Introduction

Research show that a high-fat (HF) diet, compared to a high-carbohydrate (HC) diet, decreases cholesterol and triglycerides in man.

Objectives

To see if dogs on a HF-LC (high fat-low carb) diet change from a glucose metabolism towards a keto-body metabolism, we analysed 3-hydroxybutyrate, cholesterol and triglycerides from serum of dogs on HF-LC and LF­ HC (low fat-high carb) diets.

Methods

A total of 44 client-owned dogs were included in the analyses. Of these 26 dogs were fed a 100% raw HF-LC diet (50/0% in dry matter) and 18 dogs a 100% kibble LF-HC diet (17/48% in dry matter) for a mean of 129 days. All dogs were Staffordshire bull terriers. Triglycerides and 3-hydroxybutyrate were analysed from Li-hep plasma and cholesterol from serum. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test.

Results

There was no difference of concentrations of any of the measured values between the diet groups at baseline. At the end of the diet intervention cholesterol (p<0.001) and triglycerides (p=0.011) were significantly lower whereas 3-hydroxybutyrate (p=0.021) was significantly higher when the dogs had been on a raw HF-LC diet, compared to on the LF-HC diet. Indicating better liver function, also ALAT (p=0.015) and AFOS (p<0.001) were significantly lower after the HF-LC diet.

Conclusions

This study shows significant effect of the diet on fat metabolism parameters in dogs: eating a high fat diet changes the energy metabolism from producing and using glucose to producing and using ketone bodies. Type of cholesterols should now be analyzed in dogs.