# Talk to me about raw, is it really cheaper?



## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

Now that the brand of dog food I buy which was the cheapest I could find in natural food (healthwise) was bought by P&G, I am seriously thinking of switching to raw. 

The number one thing I want to know, is RAW cheaper in the long run compared to buying $45-$55 of 30lb-35lb bags every other month? 

Also when people say you use 'this' percent of their body weight, I have no clue how to do that... Could someone maybe help with my dogs' weight in what I should estimately feed? Cody weighs between 80-85lbs, has arthritis, and allergies to beef and pork. Isa weighs 70lbs but I want her to lose at least 5-6lbs. Akbar weighs 88lbs. 

Another thing, all these percentages of RMB to MM, etc is so confusing to me. How do you really know what to feed? I'm not smart when it comes to math...

Are veggies really needed? What do I add?? I've been reading how to feed RAW but it's all so confusing!!


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

okay.... basic run down....  i will just do Akbar at first and then Isa and Cody...

*Percentages:* When we are talking about percentages, you want something between 2-4% of their body weight in food per day. A normal dog would eat 2-2.5% and those are good percentages to start with. If you feed your dog 2% of his weigh every day and he starts losing weight, then you increase the food. Akbar seems like he is a pretty active guy, So 2.5% of his body weight would be good to start with.

2.5% of 88 lbs is 2.2 lbs. This means every day he will get 2.2 lbs of raw food. It is much easier to weigh everything out and get more precise measures, so everything is converted into ounces. So after you convert the pounds to ounces (2.2 x 16) You have 35.2 oz a day. 

*Ratios:* These will depend on each individual dog. They really depend on what you feed as well. Some food sources have more bone than others. But a good base line would be 50/45/5. This means 50% of his daily food will be Raw meaty bones, 45% will be Muscle meat, and the last 5% will be Organ meat (you won't feed organ meat at first though since it is very will make your pups make a big mess). So to begin you will actually have more like 55/45. Going with those ratios and our 35.2 oz estimate for his food ration, Akbar would eat something like this: 19.4 oz of RMB and 14.8 oz MM. Eventually once you get the OM incorporated into his diet you will feed: 17.6 oz RMB, 14.8 oz MM, 1.8 oz OM

*Feeding:*Now how you feed this would depend on what you feel comfortable with. Some people (aubie for example) feed the MM/OM in the morning and the RMB at night. And some people feed both at each meal. 

*Price:* Something to consider is how you plan on getting your meat, and what you plan on buying. If Cody is allergic to chicken and beef, you can try turkey... but after that you are stuck with fish, lamb, goat, venison, Duck, rabbit, ostrich? You get the idea. None of that is cheap unless you have a place that will give you great deals on it. Also note that not all of those sources will have any bones good for RMBs (duck, rabbit, and fish are it). 

With that in mind, assuming you can average about a dollar a pound for both Akbar and Isa and Cody averages out at 2 dollars per pound. 

Then assuming Isa and cody eat 2 %....

Akbar eats 2.2 pounds per day....at a dollar per pound, he will cost $66 for 30 days.

Isa weighs 70 (you think she should weigh 65 though, so we will feed for that weight): So she should eat 1.3 lbs of food a day. So she should cost $39 to feed in a month.

Cody (assuming the 80lbs is his good weight), should eat 1.6 lbs of food a day. So a 30 day supply might cost $96 at $2/lb avg. And $48 at $1/lb avg.


So to feed all three pups if will cost between 153 and 201 bucks a month. This doesn't add in anything else though, like supplements, eggs, etc.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

YES its cheaper! I pay much less now than I did feeding a high quality kibble (prairie). No, veggies are not necessary. I never feed fruits or veggies. If you choose to, the best is to use a blender or something because dogs don't have the ability to break down the cellulose in the cell walls to get to the good stuff inside. 

The percentages are just where you start off. For the first year probably I weighed every meal out and balanced the meat, bone, and organ. Worried about phosphorus to calcium ratio (remember bone contains both, but less phosphorus than meat.) Over time it got to where its such second nature I eye ball everything. There is really a lot of freedom with raw diet once you get it down, I will often feed really boney items for a few days and then really meaty items for a few days to balance it. You can let the dog fast and gorge, etc. Remember in our meals we don't eat perfectly balanced meals every meal or every day, its the variety and balance over time. 

Many dogs have problems tolerating organ meat though so I wouldn't be letting your dogs fast on that. 

You really need a chest freezer to keep the costs down. I buy items in bulk, and stock up whenever things are marked down. I also am given large amounts of meat from hunters etc that want to clean out their freezers.

I will pm you later with some of my resources, but my boyfriend is trying to sleep and my typing woke him up lol.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Everyone else pretty much covered the specifics. We were feeding three pounds a day when we fed raw and it wasn't cheaper, but not by a lot. Feeding an adult dog IMO would be. We never paid over $1/lb though. In some cities you just can't get away with that. 

If you have microsoft excel and PM me I can email you a spreadsheet that has ALL of the caculations for your dog built in- all you have to do is add his weight and it gives you the options of what percentages you want to feed and how many lbs and ozs of each percentage you'd feed, broken down into how much organ/bone/meat per day in lbs and ozs and then per week. VERY handy to just glance at while we're cutting up meat on sundays. The colors suck, but I changed all mine and decorated it nice to look good up on my fridge.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

I think it depends on where you live and what your options are. I live in the middle of town, so I don't have the access to inexpensive meat that someone in a more rural area (with hunters and farmers) might have. I also don't rely heavily on beef and chicken because of the antibiotics and growth hormones it is packed with. Organic would be too expensive.....I do feed it, but conservatively. I do feed lamb, bison, (once a week) turkey, tripe,organ meat, some fish (salmon, sardines, Jack mackerel) and game (occasionally.) So overall I would say it has been more expensive for me than feeding kibble - but I save at the vet, so that's the up side. 
_____________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge
Blue BH WH T1 GSD -


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## aubie (Dec 22, 2008)

The spreadsheet that makes this a lot easier is on www.rawdogranch.com. There you can enter in the percentages, weights, etc and it will tell you how much of what to feed a day (typically in ounces).

For me, 1.5 month worth of raw for two dogs costs about $140. That's with basics like chicken necks, quarters, ground quail, ground turkey and ground beef mix. Beef heart that I add in is about $1.10 or less a pound. 

Anna is on about 3% of her body weight right now...she's active, lanky and doing good at this level. She's on a RMB/MM/OM ratio of 50/45/5. Duncan is older and needs to lose weight so he's on a 1.5-2% ratio of 55/40/5.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I also forgot to add that Cody's allergic to fish. I think I might stick to feeding Simply Natural for him. 

My goodness, $66 a month for Akbar 0_0 I could buy dog food cheaper, lol. The only one that looks cheaper is Isa. I guess it certainly is better to have a "smaller" dog, even though she's over the standard...lol

I'll have to seriously think about this. I believe Cody's food is $55? for a 30lbs bag. Isa and Akbar's was $45 for a 35lb bag. Now I have to find another food because they are running low. Raw can be so confusing on whether it's cheaper...

Thanks for all the help everyone! Especially you Kira.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

You don't need to add fish to their diet, you know. Kind of made it sound like you'd have to, but I don't want you to feed kibble when you want to feed raw because of it.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I'm just not sure on what I could feed Cody if I went to raw. He's allergic to Beef, pork, and fish. He can eat the odd meats like deer, duck, buffalo, ostrich, and then turkey, and chicken but isn't the "odd" meat cost more? All this is confusing, lol. 
Cody is 80-85lbs and not active and 7 years with arthritis, the most he does is play ball, lol. 

I'm just seriously wondering if going raw will be cheaper in the long run.


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

just curious, has your dog eaten those meats that you indicate show an allergic response raw??? I ask because raw meat does not always elicit the same response that cooked or processed food does. We have a female with a cooked beef allergy, she can eat raw without issue. Not saying it is always the case but just throwing it out there.

As for cost, when I adopted my boy he was fed half Orijen and half home cooked. He now eats raw. I don't pay any more than I did before. I also calculated how much it would have cost if I fed him only dry. Still same price. I buy almost all my foods from farms that are organic or natural grass fed which is a bit more than I could probably get it for. You need to really check out the area, makes lots of calls and get to know food providers. I occasionally get stuff for free now that they know me. 

Just a note, if you do go raw, you may see a striking difference in the arthritis....I was amazed how switching to a natural diet practically cured my last dogs arthritis.

edit add: it will save you in vet bills!lol


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

He actually does have a reaction to raw beef and pork, not sure on the fish though. I think for him it will be safer to just stick with what he's eating. 

I'm still very confuesd on going raw so I'm trying learn everything I can.


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