[OrsonDogge]

I got started on raw because Sirius couldn't hold his weight on kibble, he was deathly skinny. We tried all different types of kibble and finally I gave in and tried raw, and lo and behold it solved the problem! When Shelby came along she just ate raw because that's what Sirius was on, and after he left we tried kibble again because admittedly it's a bit easier (not cheaper for us though!). WELL, she got serial and chronic staph infections which we are now STILL dealing with the side effects from the entire time we were on kibble. We switched back to raw, cleared up the last staph infection and it hasn't come back since. :dontknow:

yup, that is exactly why i switched Orson to raw. He was getting chronic staff infections and hair loss (along his back). He had to take anti-biotics every month.

 

[bodazafa]

On average - how much a month do you guys with two dogs spend feeding raw? I have been trying to convince Mark we should feed raw for years and he thinks it will be too expensive and time consuming. But it sounds like if we pre-portion out like Sara does and have it ready to go then its really only time consuming on the day we break things down. We also got a full stand up freezer recently so we have the room now to store stuff.

 

[TMP]

I spend around $100 every month and a half for 2 active dogs and 4 cats.
Sometimes a bit less if a good deal comes along or a bit more if I misplanned.

 

[3 PITS and a PEI]

I feed roughly 30 pounds a week. Last week I bought 300 pounds of chicken at .39 cents a pound thats about $120. Last night a neighbor gave me about 100 pounds of beef FREE and I already have about 30 pounds of FREE venison. My neighbor also promised me Bass this week so all I need now is about $20 worth of liver and such.

thats 430 pounds of food for $140 which lasts about 4 months. That works out to about $35 a month for 3 pits and a pei. When I feed kibble TOW costs me about $45 a bag which lasts about 1 week, which is $180.

Now it does not always work so cheaply but sales and generous friends can really make a difference. Like TMP said, bad planning can raise your price a LOT!

It doesn't really take that much prep., I usually bag the day I bring food home , which I usually do for hubby and I anyway. I just put their food in the fridge to thaw when I finish the dinner dishes.

 

[Sgtmax2001]

I would switch to Raw. Problem is Fridge space and Price. However, I have been doing a lot of reading (Thanks everyone on the ideas and links). Sally will be starting a Raw/Kibble diet. However, I am still not sure how to do it. Funny thing is I am starting her on veggies (Raw) when we eat them...the greens make sally fart like none other. She likes them and the vet said she would be fine to eat raw veggies and some fruit (I have a list of what not to feed her at home). I really want to go complete Raw, but the wife says we cannot feed the dog better than our kids eat…lol

 

[Sgtmax2001]

Oh and, I am waiting until she is about a year old to go 50/50 (We camp ALOT and backpack taking raw with me is not an option...lol). I LOVE MY DOG!

 

[Lisa]

Pros and cons of each.

We currently feed kibble because it's convenient for us, and I know next to nothing about raw. I'm interested in learning more about raw.

I'll edit the OP to include kibble pros vs cons. This is what I get for multi-tasking!

Don't you feed kibble Lisa? I know you talk about using the pup's food for training, I assume that kibble makes that a little easier. I just want to learn what I can about raw. We probably won't put Haus on a raw diet, but I'd like the knowledge for future reference.

Thanks Tasha.

Yes, I do feed kibble but I do supplement with a small amount of "human stuff"...maybe around 10-20%?? lots of eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, canned fish, meat scraps etc... nothing that requires too much work or costs too much.

At one time I dabbled in raw..I was feeding a lot of chick backs/necks, raw beef, organ meat, along with ground veggies and the other stuff I mentioned above. I didn't see a different in my dogs to warrant the extra time involved and yes, using food in training is also a big reason why I like kibble.

I honestly have nothing against raw feeding. I think what bothers me the most is when people blame diet for a dogs health problems..IMO dogs should be able to eat whatever..almost like a scavenger, yet remain healthy. If this means kibble is part of the diet so be it..lots of dogs have lived long lives on Pedigree or Ole' Roy...to me that speaks volumes. Whenever I see a breeder that is a big raw food advocate, red flags go up...why do they feed raw? Is it because their dogs don't have good enough digestive systems to to do well on kibble? That is the magic question. I don't like when breeders make excuses for poor temperament and I don't like how they make excuses to justify allergies and poor digestion either..the good ones shouldn't need any special diets or coddling. It's almost as if pet buyers have been brainwashed into expecting their dogs to have problems if they don't do this or don't do that. I think that's sad.

If you have a dog that can only do well on raw, THEN BY ALL MEANS FEED IT SO THEY CAN BE HEALTHY, but at the same time I don't think people should EXPECT to feed raw in order for their dogs to do well. JMO.

 

[mstngchic2012]

Lisa, would you rather see a breeder of good healthy working dogs feed kibble or raw? I'm just curious because when I graduate and have some more free time I really want to get into working dogs (not sure what kind of work yet, still researching). If I get some good dogs that prove themselves worthy for breeding, I would like to breed them. But I also want to feed my dogs raw. Would that cause red flags to go up?

 

[Lisa]

I am by no means saying that all breeders who feed raw are doing so to cover up digestive problems/food allergies in their lines. HOWEVER I do believe this is the case with some so when I see a breeder who is a strong advocate of the raw diet...I wonder; and would definitely question them if I was considering a puppy from them.

Look how many pet owners on this forum alone that feed a raw diet due to the fact their dogs can NOT eat kibble. Obviously there must be breeders who encounter the same problem as well?. What I like to know is... how do they handle that? Do they cull those dogs from breeding or do they breed them anyways and cover up the problem by feeding raw and demanding (I have heard of breeders who will not guarantee their puppies unless their new owners feed them raw) their puppy buyers feed raw too?

 

[mstngchic2012]

I don't want to turn this thread into a breeding ethics post but is it ethically wrong to breed a dog that has allergies even if they are healthy otherwise? I mean any dog can develop allergies just like people develop allergies. If you want we can PM about this if you would like.

I will say that it is wrong to not guarantee a puppy to someone if they refuse to feed raw.

 

[Lisa]

I don't think there is a black and white answer to your question. When decisions are made whether or not to breed a dog, EVERYTHING needs to be considered. Sometimes you have to give in some areas in order to improve in others...sometimes dogs that are exceptional in an area that the breed is not known to be exceptional in enough may have have a small issue somewhere else like a food or environmental allergy...yes it sucks that the dog has the issue but breeding he/she may be worth it because of the other things they bring to the table. What's important is that the breeder is open and honest about what their goals are and how they are going about achieving those goals INCLUDING those not so good traits that may have been bred in the process. Admit you bred the problem in and explain why you did so..

I guess I just think that since the majority of dogs being bred period, are nothing more than pet quality that it's inexcusable that problems like this get overlooked. Dogs that have not been worked or tested, yet are being bred even though they possess such an obvious flaw..makes no sense to me..IMO if a breeder is going to allow a dog to be bred with a problem such as a food allergy/sensitivity that they better have been tested HARD in all other areas to ensure that the dog has something to contribute to the gene pool that most others in the breed do not. Breeding dogs with such problems needs to be worth it. That being said I would wager a bet that the majority of dogs out there with a food allergy are NOT good enough to be bred despite their problem. IMO very few would be.

I hope that made sense.

 

[mstngchic2012]

That does make a lot of sense. Thanks once again for your very insightful knowledge, Lisa!

 

[TMP]

***

 

[american_pit13]

None of my dogs have any allergies or issues to make me need to feed raw so I have just never done it. Thought about it, but the kibble doesn't cost to much, my dogs eat well, and everyone is shiny and healthy, so no need for me to feed raw.

 

[OrsonDogge]

On average - how much a month do you guys with two dogs spend feeding raw? I have been trying to convince Mark we should feed raw for years and he thinks it will be too expensive and time consuming. But it sounds like if we pre-portion out like Sara does and have it ready to go then its really only time consuming on the day we break things down. We also got a full stand up freezer recently so we have the room now to store stuff.

i actually dont know how much i spend as it seems like i'm always buying raw (whenever i see a good price, i snatch it up).
but i try to keep it at $1.50 and below per pound and i feed about 71 lbs per month so thats equal to about $106 per month at $1.50/lb for 2 dogs, give or take a few bucks.

Lo is 53 and Orson is 65 so, Jen, you might feed about the same amount as i do.

 

[OrsonDogge]

I honestly have nothing against raw feeding. I think what bothers me the most is when people blame diet for a dogs health problems..IMO dogs should be able to eat whatever..almost like a scavenger, yet remain healthy. If this means kibble is part of the diet so be it..lots of dogs have lived long lives on Pedigree or Ole' Roy...to me that speaks volumes. Whenever I see a breeder that is a big raw food advocate, red flags go up...why do they feed raw? Is it because their dogs don't have good enough digestive systems to to do well on kibble? That is the magic question. I don't like when breeders make excuses for poor temperament and I don't like how they make excuses to justify allergies and poor digestion either..the good ones shouldn't need any special diets or coddling. It's almost as if pet buyers have been brainwashed into expecting their dogs to have problems if they don't do this or don't do that. I think that's sad.

If you have a dog that can only do well on raw, THEN BY ALL MEANS FEED IT SO THEY CAN BE HEALTHY, but at the same time I don't think people should EXPECT to feed raw in order for their dogs to do well. JMO.

my old sheepdog ate eukanuba all her life and lived to be 12 and had no skin issues. One main reason i would feed a healthy dog raw is that i like the teeth cleaning benefits. I wish i would have given my sheepdog a chicken quarter or two a week b/c at 10 years her teeth started to rot and fall out and that can lead to all sorts of internal problems.

 

[Lisa]

my old sheepdog ate eukanuba all her life and lived to be 12 and had no skin issues. One main reason i would feed a healthy dog raw is that i like the teeth cleaning benefits. I wish i would have given my sheepdog a chicken quarter or two a week b/c at 10 years her teeth started to rot and fall out and that can lead to all sorts of internal problems.

Very good point Sara! Bones are definitely great for the teeth! I find a marrow bone a few times per month definitely helps..never had a dogs teeth rot yet! So much easier to give some raw bones here and there rather than have to brush a dogs teeth! I actually refuse to do that.

 

[mstngchic2012]

How do you introduce a RMB into a dogs diet (a kibble only diet) every once in a while to avoid the runs? Or do you just give them and RMB and let them go to town on it?

 

[majestikmoose]

one thing to consider is sheer cost.

the average cost per lb of a good grain free food, or other "holistic" or human grade ingredients dog food is well over a dollar a lb, some foods are 2-3 dollars a lb.

with cheaper foods, this isn't a problem so much, but if you are concerned enough to feed a higher quality or speciality food, it costs.

now, generally the cost of raw is less than a dollar a lb, and depending on what you are getting, and the sales, it can be free, 50c a pb, etc.

that is LOADS cheaper than even middle of the road dog food. cheaper than foods like science diet and eukanuba. thats like, purina and ol roy prices per lb.

here a 28lb bag of EVO red meat is close to 80 bucks. for that price, we just picked up like, 160lbs of raw meats, possible more than that.

i don't have a scale here, but if someone does, i would be interested in seeing how much the average weight of a days worth of kibble for like, a 60 lb dog it. the weight of different foods would be interesting too, since the amount is different.
for raw foods, it would be just over a lb of food a day, so essitiantly, you could be feeding your 60lb dog for 50c a day.

 

[majestikmoose]

How do you introduce a RMB into a dogs diet (a kibble only diet) every once in a while to avoid the runs? Or do you just give them and RMB and let them go to town on it?

before introducing raw foods(or any new food, imo) i would fast the dog for a day. a whole day.
the next day, i would give a small raw meal, or marrow bone, and supervise the first eating session. watch the poop, and go from there.

if its like a leg quarter bone, or a bone where they eat all of it, it is NOT uncommon for them to not poop for a day, heck, when we first switched juggs over, he didnt' poop for like 2.5 days. then he started pooping just fine.

if its a larger marrow bone, where they just get the bits of meat, and marrow, they may have loose stools at first, but in general, they get used to it.