Raw Pet Food

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

Kind of cool to hear them crunching on the bones.

Once in a while I'll give my bigger girl a whole chicken, now that's something to hear!!
First time I fed whole bones was kinda gross, and makes you think what a dog could do to your fingers if it was so inclined!

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by my2rotties

makes me mad but what can you do?

ship it to other dogs

[my2rotties]

If you were close we could work something out. The stuff if organic and ground very fine, very little fat and looks wonderful!!! I mixed it with garlic, and sweet potatoes and cottage cheese to make it enticing for them. Then I even made gravy to put onto it for crying out loud. My dogs are the best and most perfect dogs ever, so their picky eating is their down fall for me. If I allowed it and it was good for them, they would eat bison liver every day.

I paid forty cents a pound for the turkey... just brought some up from the freezer to try with them again. Rotten buggers...

Originally Posted by Aquattro

ship it to other dogs

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by my2rotties

If you were close we could work something out. The stuff if organic and ground very fine, very little fat and looks wonderful!!! I mixed it with garlic, and sweet potatoes and cottage cheese to make it enticing for them. Then I even made gravy to put onto it for crying out loud. My dogs are the best and most perfect dogs ever, so their picky eating is their down fall for me. If I allowed it and it was good for them, they would eat bison liver every day.

I paid forty cents a pound for the turkey... just brought some up from the freezer to try with them again. Rotten buggers...

Yup. dogs are ungrateful monsters. One of mine won't touch the venison...
I feed whole, so wouldn't use it, but I'm sure you could find someone that could feed their dogs with it.

[my2rotties]

They are so perfect in every way, I would rather deal with their picky eating instead of other things people deal with. The turkey is in the freezer and I will figure out a way to entice them to eat it. I guess I could starve them and give them no choice, but I just cant bring myself to do that to them.

I don't eat things I do not like, and don't want to be expected to eat it either...

They do have me whipped in the food department for sure.

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Yup. dogs are ungrateful monsters. One of mine won't touch the venison...
I feed whole, so wouldn't use it, but I'm sure you could find someone that could feed their dogs with it.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Diana

DON'T EAT IT YOURSELF OR FEED YOUR DOGS FACTORY RAISED FOOD ANIMALS! read read read before you consume any meat products and find out exactly where they come from. it is so unbelievably important.

the problem with that is last time I went to the local market and looked at a free range organic chicken, I would have needed a bank loan! I'm not sure what prices are like that side of the water, but I can't afford to eat anything but factory cows and chickens

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

the problem with that is last time I went to the local market and looked at a free range organic chicken, I would have needed a bank loan! I'm not sure what prices are like that side of the water, but I can't afford to eat anything but factory cows and chickens

This is so true. After I said I would feed the dog organic, my fiancee reminded me how much it costs. I guess its a bit of a lie to say we ONLY eat organic meat. We try to eat only organic but at times its just too expensive. I also eat out a lot and don't pay attention if its organic or not.

I understand the reasoning behind organic meat and I agree that its something that more people should be eating BUT if prices stay as they are now, people cannot be expected to make the switch and I doubt a high percentage of people ever will. Its just one of those things where it certainly may be better but the cost just doesn't allow most people to buy it. Many families can barely afford to buy enough "regular" meat for the whole family as it is now, let alone organic.

[Diana]

I know its expensive, but humans don't need to eat meat every day. I've cut down drastically on meat intake to be able to afford organic/free range/wild meat. We eat meat maybe 3 times a week, and thats all you need if you provide yourself with other protien sources such as eggs,nuts, seeds, beans, etc etc.

I understand also that we do not have kids to feed (other than the furry ones!) so its easier for us to eat more expensive foods. But honestly, since going organic/cutting out most meat our grocery bills have not gone up. Its all about portion control.

A great movie to watch is called Food INC. Its not super gross so don't worry too much about that- other than maybe when they show you how they kill entire herds of pigs at once using a giant garbage press (i will never in good conscience eat pork again). It talks about making smart choices at the grocery store, and a little more about the American way of producing food that is just spiraling out of control. Animals do not need to be treated in such awful ways, and you vote 3 times a day.


-Diana

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I buy chicken backs by the 40# case, which is the bulk of their diet. I then supplement with beef heart, kidney, liver and egg. When salmon are cheap, I buy whole fish for them. They get everything whole, so bones and all. Oh, and they love sardines packed in water.
For snacks, I have a freezer of venison carcass and lamb neck. For me, I buy meat at the grocery store that is marked down, we get a couple bucks off when it's got 2 days or less on the expiry date.

Some things to be cautious about; salmon must be frozen for 24 hours before feeding for risk of worms (forget the type). Pork should be frozen (deep freeze) for 30 days to kill any potential parasites (forget this type too ).
My vet did express concerns over dogs licking kids after eating for bacterial contamination.

I wouldn't buy the premade stuff since I don't know what goes in it, and it's more than double what my cost is now. For average consumer, it might be about the same cost as store bought meat.

So I guess the concerns about contamination are not a real concern if you don't have kids?

For those of you who were feeding kibble and then switched to a RAW diet, how did you do so? Slowly or just all at once? My puppy is somewhat allergic to his current food anyways, so I was going to just basically switch over all at once for his morning feeding and keep feeding the kibble at night and then eventually just do one feeding of the RAW a day.

Any other advice? I think we have decided to make our own. Still feel a little nervous about getting it right...I think because all the sites I have read and all the advice here actually make it sound so much simpler than I thought it might be.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Diana

I know its expensive, but humans don't need to eat meat every day. I've cut down drastically on meat intake to be able to afford organic/free range/wild meat. We eat meat maybe 3 times a week, and thats all you need if you provide yourself with other protien sources such as eggs,nuts, seeds, beans, etc etc.

I understand also that we do not have kids to feed (other than the furry ones!) so its easier for us to eat more expensive foods. But honestly, since going organic/cutting out most meat our grocery bills have not gone up. Its all about portion control.

A great movie to watch is called Food INC. Its not super gross so don't worry too much about that- other than maybe when they show you how they kill entire herds of pigs at once using a giant garbage press (i will never in good conscience eat pork again). It talks about making smart choices at the grocery store, and a little more about the American way of producing food that is just spiraling out of control. Animals do not need to be treated in such awful ways, and you vote 3 times a day.


-Diana

I hear ya and I wish organic were cheaper because I think many people would make the switch. You know how our society is though...out of sight, out of mind. Not an excuse but its tough these days to get people thinking about what meat they should choose when they are struggling to feed the family. I agree with you 100% though and I have seen some of the clips from that documentary.

I don't eat meat everyday, maybe 3-4 times a week. Never in the morning and rarely at lunch. I don't think our grocery bill has gone up a heck of a lot but we do not go to the grocery and buy a bunch of food at once, I go almost daily as its just down the street, so I do notice a difference if I buy organic meat. Again, not complaining but I know many people won't buy it whether they can afford to or not.