Those of you who feed raw!!

[Daisy Duke]

How much, on average, does it cost you to feed per dog, per week, per day if possible? I want to convert, but my mom is afraid it will be more expensive. Please let me know!! Thanks!

[rottnkidd]

Hi Lynnn - I don't keep a record of what I spend on fresh food for my 1 dog, but a rough estimate would be about $2.00 to $2.25 a day, or somewhere around $60-70 per month.
It helps if you can buy in bulk and/or make friends with your local butcher, or the meat cutter at your grocery store! There are also co-ops throughout the country which can save you money if you're interested in buying in bulk.
I shop on Monday when alot of the grocery store meats from the weekend are reduced for clearance, and I've saved $.30 per pound or more, on meaty bones, ground meats and organs. Also, if you can assure the meat cutter that you'll be buying these meats on a regular basis, they may be more willing to work out a deal.
Best wishes -
kathy

[Daisy Duke]

thanks!!!!! I could maybe talk to the sam's club butcher

[BostonRott]

In my area, it is more expensive to feed raw, and since the dogs never went to the vet much when on kibble, switching to raw showed no great savings. I still think it's a great way to go, if you can afford it, but it's not always cheaper.

[rottnkidd]

Lynn - I do agree with BostonRott. There are many areas that are pricier, and there are many areas that don't have the variety of meaty bones, organs and meats available. It's very important if you choose to feed this way that you read about it, join a group, and get some guidance from those experienced in feeding this way.
Here's the url to the Midwest BarfBuyer's. This group is based out of Roseville, MN. They do require that you join their Yahoo!group prior to
placing any orders. http://barfbuyers.tripod.com I had a heck of a time getting this link to load up. I hope you won't have the same problem!
Best wishes -
kathy

[Daisy Duke]

Wow! that is really interesting. Thank You!!

[groupieindenial]

I just found a source for raw beef, .40 /lb, is that good? I was gonna try it out. Problem is they sell it in 60lb frozen blocks. How do I deal with that? Is it not good to thaw that kind of meat, repack and freeze? How the heck am I gonna cut in frozen in one solid block?

[MOKASMOM]

Originally Posted by Daisy Duke

How much, on average, does it cost you to feed per dog, per week, per day if possible? I want to convert, but my mom is afraid it will be more expensive. Please let me know!! Thanks!

Lynn,

I feed Raw to Moka except I don't prepare it. I already buy it all made up. Its made by Companion Natural Pet Food. The cost on average is about $100.00 a month. I buy 8 pound tubs that last about 4-5 days. If you dont want to make it yourself you can always see if Companion is sold in your area. The cost depending on if you use Chicken, Turkey, Beef, of Duck varies. Chicken is about $19.00 for 8 pounds and Turkey is about $21.00 for 8 pounds. If interested you can check out there website at www.companionnaturalpetfood.com

[BigMaxine]

i feed raw and i buy my meat in bulk through a co-op.. id say that it costs me about 2 dollars, maybe 2.50 a day to feed maxine... and thats almost all organic meat, too.

[Platzz]

Originally Posted by groupieindenial

I just found a source for raw beef, .40 /lb, is that good? I was gonna try it out. Problem is they sell it in 60lb frozen blocks. How do I deal with that? Is it not good to thaw that kind of meat, repack and freeze? How the heck am I gonna cut in frozen in one solid block?

It's O.K. to soft thaw it, then cut it into workable portions(like a weeks supply) and refreeze. I use plasticwrap AND freezer bagies.

Another good source would be local hunters. Goose & duck necks are good and not valued much for humans. Deer neck meat might also be available. Most hunters try very hard to put all the game meat to good use.

We feed a holistic kibble, Solid Gold's "Wolf Cub" and occassionaly suppliment it with Green Tripe(frozen), duck necks, sugar snap peas, frozen bannanas, berrys, melon, and plain yogurt.

[BostonRott]

Originally Posted by MOKASMOM

Lynn,

I feed Raw to Moka except I don't prepare it. I already buy it all made up. Its made by Companion Natural Pet Food. The cost on average is about $100.00 a month.

WOW!! And that's only for one dog!! EEEK! Now imagine if you had 4, 2 of whom are competition dogs (therefore eat more).

Each area of the country seems to have it's own "flavor" of prepped raw frozen food. We have one here in CT called Bravo (http://www.bravorawdiet.com) Great stuff!!! If you buy the larger tubes (i.e. the 5 or 10lb tubes), it's much cheaper.

I try to stay away from whole bones anymore (except chewing bones). I've heard entirely too many stories of people's dogs with perforations (dogs on raw diet, dogs who were healthy, etc). I'm just not willing to risk it. The Bravo mixes are ground. I thought about buying a grinder and grinding my own but none of them are guaranteed to work with bone and quite frankly, I don't have the time to spend hours each week grinding/aliquoting/bagging and freezing food.

[SonnyRott]

You can also try http://www.omaspride.com I know someone who buys their food in tubes from them and they are very happy.

[frontierrots]

Bea eats Bravo as well as Healthwise kibble and EVO at about 50% raw, 40% EVO and 10% Healthwise. The only reason she gets any Healthwise is the cost of the EVO

Originally Posted by BostonRott

I try to stay away from whole bones anymore (except chewing bones). I've heard entirely too many stories of people's dogs with perforations (dogs on raw diet, dogs who were healthy, etc). I'm just not willing to risk it. The Bravo mixes are ground. I thought about buying a grinder and grinding my own but none of them are guaranteed to work with bone and quite frankly, I don't have the time to spend hours each week grinding/aliquoting/bagging and freezing food.

AGREED!

additionally when I had Darla I made my own diet using ground meats, veggies I ground and adding calcium citrate. Here in NH there is a huge scarcity of veggie seconds so we have to buy off the shelf. Plus I have a small freezer. The cost of purchasing the ingredients + the time to buy, prepare and bag it works out to as much or more than buying Bravo all made and boy it's a big load off MY back!

Bea eats 12 oz Bravo, 1 cup EVO and 1/2 cup Healthwise per day. Once she's pregnant/nursing though those amounts will certainly rise- both raw and kibble. And yes we mix the raw and kibble together with no problems. Darla had no problems either

All my babies are started on Bravo finely ground chicken as soon as they start eating :)