[CorkyMax]

This info is not just for raw feeders. It is good info about how bad cooked fat really is. Lara's Mom, a while back in an email you had asked me what I thought was the amount of fat to feed and I wasn't sure myself and was only guessing--But little did I know at the time that no cooked fat is good!!! So the answer is not just how much but what kind (evidently no cooked fat at all!) I felt I needed to give a new answer to you and thought of you immediately upon finding this info! But it is good for everyone to know about so here is the info: Note that this info is from this site: What You Need To Make Natural Homemade Dog Food and Natural Homemade Cat Food

•Feed meats with normal fat content as dogs and cats require the raw fat for healthy skin.
◦Do not feed fat by itself as this could potentially lead to pancreatitis.
•Do not feed fat that has been cooked as a dog or cat cannot digest cooked fat. Cooked fat is grease, raw fat is just fat.
•Cooked fat can also potentially lead to problems such as pancreatitis. Many pets have been known to get pancreatitis after their owners have fed them the cooked skin of the chicken they were eating. Of course, the owner thought they were giving the dog or cat a nice treat or snack, but it can cause serious health problems. Often, pancreatitis doesn't happen over night. Instead, this sort of problem just begins to happen slowly but when it does happen, you will wish it never did.
•Although some specialty meats are more expensive, I occasionally feed them to add variety.
•Examples of specialty meats are: moose, musk ox, bison, ostrich, emu, and venison.
•The good news about specialty meat is that the meat is usually very pure.
•If you are feeding poultry, such as boneless chicken thighs, use the raw skin as the source of fat. Since we feed a normal amount of fat, use a normal amount of skin. As an example, if you feed chicken meat that is 1 inch (2.5 cm) square, then use enough skin to cover the surface of the meat.
•When feeding poultry, feed dark meat rather than white meat if you can. Dark meats have more nutrition than white meat.

[Todd]

Very interesting. I wasn;t aware that dogs can't digest cooked well. I feed raw now anyway as you know. I will have to research more in to that. As far as raw fat, I have always been under the impression from research that an ideal number/percentage of fat is about 15-20%.