Jax west bloomfield, MI 10/15/2008 9:18:05 PM Pretty tired of reading how cheap raw is. It isn't. Chicken quarters cost $5.98 for a 10lb bag. Thats roughly $.60/lb. Not bad huh? Well, my great dane eats 4lbs/day but you can't just feed chicken quarters only..so when you add 2lbs of cq=$1.20: 1.5lbs of beef=$2.25/$.75 of organs..you come to $4.20/day= over $120/month. When I used Kibble I used Merrick which is a good brand at it cost me $48/month. Finding good deals isn't possible for everyone so let's be honest for the newcomers and let them know what they may be headed for.
Lee C Sutton, NH 8/18/2008 5:47:21 PM There is a lot of confusion about a species appropriate diet for dogs. The "why" is that we have crossed the line between science and prolific industry propaganda. Since the 1950s vast sums of money have been poured into shaping public perception because the profits are enormous. Not to mention that “we the people” have a tendency towards anthropomorphism, and convenience is a driving force. For unbiased scientific information see the article: http://achinook.squarespace. com/journal/2008/8/11/ol-sheps-plight.html
Shayla Aberdeen, WA 5/31/2008 11:34:13 PM If by expensive you mean less than $1 a day compared to $3 a day on kibble? It is only as expensive as you make it - I don't buy anything more than $1.50/pound and I can get a very wide variety of meats. You just have to learn to shop smart. As for the parasite/disease worry - just stay clear of dog poop, kibble and raw dogs have salmonella in their feces, luckily I have yet to want to eat dog poop. But the one thing I love about raw - my 30# dog poops less than a 20 pound Pug!
sandy portland, OR 3/28/2008 5:05:06 PM I started to feed "raw" when I kept reading that breeders are using it, in spite of what the vets recommend. It's scary and at first my dog gained weight, because they just don't need as much food as with the kibble (and I fed a very good quality kibble.) But she loves her food and will work on a beef rib bone for hours. Her teeth look great and she's as healthy as a "horse." Very little comes out, too, since they seem to "use" most of the food and haven't had any bouts of diarrhea anymore. Hardly drinks any water, either, since they say they get lots of water from the meat. I'm very happy so far. I recommend looking in to it, anyway, especially if your dog has allergies. However, I don't try to "sell" it, even tho I want to, to friends with dogs that would really benefit (in my mind, anyway.)
Christy Sacramento, CA 3/20/2008 8:19:05 PM I use natures variety raw food. It is 100% nutritionally balanced substantiated by AFFCO feeding trials. So that should dispel any concerns the vets may have.
Carolle Frederick, MD 3/10/2008 1:38:53 PM I both own and rescue Japanese Chin dogs. I feed a combination of frozen raw and fresh raw foods. This gets the Chin (and keeps them) in good condition with lovely coats, bright eyes, and less weight problems than I've had with even the best of canned/kibbled foods. Mind - as the article says, though, kitchen hygiene is absolutely required to prevent bacterial overgrowth and the issues it causes.
Jordan Los Angeles, CA 12/31/2007 1:51:53 PM If your feeding a complicated BARF recipe than h=yes it will be expensiive. prey model however is even less money than some commercial foods. i buy about 500 whole rabbit carcasses from rodentpro.com for $7.99. And I buy whole cornish hens for 3.00 each on prey4pets.com. i also order green tripe from pre4pets for a reasonable price.
Jeff Madison, WI 12/21/2007 7:19:03 PM Two out of three issues involved with feeding raw may be minimized with an organic raw diet such as Paw Naturaw, America's first line of USDA certified organic, frozen, raw diets for dogs. First, consistent with the article recommendations each Paw Naturaw diet is formulated separately to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages. Second, research shows that grass fed organic meats are more resistant to E. coli 0157:H7 of which makes Paw Naturaw a safer raw product to feed. Unfortunately, organics demand a premium price as prices for organic foods reflect many of the same costs as conventional items in terms of growing, harvesting, transportation and storage. Organically produced foods must meet stricter regulations governing all of these steps, so the process is often more labor- and management-intensive, and farming tends to be on a smaller scale. There is also mounting evidence that if all the indirect costs of conventional food production—cleanup of polluted water, replacement of eroded soils, costs of health care for farmers and their workers—were factored into the price of food, organic foods would cost the same or, more likely, be cheaper. On a separate, new studies show organic meats, fruits, and vegetables as containing higher nutritional value such as with a study released July 24, 2007, published in the British Journal of Nutrition. This study shows an increase of organic meat and dairy products in a mother's diet positively affects the nutritional quality of her breast milk-markedly increasing beneficial fatty acids.