Why are kangaroo dog treats an important part of any dog’s nutrition

With so many false food claims in the human food chain, it might be easy to consider this title and article to also inflate the truth. But the facts are, that kangaroo is one of the cleanest best high protein meats on land, available to dogs anywhere.

There are many health benefits we will discuss, including their low allergy reactions, but we will mostly concentrate on their nutritional benefits here.

Kangaroo meat nutritional composition

The high-quality protein

When dog owners rave about kangaroo meat, they often are talking abut its high protein content.

This is protein is a vital part of a dog’s diet, and most commercial food has around 35% meat if you are lucky, so that the total protein of their food is around 20% when plant matter filler is factored in.

This means that when the meat is dried to around 10% water content (in good quality roo jerky) the protein can be as high as 55%!

This high kangaroo protein level supports your dog’s muscle development, repair, and overall bodily function.  If you reduce the amount of available protein, parts of this vital nutrients processes can miss out. 

Kangaroo meat is also very bio-available to a dog’s body.  Most plant matter is not, such as corn that is close to 50% useable.  So, when you feed a high protein percentage meat, that is species appropriate (carnivore domestic dogs) – and up to 90% of most of the amino acids in that protein are used by the dog – you can see how many great things this meat provides.

Roo meat fat content

Don’t get us wrong.  Animal based fats are vital for dogs.  They are used as energy and help with the processing of fat-soluble vitamins.  However most commercial dog food diets already give ample fats and oils.  Since fat provides around 2.2 times the energy of protein, you want to make sure that dogs don’t just get any regular fat, and that if they are to get extra, that it is the right type of fat for them.

This is where kangaroo meat really shines (literally – more on that later). Good quality kangaroo meat cuts can contain as low as 3-5% fat.  This is suitable for dogs on a low-fat diet – such as those with pancreatitis etc. The reduced fat content of roo meat also supports cardiovascular health and helps in maintaining a healthy weight (PetMD, 2021).

Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids

If you know about aafco dog food nutrient tables, that all dog food made in America (and globally) must reach, you will also know that they have specific rows in that table for the minimum level of Omega 6 and Omega 3 – the two main essential fatty acids.

It just so happens that Kangaroo meat also contains beneficial levels of Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids. These essential fatty acids are vital for maintaining healthy skin, shiny coats, and reducing inflammation.

Omega-3 fatty acids, in particular, are known to support bone joint health and in managing arthritis in dogs.

Omega oils are designated numbers after their name based on elements in their chemical chain, hence there are Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 9 etc.  But in meats these tend to occur in decreasing amounts as the numbers rise.  But most land meats are not high in Omega 3 – one of the most popular known sources are salmon meat, but price and difficulty to obtain that makes roo a much better option for many people.

What many people don’t know about the aafco Omega requirements is that besides the minimum amounts, Omega 6 to Omega 3 should be in the ratio (for regular dogs) of about 7 to 1.  When a dog has major skin issues a ratio of about 4 to 1 is even better.  The issue is that most commercial dry dog food gets its Omega 3 from flax seeds.   And that chemical form is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)

Salmon and Roo meat have Omega 3 in DHA and EPA forms.  The salmon oil typically is found in salmon in the quantity of 1.24 and 0.59 grams, respectively.  The oil itself in 1000 mg, makes up 300 mg of Omega 3 (DHA and EPA forms)

Kangaroo meat also contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.

This is the important part.  FLAX seeds (commercial dog food source of Omega 3) is in the form of ALA. And while ALA can be converted into EPA and then to DHA, the conversion (which occurs primarily in the dog’s liver) is very limited, with reported rates of 5 – 15%.

So, to get a good Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio of around 7, you need to use Omega 3 in the right forms of salmon or kangaroo meat.  NOT flax seed.  The low conversion rate means that the ratio can be blown out to be as bad as 30:1 or 70:1.   

When a dog doesn’t have enough useable Omega 3, its skin tends to dry out, and it can become very itchy etc.  It will become more prone to allergens entering between the cracks in its skin.

“The balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 in kangaroo meat contributes to an optimal anti-inflammatory effect, promoting overall wellness” (Animal Nutrition Journal, 2021).

Roo meat Caloric Density

Because roo meat has high protein and low-fat content, the kangaroo dog treats (single ingredient) have a moderate caloric density. Aafco dog food requires a minimum of 9% crude fat, and many dog food companies exceed this. Choosing dog treats with a NATURALLY low-fat content (not rendered that can also denature the proteins) is important.

Kangaroo dog treats typically provide around 250-350 kcal per 100 grams. If you use more fatty treats, then that is why the internet randomly says you can only replace 10% of your dog’s food intake per day with them. This moderate caloric level of roo meat makes them suitable for daily use without contributing to excessive calorie intake, an important part of dog weight management (Veterinary Focus, 2022).

Vitamins and Minerals

Kangaroo dog treats are a good source of several essential vitamins and minerals.

If you check your aafco tables, you will see that they require very high levels of vitamins and minerals – more than any natural sources can provide. The two main reasons might be, that they either want to exclude smaller players from making dog food, OR the chemical forms that dog food companies use to reach these minimum levels are NOT in a form that are easy for dogs to directly utilise.

If it’s this second reason, then you will probably want to have NATURAL forms of the vitamins and minerals (ie animal sources) – so that they can directly make good use of these. That is where roo meat comes in. Here are some of the higher levels that roo contains.

• Iron: The iron content in kangaroo meat helps in the formation of red blood cells and prevents anaemia. It will prevent your dog feeling tired all day too.
• Zinc: is an essential mineral for immune function, skin health (in conjunction with Omega 3), and wound healing.
• B Vitamins: Roo meat is rich in B vitamins. Especially B12, which supports energy metabolism and the health of the nervous system. (Canine Nutrition Foundation, 2022).

CONCLUSION

Many people with dogs that have high food or environmental allergies, but can’t completely avoid them, often get relief from feeding their dogs hypo allergenic roo meat.  This meat is so hypo-allergenic for many years it was the only one recommended for veterinarian exclusion diets to pin point the specific foods that were causing a dog allergic reaction.

The one thing we didn’t discuss in this article is kangaroo bones. They have one of the most varied and useful animal bone properties out there. Of course, there are many other bones available that you can feed you dog, the full splendor is available here to review.  So if you re interested in seeing how kangaroo bones stack up against all other major farmed animal bones, this is a good reference to see.

The clean organic high protein content is also ideal for providing very high bio availability amino acids, for dogs fed on commercial dog food diets.

Fat content is low, but the essential amino acid of Omega 3 which has great anti-inflammatory properties also helps keep a dog’s coat and skin in great form.

If you are looking for a better alternative to your regular land-based animal meats (farmed) – and you don’t want the mess and safety considerations of raw meat, then you can’t go past kangaroo based meat dog treats.