Your dog would develop a severe nutritional imbalance if you would feed her a diet of only meat. Although she is a carnivore, a meat eater, she cannot survive only on the protein she gets from eating meat. Just like us she needs to have a well balance diet including protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Fats provide our dogs with energy and heat, and helps to keep her skin radiant and healthy. A dog whose diet is lacking in fat can have dry, scaly skin. Her coat may become dull and lifeless. A diet that is low in fat may also cause her to become nervous and more prone to developing other illnesses and health problems as well.

There are three types of fatty acid that a dog requires…

• linolenic
• linoleic
• arachidonic

Linoleic acid can be found in meat products, suet, butter, and corn oil. But, it can also be found in avocados. Bet you didn’t know that .

Why Avocados

Most dogs, especially mine, are not very fond of fruits. However, avocados seem to be one of the few fruits that she just loves. One reason that dogs seem to enjoy avocados so much is that it adds a lot of flavor and texture to their food. Especially if you feed them dry dog food.

Avocados are also rich in fats and add this essential nutrient to your dog’s diet. This pear shaped fruit contains 16% of rare oils seldom found in other fruits. It also contains an unusual amount of protein for a fruit.

One medium avocado contains about 35 grams of mostly monounsaturated fat. The avocado also contains more potassium than a banana. They are rich in vitamin E, vitamin K, and the B vitamins.

Avocados, especially California avocados, proved to be a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals. Half of a medium avocado would provide all the daily magnesium, potassium, and niacin  requirements for a mature, adult dog. The same portion of avocado would also provide about half of her daily requirements of thiamin, manganese, and vitamin A.

Compared to Other Foods

When compared to other types of food we like to add to our dog’s diet to improve her skin and coat, the avocado quickly shows us why it is such a great choice.

There are about 13 grams of fat in half of an avocado. Along with that there is about 1 gram of linoleic acid in the same portion.

An egg has half the amount of fat and only a small trace of linoleic acid.

A half cup of cottage cheese only has about 5 grams of fat and a trace of linoleic acid.

One tablespoon of corn oil has 14 grams of fat and 7 grams of linoleic acid. However, it does not contain any of the vitamins and minerals that an avocado contains.

According to a professor of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University, an avocado enhances a dog’s hair quality as well as her skin tone. This is most likely due to the amount of linoleic acid contained in the avocado and then given to the dog as part of her diet.

Of course, as wonderful as it is, an avocado cannot and should not be the only source of nutrients for your dog. But adding small quantities of avocado to your dog’s regular diet will add valuable nutrients to her diet, especially if her current diet is lacking in some of the essential nutrients.

How much fat a dog actually needs will depend on her level of activity.

A working dog needs up to 20% of her diet to be made up of fats. The average pet that only goes for a leisurely walk around the block would only require about 5% - 8% of her diet to be fats. A very thin dog should get a large portion of fats in her diet, at least until she is back to within her normal weight. A pregnant or nursing dog also needs much more fat content in her diet.

Most canned dog food contains an adequate amount of fat needed for the average pet dog. However, if you feed your dog only dry dog food you may want to add an additional source of fat.

This is where the avocado comes in. Avocados are an excellent source of fat. For those dogs who eat mainly canned food, this is a great alternative to add some variety to her diet. It is indeed a tasty food that dog’s love, so feel free to include small portions in your dog’s diet for her enjoyment.

WARNING: Studies have shown that some dogs can have severe adverse effects if they eat the pit, the skin, the leaves, or the bark of an avocado tree. Just be sure that when you add avocado to your dog’s diet that you are only giving her from the fleshy part of the fruit.