# Why do you feed RAW?



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Do you get this question? I always do! Sometimes with a sneer and sometimes with curiosity.


So..went to the butchers on Saturday to get some beef hearts. I had asked them to save the pork necks when they butcher also. 

The lady comes out with a small bag of pork necks for $2. The butcher walks by, sees my order and says "Do you want more of those?" I said well yeah...I'm the one that asked for them so I'll take all you have since you dont' normally keep them. He says "We always have them. I have a 30 lb box in the freezer." ok...can you please slap the short woman with the dark hair in the back of the head? She never tells me the right thing! 

*So 4 beef hearts, 4 pork hearts, 30 lb pork necks plus a small bag. $28!!!! *

^^^^ That's why I feed RAW! It saves me a fortune!!! That's half of what I spend on kibble!

And he tells me that he can get chicken necks!! That woman told me wrong on that too! I told him to get me a price on 40lb!


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

Yes. Then they say "raw meat will kill your dog."








Thats when the convo ends. 
:rofl:

It is cheap & is not full of by- products & sugar.

Do wovles eat Mcdonalds & lettuce & cooked rabbit in wild?
UM, I dont think so.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Then you say, with a perfectly innocent look on your face, "if that's the case then how have dogs survived thousands of years without Purina Puppy Chow?"

I crack me up.


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## triordan (Dec 5, 2008)

so how long will the above last? is that their complete diet?


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## aubie (Dec 22, 2008)

I feed raw because I want to help my furkids stay with me as long as possible...healthy and happy.

After the petfood recalls I became scared of what was in my dogs' food. No one can still really tell you what's in it...chicken but what parts of chicken? Quality? The horror stories of what's found at these plants scare me, and I'd hate to know I paid for and fed that to my dog.

I come out about even pricewise, but I figure the extra work isn't that much when I see shiney coats, healthy teeth, nice poop and dogs that love to eat! The proof is in the pudding, or lack thereof of pudding poop, so to speak!


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Jax08Then you say, with a perfectly innocent look on your face, "if that's the case then how have dogs survived thousands of years without Purina Puppy Chow?"
> 
> I crack me up.











I KNOW I KNOW!!
WAHAHHA


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I don't feed my human family based on cost and I don't feed my dogs based on cost. 

I feed based on the best possibly quality and safety. Even the Slim Fast, Jenny Craig and NutriSystem people don't say that their Complete And Balanced diets are intended to be eaten exclusively for the rest of your life. So why would I expect my dogs to eat ONE (or two or three) formulas for the rest of their lives?

If people don't understand that, then they're not going to get it. I don't go any further. Anyone who has eaten MREs or has been on Optifast for a few months usually gets it. Complete and Balanced doesn't mean you're getting a varied nutritious diet. It means you're getting the basics. That's it.


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: dresdenso how long will the above last? is that their complete diet?


My dog goes through:
30 pounds of food in a week
2 raw eggs a day
Plus snacks & stuff (Peanut butter, crackers,table scraps, veggies, yogurt etc
BUT, hes very active. Runs about 4 hours a day & he is 85-90 pounds.
SO if youre dog is a "normal" dog that 30 pounds of food should last longer!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: dresdenso how long will the above last? is that their complete diet?


oh no! She gets liver, fish, yogurt, eggs, blueberries, strawberries. She's so chunky! She gets 9oz of RMB, 8 oz of MM per day plus OM, egg, yogurt, some fruit just to give her variety.

Jax refused to kibble and the cost kept going up and up so I looked at feeding RAW. She does great on RAW. Her coat is good, she has more muscle mass, more stamina and energy, her teeth are cleaner.

The cost of the food is minimal to what the cost of the vets with health problems could be.

She did so well on it that I switched my cat, with IBD, to it. He is doing phenomenal!! The more I read about cat food the sicker I got realizing what I was feeding him vs what he actually needed. His stools are the best I have ever seen. He was chunky but has lost a little weight and feels more muscular now. It would be hard to tell unless I shave him.







I didn't pay attention to how long a bag of Science Diet ID lasted him so I couldn't tell you the cost of just the food vs the cost of RAW but I do know that he now has a lower chance of being diabetic, having teeth pulled and any problems that dental decay costs. He needed to go get his teeth cleaned before RAW...now they look fantastic.

I am sooo convinced that my animals are healthier for switching to RAW. I wish I could convince DH to participate and feed our boxers RAW too.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I know! All our dogs got sick on a Nutro food, then Jax stopped eating the TOTW too. It's pretty scary when you can't buy food and trust that it won't kill you. We grow our vege's, try to buy our meat by the half. If I had time I'd make my own bread too. It's crazy the nasty stuff that is in our food. And we wonder why food allergies are becoming more and more frequent and more serious.


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## triordan (Dec 5, 2008)

dumb question but...what does RMB, MM and OM stand for?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Raw meaty bone, muscle meat, organ meat. You can find alot of information on Laurie's website.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

When I first heard about Raw feeding, I felt that it was a very natural and intuitive way to feed your dog. Then Keeta got spay incontinence that did not respond to medication, but raw feeding keeps it under control. Both dogs have such incredible soft, shiny, silky fur, clear eyes, great breath, pristine white teeth, small hard poops, no doggy smell - I'm never going back to kibble!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I started years ago because of Tessa. My girl Tessa was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Arthritis. Her body was attacking the fluid in her joints.

Without steroids she was in so much pain she wouldn't eat. Because of the level of steroids it took to keep the inflammation under control the vets told me she wouldn't last more than a year or so.

So I decided to do my own research and learned about raw feeding. I've never looked back.

Spike (my Chinese Crested boy) is my first raw weaned puppy! Mom was raw fed from 9 weeks of age and minimally vax'd. The sire is also raw fed and min vax'd.









All dogs coming into my house go right to raw. Fosters and even guests (like Goofy).


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

I started because Penny would only eat enough dog food to survive, not thrive. And because I hated paying the high price for mysterious brown dry dog food.

I've continued b/c I love having control over knowing what they eat and where it's coming from. I like seeing the joy that feeding times bring. I like always seeing clean plates, no picky eaters here. I like supporting my local butcher. I like their clean teeth and fresh breath. I like the value I am getting for the money spent.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Because I know its the best, most nutritious diet I can possibly provide for my pets







The better teeth, breath, coat, skin, poops, etc are just the icing on the cake!

Everyone goes raw here, including fosters. When I fostered for the Indiana Italian Greyhound Rescue my rescue rep also fed everyone raw. She fed ground though, I always fed prey model. The only one I fed ground was the foster that didn't have teeth left so he got ground raw/canned, and soggy kibble when I had donated kibble.


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

Because Grimm was thin, dweeby, had a poor rough sparse coat, and was way behind on physical development. He also had recurrant SIBO-- a chronic diarrhea/bacterial overgrowth.

Within 3 months of starting raw, he had developed heavy, thick slabs of muscle, a full, thick, soft, glossy coat with rich deep pigment, PERFECT poops, no more gas, no doggy smell, sparkling white teeth, BRIGHT eyes, was much CALMER in the house, could settle, focus and learn better.

I think we all just assume it's "normal" for dogs to be itchy, fat, gassy, have collossal "dog log" poops, be hyper and nutty, fart a lot, and be chewing at themselves and scratching. We think heavy shedding is normal. Then when we feed a dog real food, we can see tiny dry nearly odorless poops, a calmer more focused dog who can learn, and when we pet their thick glossy soft coat, we feel hard big rounded muscles underneathe-- and our hands do not come away with that greasy powder on them anymore. No more doggy odor on our carpets, either. 

Oh yes, raw IS cheaper than the grain-free kibble!

Grimm and I both eat real food.


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## Vio79 (Dec 29, 2009)

All of these posts are making me antsy to get Max back on RAW! Hope we can figure out what he's allergic to and soon...dying to get him off the canned crap.

Though we do give him raw fish for dinners. Saves his poop a bit.


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## Martie (Jun 3, 2008)

Because Luther was thin and a horribly picky eater - regularly skipping meals altogether - plenty of bile vomits. I did not have the horrible experiences some had during the big dog food recalls, but when Canidae changed their formula a couple of years ago without notice of any kind and both my dogs had horrible reactions - it hit me really hard and I lost faith in dog food companies.

Luther was really thin and just not thriving. The vet said he was on the low end of normal and wanted me to keep trying to get him to eat. I was feeding the best (IMO) - Orijen and Evo dressed with Merrick canned foods (and had been through a round of switching foods to find something he would eat).

Today, after just a few weeks on raw, Luther looks like a different dog and is still improving. He is nice and slim as he should be - hip bones are melting into muscle - his eyes are bright - he is calmer, but is always ready to go when it's time - his coat feels silky and thicker. Out and about, he is focused and I am continually amazed that things that would make him react previously, do not. He looks to me to find out "what we do" when we see whatever and complies. In the last week, I have noticed his color is deepening to a nice rich red from the tan he sported before.

I am still studying (wishing there were more comprehensive books) and preparing to expand his diet and supplements to meet his needs. We're not 100% there yet and are currently phasing in Salmon Oil and Vitamin E. He still occasionally has a bad eating day - but nothing like before - and I feel confident that once I get it all down correctly for him - he will be perfect! 

We will NEVER go back!!!


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## Doubleminttwin (Aug 21, 2009)

We always get weird looks, the people we ask for the meat from always feel the need to tell us how vicious it will turn Baya (because you know once they have tasted blood its all over :eyeroll: ) THen we went to visit some family and they all thought we were strange, its not healthy, it doesn't have what they need, shes too thin, on and on and on lol 

We used to defend it now we just nod and tell them that they should do some research on it if they are curious because its actually very beneficial. Keeping in mind that these are always the same people who are sooo amazed at how good Bayas coat looks and how white her teeth are LOL


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

LOL I've had that conversation! 

Oh...she has such a beautiful shiny coat! What do you feed her?

--RAW diet

Oh...what's that?!

--explanation

(horrified look) Why would you feed her that?

--ummmm...cuz she's a dog.


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## aubie (Dec 22, 2008)

Hee hee...or:

"Oh, that's gross! You don't cook it at all?!?!"

"Nope, I don't have time to cook the cat poop she finds or the dead squirrels either, and she's good with it."


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