your pet healthy and happy. The guide is free of potato and other fillers and uses alternative protein sources to help with allergy support.

Key Features

• 7.2% Fat content
• No grains or fillers.
• Rich in fiber, B vitamins, and minerals.
• Uses probiotics and superfoods.

This product is the perfect way to help control your dog's weight if they are a large breed. It can also help with their immune system. This could be a good option if your dog has pancreatitis or another condition.

Key Features

• 10% Fat content
• Prebiotic support.
• L-Carnitine included.
• Added fat metabolism.

The holistic weight control grain-free formula is different from other formulas. It is excellent because it is fortified with superfoods. Superfoods help keep your pet's immune system working well and make them feel satisfied and full.

Key Features

• 7.8% Fat content
• Correct ratios of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Free of grains and gluten.

Many dogs can gain weight easily, but a prescription diet can help. The diet includes glucosamine, urinary management, and digestive help. New traditionalists and veterinarians develop this food. It has many features that help pets stay healthy, like energy support.

Key Features

• 10.1% Fat content
• High fiber levels.
• Enhances energy.
• Helps with fat metabolization.

Iams has a great proactive healthy weight formula for adult dogs and large breeds that helps keep a healthy weight and supports joint and bone health. The formula is specially formulated for large breeds.

Key Features

• 11.4% Fat content
• Contains glucosamine.
• Veterinarian recommended.

Merrick's grain-free formula is perfect for maintaining a healthy weight. It includes chicken meal, potatoes, peas, and sweet potatoes, all great ingredients for keeping your dog healthy. This formula is designed for all breeds of dogs, and it is grain-free.

Key Features

• 11.2% Fat content
• 32% protein.
• Great taste with beef.

The Canidae grain-free chicken and pea recipe is healthy food for your dog. It doesn't have any artificial colors, preservatives, or ingredients.

Key Features

• 10% Fat content
• A natural product with no added preservatives, tastes, or colors.
• Made without the use of maize, soy, or wheat.
• Simple recipe with natural foods.

This product is a whole grain dehydrated recipe designed for all breeds of animals. The recipe is made with minimally processed and dehydrated whole-grain foods without GMOs.

Key Features

• 9.4% Fat content
• Made with minimally processed and low-calorie food.
• No GMOs.
• Raw food diet-approved.

This Purina formula is low in fats and calories but high in proteins. This can help improve your lean body mass. It also has several dietary benefits that can help you absorb nutrients better.

Key Features

• 10.2% Fat content
• Designed to aid in weight loss for dogs.
• Low in fat and calories but high in protein.
• It can aid diabetic canines.

Society has taught us that fat is unhealthy and can lead to cardiovascular disease and obesity. However, this is not true for dogs. In reality, canine nutrition differs significantly from human nutrition, and lipids are essential to a dog's balanced diet. Fats are important for absorbing numerous vitamins and nutrients and offer energy. So why is a low-fat diet necessary for some dogs?

There are many reasons to put a dog on a low-fat diet. Sometimes it is used to help dogs lose weight, but it can also help manage other health conditions. Conditions that may improve with a low-fat diet include:

• Pancreatitis
• Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)
• Lymphangiectasia

What Are They, and Why Is Fat Restriction Beneficial?

Pancreatitis is the most prevalent medical condition that necessitates fat restriction. Pancreatitis is a severe condition in which digestive enzymes are triggered prematurely before leaving the pancreas, resulting in inflammation, bleeding, and organ loss. The most typical symptoms are severe stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Still, it can result in organ failure and death in certain situations.

There are a variety of pancreatitis causes. One of these is a high-fat content in the diet. If your dog develops pancreatitis, he must follow this diet. Dogs with a history of pancreatitis are more prone to develop it again; thus, they should be fed a low-fat diet on an ongoing basis.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is another condition that affects the pancreas. This condition means that the pancreas doesn't make or release digestive enzymes. This can lead to fatty feces, diarrhea, and hunger.

Some people take digestive enzymes to help with their symptoms. However, even with enzyme supplementation, fat isn't absorbed properly into the blood, which leads to fatty feces and diarrhea. This diet can help improve this, but it is important to be careful because not enough fat-soluble vitamins will be absorbed if it is too low. Still, if it is too high, the symptoms will get worse.

Lymphangiectasia is a condition that can be helped by eating a low-fat diet. It is different from inflammatory bowel disease. But they can happen at the same time. People with lymphangiectasia lose protein, making them have fluid in their stomach and lungs, causing them to vomit, have diarrhea, and lose weight. A low-fat diet will help reduce the amount of diarrhea someone with this condition has because it will help improve how well fat is absorbed into the blood.

So, these diets can help improve your health in many ways, but are they helpful for weight loss?

Low-fat diets are great for losing weight in people, but they are not as successful for dogs. However, these diets can still help your pet manage obesity. Your pet can lose weight by switching to a low-fat diet with other efforts. Some ways to reduce weight include:

• Feed your dog the proper amount of food based on the weight of the package, not his actual weight.
• Feed your dog two meals per day instead of letting them graze on food.
• You can increase the exercise he gets by taking him for more long walks or playing with him in the garden.
• Make sure that your dog is safe and does not feel threatened. Also, remember that treats equal calories, so take away the same amount of food from his daily meals.
• Switch to food that makes you feel full, even though you're eating less.

If you want to put your pet on a low-fat diet, you must speak with your veterinarian first. Fat is not always bad for pets; it contains many essential nutrients, such as omega oils. Reducing fat intake might not be the best solution.

Buying Guide

If you have talked to your veterinarian and agree that a low-fat diet is best for your dog, you will need to choose a food that fits this requirement. It can be tough to choose the best food, but reading the label can assist.

• Consider the guaranteed analysis first. This table on the rear of the food package provides information about the product's fat, protein, fiber, moisture, and ash content. However, this is based on "as fed" values rather than dry matter. This means that you must perform some calculations to determine the fat in the food. For instance, if the moisture content indicates 10%, the dry matter content is 90%. To accurately determine the fat percentage, we need to convert it to 100 percent. The crude fat value indicates 8%. To accomplish this, divide 8 percent by 0.9 (90 percent), or 8 percent / 0.9, which Equals 8.88 percent fat based on dry matter.
• Now you can compare different dog foods to see which one is best for your pet. If your pet has pancreatitis, it is important to find a food with a low fat percentage. Some veterinary prescription foods have very low-fat levels, making them the best choice for this situation. However, suppose you are trying to help your dog lose weight or manage fatty diarrhea symptoms from diseases like EPI or lymphangiectasia. In that case, providing some fat in their diet is important. This will help the dog absorb vitamins into their blood. The best way to do this is by feeding them food with a fat content of less than +/- 10% on a dry matter basis, ideally around 4%.

Now that you know how to choose the right food for your dog, it can be hard to pick from the many options. But don't worry, we're here to help! Here are some things you should look for on the label to make your decision:

• Nutritionally balanced

Ensuring that your dog's diet is nutritionally balanced is very important. If you remove the fat from their food, you must add other ingredients to ensure they get all their nutrients. Otherwise, they may become deficient in some essential vitamins and minerals. The food packaging should state that it meets the nutritional adequacy standards set by the AAFCO. The food should also have been tested to meet these standards.

• Lifestage

Different types of dog food depend on your dog's life stage. If your dog is junior or senior, they might need a different type of food than an average adult dog.

• Ingredients

The ingredients are listed in order of how much they weigh. The heaviest ingredient is first. Meat proteins should be at the top of the list, while refined carbs such as maize meal and white rice should be limited.

If you are still unsure about what food to buy for your dog, researching consumer reviews can be very helpful. Manufacturers often claim their products, but hearing how the food affects real-life dogs. It can give you a better idea of whether it is likely palatable and high quality.

All food manufacturers want you to be happy with their products. If you have a question you can't find the answer to, you can always call them directly.

Is a Low-Fat Diet Beneficial to Dogs?

Dogs require fat to flourish; thus, a low-fat diet is not suggested unless necessary.

It makes no difference whether you feed them premium dog food brands. If your companion does not consume enough fat, you may observe that they become lethargic or has a lousy coat.

Why Should You Choose Low-fat Dog Food?

Mature dogs require 20 percent fewer calories than adults. Low-fat dog food is ideal for dogs whose diets require less fat due to age or health.

Conditions That May Necessitate a Low-fat Diet

Dogs with liver disease would benefit from low-calorie diets, which would reduce the load on the liver. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is another condition that necessitates dietary modification.

Grain-free, low-fat diets are good for dogs with IBD, as hypoallergenic, high-fiber diets are significantly safer for dogs with IBD than grain-based, low-fiber diets.

When Do Low-fat Diets a Good Idea?

Before jumping on the bandwagon and purchasing the first bag of low-fat dog food you find on Chewy and Amazon, consider whether your dog requires a low-fat diet.

Worldwide, the number one silent killer of furries is obesity. A physically fit dog is less likely to have joint, heart, or respiratory issues, as well as diabetes.

Over time, overweight dogs may develop pancreatitis when fed a high-fat or high-carbohydrate diet.

You should only choose a low-fat diet for your otherwise healthy dog. If you have tried all other choices and he is still not losing weight or if your veterinarian recommends it.

What Percentage of Dog Food Is Considered Low-fat?

Some owners may be concerned about the low-fat content of some dog foods listed above. However, it is important to note that while studies indicate that the minimum fat content should range from 10 to 15 percent. This is only for healthy adult dogs and not for overweight or pancreatitis-afflicted dogs.

Purchasing low-fat dog food with a fat content between 6 and 9 percent is optimal.

Considerable Characteristics of Low-Fat Dog Food

Animal protein should be included in the diet of every dog. Plant protein derivatives are a poor substitute, so ensure that your dog's food contains fish, chicken, beef, pork, or other red meats.

Novel meats such as wild bison and the like are also excellent protein sources, particularly if your dog is allergic to more conventional animal protein sources.

In addition, dog food should be nutritionally balanced for dogs. Not ideally, reducing the amount of fat reduces the number of fat-soluble vitamins and important fatty acids.

The greatest ingredients are always whole foods, making artificial additives an absolute no-no.

If you don't know what's in the ingredient list, you're better off with a different brand whose ingredients you recognize, at the very least.

You may believe that low-calorie means high-fiber. On the contrary, dogs with particular health concerns may benefit more from low-fat, low-fiber dog food. When in doubt, ask your vet!

Can You Feed Your Dog Homemade, Low-fat Food?

If prepared properly, homemade low-fat dog chow is the healthiest option. Dogs require extremely particular nutrient profiles, making it infamously difficult to balance homemade food.

It is usually advisable to choose a recipe created by a real veterinarian. Like this one from Greg, a licensed veterinarian:

Alternatively, try this easy recipe:

Ingredients:

• One cup of lean ground beef
• Half a cup of broccoli
• Half a cup of squash
• One cup of brown rice
• 3/4 cup non-fat cottage cheese

How to prepare:

1. Cook the ground beef first, and make sure to drain the fat
2. Cut the squash into cubes
3. Steam or boil (but steaming is much better) the vegetables
4. Let it cool before mixing all the ingredients in a medium or large bowl

You have the option of serving the food right away or storing it in the refrigerator to serve it at a later time. It is important to note that while this recipe does not call for any preservatives, the amount of time it may be stored is between three and five days.