Questions About RAW Diet - Page 1

I am currently feeding kibble to my 2 GSD's - Fromm Chicken A'La Veg.  and it seems to be doing a good job, but I have been researching raw contemplating a switch and have couple of questions for those that do.
1. What are the benifits drawbacks to feeding a Commercial Frozen Raw (exp. K9 Kraving) vs. Homemade?
3. How much do you spend on a dog approx per week? Feasability?
2. For those who travel (trials etc.) with your dogs and or board your dogs how do you deal with the feeding then?

Thanks Michael

1. They get to chew real food, but commercial food is just slop. They LIKE to chew real food. They don't need anything that doesn't come in the real food.
2. It depends on where you buy the meat. I usually get it for 50 cents a pound from a grocer. So...maybe a buck a day per dog.
3. Everywhere you go, there are grocery stores selling your brand in the meat dept. When I board them, I take a big ice chest full of frozen, ice-packed, pre-packaged meals if they don't have a freezer.
 

double post

I just started raw feeding...
1. Only done homemade, but once they get the hang of chewing (and you may have to help them learn at first, depends on the dog) homemade seems a whole lot easier.
2. Same as above, I can usually find good meat for 50 cents a pound. When I compare that to what I used to feed, Orijen kibble, at $70 for 29.7 lbs....hmmm.
3. Haven't had to yet. I rarely board my animals.

i feed raw-    previously fed EVO.

Evo did great for my dogs but I now feed this concoction-

chicken backs w/bone and skin - 12$ for 40lbs  getting a great deal.
vertex supplement- i get at wholesale so not sure what retail is.
salmon oil-
kelp powder-
1 egg w/shell- once per week.
garlic/yeast pills-6$ for 1000.

plus I advocate fasting 1 day per week. so your actually feeding 6 days a week as well.


I am all for knowing exactly what my dogs are eating. so i would prefer non commercial foods. As well as i like to support small town butchers vs corporate venders. so i see benefit in many ways to feed yourself.

As far as traveling- i just throw meat in a cooler. frozen and ice packed. if im going for extended time periods i just stop at a grocery store and by a bag of thighs as needed.

I have been feeding raw for over 4 years.  I have an 11 year old dog (granted he's a Mali) and nobody would guess his age, they think he's 5 or 6, my other has been on raw since 7 weeks old, they are both extremely healthy and have great teeth and coats.  The stool volume is also reduced, they go #2 twice a day and no more.  You have to include a certain balance of meat, organs, bone, and also recreational bones for the teeth.  If you are concerned about budget, you don't want to buy pre-made mixes, but to supplement a diet its fine, such as Companion or Primal.

Fromm is a very quality kibble, it's out of Wisconsin, and they do make a good product, BUT I am not a believer in processed foods for dogs.  I wrote a good article that pretty much covers everything including reasons why, I will PM a link to you.

As far as the traveling, I will either bring a cooler or stop at a grocery store when I get there.  You can also buy freeze-dried meals that are still "raw", only reason I don't like buying that is b/c it's expensive.  Nature's Variety makes both a pre-made raw mix and a freeze dried for travel.  I won't give them kibble for one I think it's junk, for two it will give them terrible runs since they're used to raw.  I spend a decent amount for the meats, but I don't mind-- instead of having that Starbucks every day or buying something for myself, I would rather spend it on my dogs.

I feed a raw diet to my two dogs, mixes from Oma's Pride.  I used to feed EVO but they kept jacking the price up till a raw diet became affordable by comparison. 

I like the mixes because we don't have the time to make our own and I want my dogs to get a healthy variety.  We buy three different kinds of Oma's mixes... Turkey, Chicken, and Lamb based and they all have different veggies included.  It's pre-mixed and pre-ground and in good proportion... 70% meat/bone, 10% organs, 20% veggies. 

We are set up as a distributor and sell to other members of my club so we get wholesale pricing and share the shipping cost.  We have 2 freezers in our basement and we order in bulk, enough to last about 4 months.

When we travel on the road, we pack the mixes in the cooler along with some BEvERages and buy a bag of ice. 

For backpacking in the wilderness, we bought freeze-dried food from Oma's which can be reconsitituted with water.

If you "do it yourself" you could probably do it cheaper but we just don't have the time to deal with it. 

Yvette

I can't figure out why people think it takes more time...as one website put it, the recipe for chicken dog food is "hand chicken to dog."  Tripe recipe? "Hand tripe to dog." ETC ETC. That's about as easy as it gets.

You do have to go to craigslist and land a freezer or two, though. Can't do it without one of those, because the second you start, you will be scouring the available sources for cheap meat and the stuff begins to stack up!

Ditto on what Sue,

I like the Excalibur from GreenTripe.com.  It is as close to plain as it gets.  Pharaoh loves it.

XKALIBER: Green Tripe, Muscle Meat, Heart, Tongue, Trachea/Gullet and Ground Bone
This product is excellent for younger dogs and serious working dogs. It helps build muscle, bone and stamina. It is also excellent for older dogs if fed a couple of times per week.
This product was developed by GreenTripe.Com and is available only through GreenTripe.Com.
Product is available in 1lb, 2lb and 5lb size chubs.

Michele