www.pets.ca forums is a REALLY good place for advice on raw. They have a whole section for it. If you DO go raw, you need to do it right, and feeding ground meat is not the proper way to do it. When you buy the ground meats (even if they are designed for doggies) they have way too high of a fat content, too high of an offal content, too high of a bone content, and too low of a lean muscle meat content. Dogs should not be fed any considerable amount of vegetables, fruits, or grains as they do not have the ability to digest it properly. Green tripe (either canned or bought raw) is a great source of partially pre-digested greens for dogs, plus it contains stomach acids to help break it down, contains natural probiotics, and keeps the digestive system healthy and of a good pH.

When you feed raw this is what it should look like. There is a can of Tripett brand tripe in there too. The bowl contains 2 large scallops, 1 bone-in chicken back half, and a 1/4 can of Tripett. It should be chunks of raw meat, as this causes the dog to chew it lots, and this produces a lot of saliva which helps to break down the food, it also cleans their teeth, and massages their gums to keep them healthy.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...Feb32008-1.jpg


That's just an example. When you feed beef it should be what you would normally call a roast or steak. If you buy in bulk you can get most meats for $1-2/lb. I have found beef to be the most expensive. A 10 lb Sirloin Tip "chunk" (before they cut it into steaks) should be about $30-35. Use lots of chicken and fish, some beef, and a little bit of pork.

There are some risks you should be aware of. First, it's raw meat, so you need to be just as cautious when you feed it to your pet as if you feed it to yourself. Wash their bowl between every meal, don't leave meats out to thaw on the counter (thaw in the fridge), use clean utensils and cutting area. This is to prevent E coli and salmonella infections. There have been a few cases of dogs getting shards of bone piercing their intestines (this is natural in the wild too), which is a costly surgery, and more common in dogs that gobble their meals without chewing so well. If you are paranoid about bones, buy your meat and get your butcher to grind up the bone-in pieces. Every meal should have some bone in it, and 3-5x a week there should be some offal.