# Raw food vs. high quality dog food



## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Maybe this was already a thread (if so I'm sorry for repeating it), but what is the difference between high quality dog food (you know the ones that the ingredients don't start as corn) and the raw food (i think this is when you make your own food using meat and organs and other things). Is the raw food more cost effective? I just don't really know much about the raw food diet I guess.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Even the best kibble is highly processed. Kind of like the difference between eating TV dinners with veggies and eating fresh veggies.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

That makes sense, but is it more cost effective to make a big pot of the raw food and then dish it out throughout the week or so? Also how would you make this raw food? Is there like a recipe that makes it more convenient or something?


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

cost effectiveness depends entirely on how you do it. raw can either be cheaper then any kibble or totally unaffordable! there are lots of options. 

pre-made- can be VERY expensive, everything prepared into patties, logs or medallions that you just dole out. 

home prepared-depends entirely on how you do it and how much work you want to put in. I COULD feed my 8 medium-large dogs for pennies a week, but I simply don't have the time these days to spend a day gutting 80 chickens, or cutting apart large animal parts. if you have the time, inclination and sources(a hunters butcher-free meat and bones/hutterites-culled laying hens, few cents a chicken) then it can be extremely cost effective, vs going to the grocery store and buying full priced meats--that would get pricey

mixed-currently I buy pre-made whole animal logs and make my own mash with it, its priceier, but for me its more convient at this point but cheaper then entirely premade raw. 

there are recipes out there, if just starting its best to use them. I have been feeding raw for 12 years, at this point that dont follow anything, I just DO lol


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

For many raw feeders, raw is cheaper than high quality kibble but it depends what your available meat sources are.

Feeding raw isn't really too time consuming either. The time that goes into it is the buying of the meat (and initially finding sources), sometimes cutting up larger pieces of meat to an appropriate size for your dog and putting the meat in the dog's bowl or where ever you have them eat. So more time consuming that kibble yes, but not really as much as many people believe it to be. I spend about an 1-2 hours preparing my dogs food once a month.

You don't really need a "recipe" you just follow the basic guidelines of 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ, while trying to provide as much variety as possible in protein sources and achieving balance over-time (ie. every meal doesn't need to be balanced but over a week-month it should balance out). 

I am oversimplifying it a bit but that is the jist of it. I suggest anyone who wants to feed raw do research and if possible join a raw feeding group for support whether online or locally. 

If you want to learn about the prey model raw diet I suggest reading through www.preymodelraw.com


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Although we are currently back on kibble here, it is WAY cheaper to make a high quality raw diet than to buy high quality kibble. I found kibble to be $2-4/pound. My budget, which was not that hard to follow, was nothing more than $2/pound raw. Sales and nearing expiration at the grocery store is the best. And if you have friends that hunt and fish, even better for free. Once in a while I would splurge n something a bit over $2/lb, but not often. Also, if there are co-ops in your area that is a huge savings on raw feeding.

I can't think of any written menues. But there are guidelines for percentages if you look around.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Gally said:


> You don't really need a "recipe" you just follow the basic guidelines of 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ, while trying to provide as much variety as possible in protein sources and achieving balance over-time (ie. every meal doesn't need to be balanced but over a week-month it should balance out).


I'm trying to understand, does this make like a stew? I can just buy chicken with bones (or pork and add chicken bones) do you add any starches? also where can you buy organs? Maybe I just don't pay attention when grocery shopping but can you just buy the gizzards and things like that? Would you put chicken and pork in the same stew. Wait you cook it right? I heard you can put eggs in there too...ummmmm I feel like I'm being really stupid here but I seriously don't know.


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

No it doesn't make a stew and you don't cook it (then it wouldn't be raw). I just take say... a raw chicken leg and hand it to the dog, whole, bones and all. That would be one meal for him (he's small 26lbs). I don't add anything, no veg, fruit or grains. I buy organs at the butcher or grocery store. 

If you look at this sticky you can see people's typical weekly raw menues: http://www.dogforums.com/dog-food-forum/36501-raw-feeders-please-post.html


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

You just. . .give them the meat, LOL. No recipe, no stew, just meat (and bone and organs).

If you cook it, it's not raw . You can make a balanced homecooked diet, too, but tht's totally different from feeding a raw diet.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Ah thank you very much, I must be confusing myself with something else. Would something like I was talking about be good for a dog? lol that's a good point, I was just over thinking it then  i guess i was just being silly. Also is this raw diet actually good for a dog? Thank you for the link


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Like a stew? Yeah, you can make a homecooked diet for a dog. It takes a little more preparation and time, and you need to add supplements because some nutrients are destroyed by cooking (and you should never give a dog cooked bones). But, sure, it can be done.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

I didn't know that about the cooked bones, I guess I could cook the meat and take it off the bones and just give them the bones after the meal.


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

You may have been thinking of the BARF diet which typically is ground meat and pureed veggies, fed raw. I don't know much on the details and percentages of that style of feeding. You can also do homecooking which does require a recipe. If you want to look into homecooking I suggest doing some research and always following a recipe: http://www.dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Well, you'd want to do it right! Too much or too little of any nutrient and you've got trouble (if you're feeding it as a sole diet. If it's just for the occasional dinner you don't have to worry about balancing it). I'm sure there are websites that tell you how to make a properly balanced homecooked diet, but I don't know of any right now, sorry. 

ETA: oops, Gally beat me to it! Good link.


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## Wolfius (Mar 13, 2013)

Raw food I think is less expensive, in the sense that my mother and I are already health conscious folks. So at some point, a raw diet has the same basic ingredients and omnivore human would have. So it makes it easier when you and your dog eat just about the same, except for me. I have so many food allergies. But my mom, not all the weird mixtures mind you like fish and liver, ehem. So at some point you're sharing the same ingredients.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

That was a great link, it gave a really specific recipe which was great (I prefer the cooked diet, idk why but the raw diet just makes me uneasy. Not saying it's necessarily bad, just not what I would think is ideal.) The only thing that puts me off is it's in ounces....I really wish it said cups or tsp or Tbsp, I suppose by BF could figure it out, he's a bit smarter than I am about those things. Plus he would probably cook it anyway because I can't cook at all lol lets just say I've burnt water on 3 separate occasions. I can bake awesome though, so maybe I'll bake the puppy some homemade dog treats once in awhile (when I get the puppy of course). He's going to be spoiled so much  oh when I say spoiled I don't mean he's going to get away with anything just that he will be super loved and have lots of toys


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

There are recipe books you can buy for homecooking for you dog. You might find those more convenient and possibly in a measurement you are more familiar with. I would just make sure the recipes are either written by an animal nutritionist or the book is approved by one.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

That is some very sound advice and i thank you for it  I'm sorry for posting so many threads I just want to make sure that when I get my puppy he will have the best of everything because I was educated. I know that this is what the dog forum is for, but I feel weird posting so much stuff when I don't actually have a dog yet.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

kcomstoc said:


> I didn't know that about the cooked bones, I guess I could cook the meat and take it off the bones and just give them the bones after the meal.


It depends on the bone. I let mine have a bit of rib bones, after cooking, but it makes their stool hard.
Other bones are decent.
Chicken bones SHOULD NOT be fed to a dog after they've been cooked. They are DANGEROUS. If you're going to give chicken bones, they need to be raw with the meat still on them.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

I will def remember that, don't want my at some point dog getting hurt by my stupidity.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

If you do raw make sure you spend ample time researching. A bad raw diet that is not balanced is much worse than good kibble. You could also do like I do and do a partial raw diet.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

I think if I don't go with a good kibble then I'll do a cooked diet


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Cooked diets are even more complicated to get right and balance. I know a couple people that do full cooked diets but they supplement. A lot.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

I knew about supplements, but I didn't know they have to have so many....maybe just a good kibble then. I heard eukanuba rice and lamb is good


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Eukanuba is fairly crummy, ingredients-wise, and overpriced for the quality, IMO. Check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com for some better suggestions.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Wow I didn't know  I've never even heard of Acana or any of these foods


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## DaisyDC (Feb 24, 2013)

Willowy said:


> Eukanuba is fairly crummy, ingredients-wise, and overpriced for the quality, IMO. Check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com for some better suggestions.


I have to say that price for quality was a big reason for switching off the Science Diet my rescue dog came on. For what you'd pay for SD or Eukanuba, you can buy something like Taste of the Wild (whose lamb flavor is what we initially switched to) or Fromm, which is what we're on now. The big box pet stores don't carry a lot of them, but if you've got something like a Tractor Supply near you, you may be able to find them for even less than something like Eukanuba. I just couldn't, as a rational person, feed my dog a food with corn higher up the ingredients list than the feed my horse gets. And I am not much of a human cook, let alone a dog cook, so we went with good kibble.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Here is a great guide for beginning a prey model raw diet. I feed two huskies and two cats (100 lbs of pets total) for about $2/day. Price will depend on your area and what's available.
beginners guide to prey model raw 

You do have to do your research with any raw or home-cooked diet to make sure you're doing it right. It's easy to do right but it's also easy to do it wrong and vets do see dogs harmed by an improper raw or home cooked diet.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

For the puppy application I just sent out (fingers crossed) it says feed them Canidae, or something that is high end like that


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

Raw feeding is perfect healthy - depending on the dog of course. Some dogs don't take well to raw, but I'm willing to bet most do if its done properly. My dogs have both been raw fed since puppies (they did eat high quality kibble occasionally but are both on %100 raw now), you take a peek through my album and tell me if they don't look healthy...lol. My Kelpie mix is nearly 2 and my Shiba Inu is over 7 years old now and he looks and acts no more than 4 or 5 years tops.

Like everyone else has said, it can be expensive and a lot of work depending on how you do it, for me, its a lot less money than high quality commercial dog food, and a lot more time and prepping, but I'm seriously crazy about my dogs and theyre a huge priority in my life so I have no problem giving up a day out of the month to spend getting elbow deep in animal carcasses to prep meals for them for a month.

I do feed a high quality premade raw diet for days when I'm in a rush, or when we're camping or travelling, it is extremely expensive but I am able to afford the convenience of it occasionally. 

Absolutely no cooking. You might be thinking of a homecooked diet, some people do this, but it is even more work, IMO, because you have to take extra care into ensuring the diet is balanaced properly as many nutriets get depleted during the cooking process.

My raw diet consists of nothing but meat, bones and organ, I follow a guideline approximately %80 meat, %10 bone and %10 organ. Its not always exact. Since dogs are carnivores and more accurately "opportunistic carnivores", fruits, grains and veggies are not an essential requirement in thier diet. The food industry would just have us believe this because fruits, grains and vegetables are inexpensive fillers in commercial dogfood. Most dogs develop food intolerances and allergies to a lot of grains and veggies because realistcally their digestive system isn't designed to digest them but many dogs do fine with them in their diet, but for raw feeders, its not preferred. My dogs dont eat any grains, fruits or veggies other then the odd treat or scraps from our plates.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I am so glad you are thinking about your future dog's food now. Read through all of the nutrition information on dogaware, it is a gold mine of information. Not just cooked or kibble or raw, everything. In case you don't feel like scrolling through the responses - http://www.dogaware.com/diet/index.html

I am completely sold on feeding fresh food to my pets. Sassy survived 3.5 years after a diagnosis of kidney disease eating my cooking and Max is far better off today at the age of nearly 13 than he was 5 years ago as an 8 year old. I tweak and adjust constantly and try to make Max's food better all the time as I learn more about nutrition and what MY dog needs.

Figure out if you have the resources to deal with feeding fresh food - room in the frig, stores to buy cheap mat, time and kitchen space to deal with it, the extra money it might take. If it looks like more than you are up to doing then see how to add fresh food to the kibble and how to choose a kibble, both are pages on Dogaware. Just kibble is fine, cooking is fine, raw is fine - up to you. Just be aware what a dog diet looks like and figure out what is most comfortable for your particular situation.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Well if I don't learn about it now then the one that suffers is the puppy, and if I don't figure it out before I get him and he starts eating one food and then I find that a different food is better. My point is if I keep changing the food then the poor puppy's stomach is going to suffer  Thank you for the link  I appreciate it, also I wanted to know if what the dog breeder said is a good food. The Canidae all age cycle one is the one i like the best


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Canidae is a decent/good food. 

But... not all dogs will suffer for a change in diet. In fact a lot of people purposefully change their dogs' diets. either by protein source (so picking one brand and rotating formulas), or then you get the crazies like me whose dogs eat something different almost every day. 

There are a lot of different schools of thought as far as dog feeding goes.


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

Laurelin said:


> If you do raw make sure you spend ample time researching. A bad raw diet that is not balanced is much worse than good kibble. You could also do like I do and do a partial raw diet.


yeah, my dog started losing weight on raw because i wasn't doing it right so now i do partial.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Laurelin said:


> Canidae is a decent/good food.
> 
> But... not all dogs will suffer for a change in diet. In fact a lot of people purposefully change their dogs' diets. either by protein source (so picking one brand and rotating formulas), or then you get the crazies like me whose dogs eat something different almost every day.
> 
> There are a lot of different schools of thought as far as dog feeding goes.


 Yep! Here's a good discussion about the whys and hows of rotating foods: 
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/how-often-should-i-change-foods.html


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Some comparisons to consider:
- Raw takes 4-6 hours to digest, kibble 14-16 hours (it's more taxing on their digestive system)
- Raw has benefits like cleaning your dog's teeth (if given raw meaty bones)
- Kibble dehydrates your dog, which is why your dog drinks a lot of water right after eating the kibble
- Kibble is always fortified with vitamins and minerals that have been destroyed by the cooking process. Most dog foods, even the high quality dog foods, use vitamin packets from China for this. Just recently Blue Buffalo had a recall on foods due to the vitamin packets.
- Raw is dangerous if not done properly, more so than feeding your dog mediocre kibble
- Kibble is more convenient


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Kibble is def more convenient, but if it's better for my dog to eat raw then I want what's best for him. I just don't know exactly how to do it, do I just go to the butcher get some chicken with bones, some pork, and lamb with bones, and organs, and just put it in his dish? Obviously not all of that food at once but a little of each for each meal. Also with buying all this meat, I feel like it would be more expensive.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Buying meat can be expensive. I can't find any sources that would make a full raw diet affordable for me, with 3 large dogs . But some people have better resources---some cities have raw feeding co-ops, if you know when your local store/butcher marks the meat down you could stock up, if you know hunters you might get some scraps, if you know anyone who's cleaning out their freezer, well, dogs don't mind freezer-burned meat!  Etc. But if you have to pay full retail, yes, it will almost certainly be more expensive than kibble.

Check out the link Sibe posted for full instructions on how to get started . You don't want to go too fast.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Right, just get whole or quarters of chicken for at least the first week or two.

You can figure costs before starting. Multiply the ideal adult weight of the dog by 2%, that is the daily starting point. Then by 30 and you have the amount of meat needed for a month. Easiest way to raise up a pup on raw is to offer the amount they would eat as an adult. If pup doesn't want it all fine and you feed more or less depending on how pudgy the pup is.

Over and over again I did this calculation, was boggled at how little it really costs to feed raw. Max gets 10 ounces a day, 19 pounds a month. Then figure you need 5% liver and 5% other organ, for Max that is conveniently 15 ounces of each, a pound. That leaves 17 pounds. The maximum bony chicken I would feed would be half so that makes 8 pounds of chicken and the rest should be boneless red meat. Organs rarely go on sale, about $2 a pound=$4. Chicken can be found for ~$1 a pound=$8. Pork can be found around here for less than $1.50 a pound=$7.50 for 5 pounds. Beef, hamburger, is expensive, $2=$8. That adds up to $27.50 for the month for my 38 pound senior citizen dog. Usually it is much less as I have a freezer and wait for the best price I can find and really stock up!


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Wow  thank you for breaking it down everyone. I'll read up on it and be prepared before my little bundle of puppy arrives


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## Fade (Feb 24, 2012)

I am a normal person on a normal budget and was sick of only being able to afford budget dog food. So I took the step to raw last month. And its amazing. At first It was a little tough to wrap my head around giving a dog a raw chicken quarter. but think about it. A dog is a carnivore. Perfectly developed to process raw meat, bone, and organs. Like someone said to me once. Dogs never invented fire to cook with =-) Peoples house cats catch and eat mice all the time and they think nothing of it.

Ever since I started my dogs on raw the first thing I noticed was the little amount of stools they produce. Very little waste. It digests so well. Its staggering the difference in the poops.
Their energy levels are much better. Breath is much fresher. Hair glossier. Less shedding. Flashs skin issues are clearing up. They seem happier. After they eat their meals its almost like they are on a doggie high. They are so HAPPY like it switched the happy button on. This is only after 1 month =-)

( also it takes a lot of research to jump in to raw feeding. you have to make sure to follow the proper % and also start them off right. You should not start with organs for awhile. Bone should be fed in mostly ever meal to help the dogs to not get the runs. Many dogs get the runs when they first start, the bone helps it to be solid. You can only feed certain types of bones. ( NO COOKED BONES ) Its quite a complicated process but once you learn it and get it to sink in its no different for me then filling their bowls up with kibble. Only I need to disinfect afterwards =-) )


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Very nice Fade!

Only you do need to disinfect after feeding kibble same as feeding raw, it is almost as likely to carry bacteria as raw meat sad to say.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

You disinfect after each feeding or after each day? Also do you just use normal dish soap or bleach or vinegar? Thank you Fade for posting on here so I can see that I can do it too, I def need to do more research on it though just so I know I'll be doing it right.


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## TRDmom (Mar 3, 2013)

Dog Food/Kibble is more convenient and you don't have to worry about sanitation like you do with raw meat. I feed a high quality dog food and add raw meat. Sometimes they get it a few times a week, but lately it hasn't been as frequent. I would feed raw more if I could find it cheaper than I do.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Someone (sorry I don't remember who) posted on here ways to save, if you're looking for some


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

TRDmom said:


> Dog Food/Kibble is more convenient and you don't have to worry about sanitation like you do with raw meat. I feed a high quality dog food and add raw meat. Sometimes they get it a few times a week, but lately it hasn't been as frequent. I would feed raw more if I could find it cheaper than I do.


 Ha! Have you seen how many hundreds of people have gotten sick or died from getting salmonella from kibble? You absolutely have to worry about sanitation no matter what you feed.

The CDC even has a page for warning people about salmonella in pet foods and treats. http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/dog-food-05-12/pet-owners-info.html

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/dog-food-05-12/index.html
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/201...salmonella-outbreak-sickened-49-cdc-says?lite
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/201...-sickened-by-dry-dog-food-lawsuit-claims?lite


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

For the OP: are you in the States? I've been feeding a pre made raw but am switching to a ground (my husband isn't into prey model raw, not yet). I'm getting it from Hare-Today.com. It's ground meat, bone and organ and tripe in the beef. You don't need to add anything, just weigh nd feed. It might be something to look into.


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## Fade (Feb 24, 2012)

kcomstoc said:


> You disinfect after each feeding or after each day? Also do you just use normal dish soap or bleach or vinegar? Thank you Fade for posting on here so I can see that I can do it too, I def need to do more research on it though just so I know I'll be doing it right.


I lock my dogs in the kitchen to eat. and then I clean the floors and bowls and counter tops with a mixture of 50% white vin and 50% water. and anywhere I touched while handling the meat. after each meal. it only takes a min or so. I never did it with kibble I never really thought about it! now thinking about it. I probably should have. I guess you just assume things are safe and I never looked into it.

To keep on budget I frequent the local hispanic store. My 3 meats are chicken pork and beef. they are easy to get and relatively cheap. the beef being the more expensive one. I always have a easy to attain supply of fresh organs from this store right over the meat counter. I think it averages about $10 a week. Which is about what I paid for feeding 3 large dogs on kibble.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

thank you that is exactly what I wanted to hear


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

InkedMarie said:


> For the OP: are you in the States? I've been feeding a pre made raw but am switching to a ground (my husband isn't into prey model raw, not yet). I'm getting it from Hare-Today.com. It's ground meat, bone and organ and tripe in the beef. You don't need to add anything, just weigh nd feed. It might be something to look into.


I do love Hare Today, although it's too expensive for me for 3 big dogs. And giving my cats llama or ground guinea pig sort of amuses me in a weird way . (They like llama. Not ground mouse, oddly. I haven't actually tried the guinea pig yet). Www.mypetcarnivore.com is a similar company, depends where you live which one is better for shipping.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Yes I live in the states NY, so Hare-Today looks awesome because it's already all ground together and ready to go.  LOVE THIS LINK, plus because I'm only feeding 1 dog I should be able to handle the cost and I don't have to worry about screwing it up right?


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Willowy said:


> I do love Hare Today, although it's too expensive for me for 3 big dogs. And giving my cats llama or ground guinea pig sort of amuses me in a weird way . (They like llama. Not ground mouse, oddly. I haven't actually tried the guinea pig yet). Www.mypetcarnivore.com is a similar company, depends where you live which one is better for shipping.


I got my order a couple weeks ago, haven't started it yet, finishing up the Darwins I have. While it is expensive, it was less expensive than the Darwins and it's just meat, bone & organ so I'm paying for that, not veggies. I'm in NH, Hare Today is in PA, not sure where MPC is. Should probably take a look


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

kcomstoc said:


> Yes I live in the states NY, so Hare-Today looks awesome because it's already all ground together and ready to go.  LOVE THIS LINK, plus because I'm only feeding 1 dog I should be able to handle the cost and I don't have to worry about screwing it up right?


Whereabouts in NY? I was born & raised outside of Buffalo. Anyway, I've had lots of people recommend Hare Today but before I started with the pre made raw, I thought it was too expensive. Turns out it's cheaper than the pre made. They have it in 5 pounds, 2 pounds and 1 pounds. It's only 10 cents a pound more to get the one pounders so thats what I got.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

I was born in a very small town that probably is unheard of but I live a little ways off from mount morris


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

I'm trying to figure out where people buy meat for $2/lb...

Guess we don't have that in the suburbs of D.C.? 

That said, kibble isn't the only high-quality dog food. I feed Honest Kitchen, which is basically dehydrated raw food, and tried a fresh food I saw at Petco one day to see if Wally would like it (he devoured it). 

I guess most would consider that "raw food" considering that's where it comes from, but it's not like I throw him a steak (can NOT afford to feed him raw like that).


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I can find chicken thighs for about $1 a pound at Sam's Club. At Walmart, chicken quarters are 79 cents a pound. I can find pork for $1.99 a pound. Beef is expensive. . .$3 a pound for the cheapest cuts but they do have a lot of fat so I'm sure the price for the actual meat is higher. Might be cheaper to pay $4 a pound for a lean cut. But I'm sure it is more expensive in DC! 

One of the bigger problems I have is sourcing. I could probably manage to feed all raw, financially speaking. But where am I going to find 300 pounds of meat a month? (Cats and dogs) I guess I could go to Sam's and fill my cart. . .I've seen people do that. But yikes.

I also order the 1-pound chubs from Hare Today. I once ordered a 5-pound chub and it took a week to thaw . So yeah, as long as it's only 10 cents more I'm willing to pay for the convenience.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Willowy said:


> I can find chicken thighs for about $1 a pound at Sam's Club. At Walmart, chicken quarters are 79 cents a pound. I can find pork for $1.99 a pound. Beef is expensive. . .$3 a pound for the cheapest cuts but they do have a lot of fat so I'm sure the price for the actual meat is higher. Might be cheaper to pay $4 a pound for a lean cut. But I'm sure it is more expensive in DC!


Yeah, even at Sam's, it's more than $1 a pound  and that 79 cents for chicken quarters just makes me want to cry. 

Heck, at the Commissary, it's more expensive than that, and that's cheaper than any of the grocery stores around here. 

I won't even think about the price of beef. Sirloin is about the leanest that's not ground - that or rib eyes (my gosh...the price of those...)


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Brisket is the cheapest beef cut I've found. Fatty, though, like I said. And you have to buy a 20-pound hunk of it at Sam's . Chuck roasts can be on the cheaper side. The 79 cent chicken quarters are a 10-pound bag for $7.99---you can't buy smaller amounts. Sirloin and rib eyes, no, those are expensive!

The good thing about the Commissary is that they usually have the weird cuts like hearts and kidneys and stuff like that, for the non-American wives . So you might look at that kind of thing.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

They don't have beef round or chuck? No pork shoulder? They cost $3-4 a pound if not on sale, the Mexican markets usually have pork for $1.50 and I gave up and bought beef rump roast for $2.80 a couple weeks ago. My white bread market has those even though heart and kidney is only found by a fluke and the only lamb is frenched rib racks. It even has chicken liver all the time. Max's all time favorite beef was shank, it sounded like he was crunching bone as the connective tissues were so tough. I cut out the actual bone, it is the leg and much too dense to be safe to gnaw on. Think cheap stew meat, not steaks and I don't just buy meat, I wait until the price is the lowest possible. Check the clearance bin too. My market is putting coupons on older meat, sometimes that brings the price per pound down low enough to be worth buying.

Do the math, even though meat seems expensive dogs don't eat as much as you would think. When I could get $1 pork I easily fed Max for less than $20 a month.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Hmm... Looking on MPC site and wondering about duck and turkey necks.  Those are good for teeth cleaning right? I'm nervous to give Jubel beef ribs because I fear him swallowing them. The odds of him chewing more feels higher with a duck/turkey neck. Might be worth it to buy some of those and give one every week or two.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Willowy said:


> The good thing about the Commissary is that they usually have the weird cuts like hearts and kidneys and stuff like that, for the non-American wives . So you might look at that kind of thing.


Good point. I used to give him some "Korean ribs" (don't know if they are actually Korean or why they are called that, heh) but...they jacked the price up on those once the demand took off. 

That said, I'll have to keep an eye out on the organ meats like you mentioned. Thanks for the tip!


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

I get most of my meat from the commissary on the Naval base. They frequently have beef heart, tongue, kidney, and liver. Also have whole ungutted sardines. Pork belly, tails, roasts. Chicken liver, hearts and gizzards.


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

If you have a butcher, ask them for the less common cuts. They don't always keep them out at the counter. My butcher keeps heart, organs and necks in the freezer in the back. Sometimes they will make it to the front freezer but they always have other stuff in the back.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

Is it safe for dogs to be given the necks? I don't exactly know about what bones are in there. Is there anything they can choke on? Would you give one to a puppy?


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## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

Yes dogs can eat the necks. Turkey necks are usually best because they are a good size but if you have a small dog a chicken neck could work too. As long as the neck is appropriately sized they are great teeth cleaners. My 26lb dog eats turkey necks frequently as well as chicken necks with head attached.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

great news that it cleans the teeth


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## Juniper's mom (Jun 13, 2009)

I just started feeding partial raw. I did lots and lots of research -- I absolutely love the "pictures of raw dinners" on this forum. At first I was nervous abt giving big chunks of raw meat to my dog, but when you give them a raw drumstick or chicken wing you can just see by the way they grind it up that this was the way nature intended for them to eat. That's why they have the teeth they have. 

Initially I was feeding a raw premade mix but it costs serious $$. Now, I do homemade stew for breakfast (made with chicken, spinach, sweet potato and rice), with a small piece of raw meat (chicken wing ideally) on top. I live in an apartment and with the small pieces of meat, she won't drag it around the house. A grocery store near my house has chicken backs cut into quarters for a little more than a dollar a lb, one of those is perfect. There's good stew recipes online -- I cook a good size batch and freeze it. Just FYI, homecooked food really should be pureed b.c. otherwise the dog won't get much nutrient value from the veggies in it. 

She gets Orijen for dinner. I was a little worried about nutrients and cost of moving away from dog food and I may just be a nervous Nellie, but basically I am trying to hedge my bets with the mix of foods, giving the benefit of cooked and pureed (the veggies), bones with raw, and "optimized" nutrients of high quality dog food. Agree with others that raw bones play an important role in a dog's diet. I was absolutely floored by how quickly tartar deposits went away. Her teeth and coat are absolutely marvelous, and no more tummy issues! I am a convert.


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## kcomstoc (Mar 9, 2013)

I just read that popular link on here on how to properly do raw food and I am so stoked about it. I made my BF read it too and he said I did a very good job for researching what would be best for our puppy.  I am so happy and can't wait to get the puppy so that I can actually start all of the responsibility and love and cuteness it involves


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