# Another product for those wanting to give raw a try



## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

*Do NOT use Blue Ridge Beef, I was wrong about them.*

I have been doing some reading and talking to people and there is another lincae of premade raw that people can get that maybe people don't know about. Its from a company called Blue Ridge Beef www.blueridgebeef.com and if you go to the dealers link you can find where to buy it. They carry variety of types and they do have pre-made mixes for both dogs and cats.
And from all I can tell they are less expensive than the Natures Variety pre made


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

EH, seems like it is a *decent* pre-made brand...however the biggest problem for me is that you never know how much the meat-bone-organ ratio is! That can screw up poops, health and more!!


I personally find it MUCH easier on my mind to just use real food!


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Well its better than Natures Variety and for a fraction of the cost. The company rep. and some dog owners I spoke to say the meat turn over there is very high so be unlike several other pre-made raws that may sit for who knows how long this company may actually be out of a certain type of food if you go to order which means to me they are using fresher stuff. I also have seen the product and it is beautiful to look at,nice and red and a good texture. For someone who wants to do raw but may not be really to start hacking into solid pieces of meat or maybe they dont have the time this is better than some I have seen.
You mentioned the ratio thing. I have always wondered about something why are people so careful about this? If people are modeling a prey diet it doesn't make sense to me,I mean a wolf in the wild isn't going to say Oh sorry I can't eat more of X part of a kill because I am only suppose to have x amount of organ. I hear some people who say ah they just eyeball it and others so weigh each piece. Is there anything that I have missed reading where is says that if a dog on raw doesn't get x amount of something in each meal its going to be bad for them? I am learning myself and there are so many different sides to this whole raw thing it does it confusing that is why I was going with pre-made because to me it seems very confusing hard to do.

What about this food isn't real? I don't understand I didn't see any grains or fillers,no veggies it was all named stuff.


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

That is all true, but they also arent going to eat a TON of the bone and not the meat! The majority of what a wild animal is going to eat is the meat...and when stuff is ground you dont know what the percentage is(most places list it to be 30-50%!), thus your pet may not be getting what they need. The 80-10-10 ratio is because that is what natural prey percentage is-ish, most natural prey is not going to be anywhere near 30-50% bone! And what I REALLY dont like about this place is they dont even show what their percentage is!

It may be full on meat, but for me RAW is about feeding what your carnivore needs...meat, bone and organ...being able to tare at the meat, chomp on the bones, etc. 

YES this is better then kibble, Im SOOO not arguing that...HOWEVER you dont truly know what you are feeding other then meat, you dont know the meat/bone/organ ratio...and too much bone can lead to constipation and too much organ lead to the runs!! (Which both problems most people would then blame the RAW diet in general, without then realizing that they are just not feeding raw properly!)


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Ok I understand what your saying. I learning I just am trying to help others as well and from what I seen this product was better than most of the pre-mades I could find. For the most part the pre-mades seem to have very little meat or organs and tons of veggies and other stuff. Maybe there is a pre-made that I am not finding that is top of the line and actually lists the precentages of the stuff. 
I have never done raw simply because I find it confusing and I figure I can start with this mix and learn and add stuff along the way. I just want to help people that are feeling like me when it comes to raw and I wanted to share a product with others that I found to be good and since other members here have used it I figured it was pretty good and worth mentioning 
I did just send off an email to the company asking them if they could supply me with the percentage information,so I will see what they say.


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

Dont get me wrong, I think its great that people are getting away from kibble/cans and that there are processed raws that do NOT have veggies....HOWEVER processed is processed! And I feed 3 dogs and a cat raw, it really isnt that overwhelming, confusing or time consuming. Im actually helping my mum today swap her 2 dogs and cat over as well, and learn before her new puppy joins the family in August! Prey Model Raw is SOOO much easier then feeding your family, since it is just about meat(bone-in to start with, and then boneless and organs once you have dont it for a while)!LOL

I get the 4 pet's meals together for 3-4 days in less then 30 min ever few days, stick a couple days in the fridge a couple in the freezer and then pull and feed...ever 2-3 days I prep for another 3-4 days...I ALWAYS have at least a day's worth of food for all 4 animals on hand in the freezer so that if something were to cause me to not be able to prep one day it would be there for me!

We have a fridge/freezer and a medium sized stand up freezer for us/the babies...I have gotten 350-ish free food from adds on craigslist/freecycle/kijiji and buy using my co-op's deals when possible, and watch all of the local grocery stores for deals!

Just throwing it out there for the ease that RAW can be....but I wasnt trying to high-jack your thread....Im sorry! 


(If you would like more info on PMR please pm me and I can give you some great links along with answer any questions that I have answers to!)


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Oh your not high jacking at all. Opinions,questions,debates is what helps people make decisions. I value your input as well. When you say processed what exactly do you mean? I think of processed as cooked or otherwise altered from its original state making a totally different thing. I don't see ground as processed unless you cook it or add something to it to try and alter it. For example Deli fresh pet food,while its kept cold could be considered a raw but in all honesty it isn't raw because the product is cooked before hand,thus it isn't really a raw food just a form of canned food that you keep cold,IMO.


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

Thank you, I really appreciate your openness and willingness to talk about this all! 

And I suppose there are different views on processed foods...and, IMO, there are different amounts of processing(and like you stated a "deli fresh" is just another type of canned/pouch food!) And while ground may still be raw, IMO, it is still processed. Especially for the fact that its suppose to be for an animal, a carnivore, who needs to tare meat and crunch bone to keep their muscles strong and their teeth clean! 

I hope that makes sense!


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

I do agree that the tearing into some meat is what those teeth are made for. Do you think though that this is a good food for someone wanting to just get their feet wet and start raw feeding? My plans were to start with this product and see how it goes,if my dog digs it then I will start feeding "whole meats" and reducing the grind until I am totally onto the other. I know people say Ah its easy to just do raw but there is something about it that just seems overwhelming to me and I wonder if this is also a feeling that other feel,they want to do raw but are so worried they will screw it up and not give their dog what it needs. 
Ok so we have different opinions of what is processed,at least your willing to share your opinions and not try to say your way is the only waythat is right and belittle me for having a different opinion.


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

No I dont think it is a good starting point, mostly because it is a mix of unknown percentages. That can cause the stool issues I listed before, thus causing you to get discouraged, and doesnt allow-like having meat and bone on had does-you to add something as needed! Like say it gives one dog the runs...you dont have a chicken carcass on hand to give him a little extra bone. Or if it blocks one dog up(which these tend to do because they are so high in bone)you dont have the ability to just leave the skin on, or add some skin/fat or remove a little extra bone!

Does that make sense?

I just wrote out 2 HUGE emails to my Mum about starting the 2, soon to be 3 dogs and over weight cat on Prey Model Raw...IMO it is the easiest and most simple way to start out. She isnt computer savvy, and has eye issues that keep her from being on the computer longer then 10 min at a time so doesnt look things up that much...so I wrote out all of the info that I have gathered on both dog and cats! I am VERY excited to say that she will be putting their current 2 dogs and her and my over weight cat on PMR along with putting her puppy on it as soon as she picks her up in August!

It really isnt that time consuming, or confusing if you think about it in steps.

First few weeks your just going to do one protein(easiest on most dogs is chicken) so buy the cheapest bone in chicken that you have available(whole chicken is normally cheapest for most people, but some stores will put their leg quarters on a huge sale...which is great as long as they arent enhanced!) Then every 3-4 days(or even a week or more at a time) cut it into the sizes that you need(generally each dog is going to eat 2-4% of their perfect adult body size) and store those in ziplock or Tupperware containers. I keep anywhere between 1 and 4 days worth of food in my fridge, with the rest being refrozen, then its just pull and feed!


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Hopefully tomorrow I will get word back about the precentages in the food. But what your saying then basically holds true to all pre-made raw diets if Im correct since they list what is in them meat,veggies,etc but they don't list % or do you know of one that does?


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

momof3 said:


> Hopefully tomorrow I will get word back about the percentages in the food. But what your saying then basically holds true to all pre-made raw diets if Im correct since they list what is in them meat,veggies,etc but they don't list % or do you know of one that does?


Yes pretty much, and the only ones who Ive seen list have ridiculous percentages! Like 30% bone and 70% meat, 50/50, etc. But in the end who knows, they probably grind 100s of pounds at a time, so there is no way to tell what one tube is going to contain!

But I do look forward to hearing what their projected numbers are!


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

abi88 said:


> EH, seems like it is a *decent* pre-made brand...however the biggest problem for me is that you never know how much the meat-bone-organ ratio is! That can screw up poops, health and more!!
> 
> 
> I personally find it MUCH easier on my mind to just use real food!


I <3 feeding 2 of my 3 dogs raw, however the biggest beef I have (no pun intended, rofl!) is knowing where and how that meat was raised. I am not going to buy 10 pounds of chicken quarters at wal-martfor $4.99, because (for me) feeding meat from an unknown orgin/background that was probably pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones is no different than feeding a crap kibble. (This is why I love family farms and small butcher shops...I feel a bit better about it all, for my dogs AND myself)!


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> I <3 feeding 2 of my 3 dogs raw, however the biggest beef I have (no pun intended, rofl!) is knowing where and how that meat was raised. I am not going to buy 10 pounds of chicken quarters at wal-martfor $4.99, because (for me) feeding meat from an unknown orgin/background that was probably pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones is no different than feeding a crap kibble. (This is why I love family farms and small butcher shops...I feel a bit better about it all, for my dogs AND myself)!


I TOTALLY agree, I LOVE knowing what is in my babies food!! I LOVE when my co-op has deals from farmers in our area for great priced meat(like the calves we are getting soon for 35-50lbs for $35!!)...and when Im making more money it wont matter the cost, they will only be getting from local farmers!


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Please do NOT NOT NOT support this company. I am going to post the email they sent back to me. I wish there was a away to edit the title so others know about this company. I can not belive that they responded with an email that wasn't even wrote with capital letters. That right there is all it took for me. They gave me some bull crap answer about it being propriety mix that they couldn't tell me about. Screw that the product is being returned for a full refund.
Here is the original email in the exact form I received it. What type of business sends an email like this:

Hi Patricia
i am sorry
that is a propriety mix owned by BRB
please see attachments
thank you
Steve

I am happy to share the data sheets I was given if anyone wants to see what they sent.


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

momof3 said:


> Please do NOT NOT NOT support this company. I am going to post the email they sent back to me. I wish there was a away to edit the title so others know about this company. I can not belive that they responded with an email that wasn't even wrote with capital letters. That right there is all it took for me. They gave me some bull crap answer about it being propriety mix that they couldn't tell me about. Screw that the product is being returned for a full refund.
> Here is the original email in the exact form I received it. What type of business sends an email like this:
> 
> Hi Patricia
> ...


WOW!! Im glad that you DID email them! 

Ive got to say, that is the BIGGEST reason that I wont do ground...that and like I had said here it got pointed out on another forum when someone was contemplating a ground mix it is done in 300-500lbs batches...so who knows what one chub looks is full of compared to the next!!

And I would love to have the data sheets!


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Im so in shock,still. What type of company rep. sends out this type of email? Now I'm not english major but dang no capitals or anything and the way its typed. That says lots to me about the company. If you PM me I will send you the "data" sheets I was sent.


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

SERIOUSLY!! That is just SOOO unprofessional!!

And ok PM being sent!


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