# Is there a simple inexpensive raw diet?



## jeff

Just skimming through the different threads, raw feeding appears more difficult than I have time for. Is there a simple way to feed raw for those with not alot of leisure time? Also my Shepherd does have a sensitive stomach while my mix breed has no problems in that area.


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## marshies

I have no experience with feeding raw, but have been doing some research on the forum just like you.

There are a few options, and please, someone correct me if I am mistaken.

1)Pre-measure and freeze your meals once in a while (depending on freezer space), and just thaw out before feeding.

2)Buy pre-prepared raw meals from special purveyors.

3)I've heard some people say that you don't need to feed a complete and varied meal every day, as long is it averages out in the week. So if you stick to the same weekly schedule where fed say, organ and bones on Monday, and muscle meat on Tuesday, you can reduce the prep time of preparing several protein sources in a day.

4) I am not sure if this is true in dogs, but I know in cats, they have nutrient powders that you can mix with ground meat to ensure a complete and nutritious meal is fed each time.

Again, just some of the things I read while researching. Please perform due diligence before following any of the options.


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## suzzyq01

Raw Diet and simple/inexpensive don't really go together. 

It's not cheap unless you can buy in bulk and freeze it. It's not easy unless you always have a supply of it. 

Benefits are great, but it's not cheap or easy.


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## jeff

suzzyq01 said:


> Raw Diet and simple/inexpensive don't really go together.
> 
> It's not cheap unless you can buy in bulk and freeze it. It's not easy unless you always have a supply of it.
> 
> Benefits are great, but it's not cheap or easy.


 Thanks, not what I was hoping to hear, but I guess it is not for me at this time.


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## suzzyq01

I tried it, and it's difficult to keep up with unless you have a place to store bulk amounts of meat. It's also not cheap around here because I had a hard time finding inexpensive meat sources. So grocery store markdowns were my source. If your a hunter then deer is awesome, freeze it for a week and then feed it to the dog starting with the organ and muscle meat, then you can work your way around the whole animal. Not a option for me. So I went back to high quality kibble.


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## onyx'girl

Jeff, look into a yahoo group rawfeeding co-op in your area, then you can get cheaper wholesale pricing when others go in on it with you. Also there may be a Quest recycling group in your area that is taking on new members....


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## martemchik

Unless you have enough fridge to store about 500+ lbs of meat at one time you won't be able to do it cheap. What is your definition of inexpensive? I feed half kibble half pre made raw and it runs me about $100 a month.


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## onyx'girl

I feed raw and am in a co-op. Feeding 3 GSD's runs me about $100 a month, that is cheap! Though I am blessed to be in the group I'm in. My dedicated dog food freezer is full and I am getting free(old) bison from a friend.
You can place an ad on CL or freecycle for old meat, too. There are ways of getting around the grocery store costs.
Of all the food I buy, the most costly is the stinky green tripe, but it is worth it due to the benefits it provides.


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## sable123

jeff said:


> Just skimming through the different threads, raw feeding appears more difficult than I have time for. Is there a simple way to feed raw for those with not alot of leisure time? Also my Shepherd does have a sensitive stomach while my mix breed has no problems in that area.


You can feed green tripe a few times a week without driving yourself nuts. Green tripe while not a complete food is balanced enough that it won't throw your dogs' diet out of whack. You shouldn't see any issues with digestion either.

Green tripe is the best raw food to give. The rest is just not worth the trouble versus good kibble.


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## onyx'girl

I dissagree, I'd rather control what my dog ingests vs a 'good kibble' that may be subject to recalls. Once you get into the groove of rawfeeding it isn't a big deal. I've never gone "nuts" due to feeding raw....


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## jeff

Where would I find green tripe and what are the cost?


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## onyx'girl

GreenTripe.Com Main Index will ship if you can't find a local source.


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## DeeMcB

I do have a deep freeze committed to dog food. But between Freecycle & Craigslist ads and butcher scraps I get for almost nothing, I feed my 2 GSD's pretty darn cheaply. As far as easy goes, I open my fridge, take out what I've thawed and put it in their bowls. Nothing thawed? I give them whatever I have frozen. Haven't given them organs in a while? Throw some in. Same with bone. 

Easy-peezy!


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## sable123

onyx'girl said:


> GreenTripe.Com Main Index will ship if you can't find a local source.


 
That stuff is very expensive. See if there is a local Omas Pride dealer. They carry Tefco's green tripe. Much cheaper.


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## Verivus

Raw is not expensive if you know how to source your meat. It is also not complicated, unless you think doing anything more then scooping kibble out of a bag is complicated. If you want to feed raw it's best to have a dedicated dog freezer. In the beginning it may seem overwhelming just because it's completely different from what you may be used to.


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## Jax08

Have you looked at the yahoo forums to see if there is a co-op or sources in your area? RAW is very simple and not expensive at all. I don't spend anymore on RAW than I did on a mid range grain free kibble. I spend a weekend every few months bagging up food.


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## Josie/Zeus

I average $ 2 per day for Odin, except when feeding greentripe, that's 6 for one chub (2 lbs.) He gets that once a week.
I agree, get a dedicated small chest freezer, ours is only 5 cu ft. and I can store a lot of food in there, probably up to 3 months.i

I just picked up my 3rd batch of raw food and spent $34, before that it was $81 and $81 also fir my very first order. Our coop only delivers the first Saturday of the month.


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## jizzam93

We live in the Houston area and found a supplier that has a route in the our area almost every month. We just stock up and have a dedicated freezer and able to get for a good price. Check out texastripe.com


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## Little Red

IMHO just about nothing about my gsds has ever been simple or inexpensive. However, the rewards are well worth all the efforts involved. We have raw fed our gsds for over 2 years and find that the costs are the same or less than a good kibble. We keep streamlining our shopping, meat cutting, and storage as we hear of or think of better solutions. 
Right now we are so happy to have just discovered yesterday, a very local grocery that has a meat dept with a friendly butcher. He gladly cut 30 leg sections for us, (separating the drumstick from the thigh) saving us another hour of work. Also the other fantastic thing about this store is that they sell the chicken bones. We have spent 2 years looking for an easy source of additional bones.
Raw feeding does require some changes of habit, and a bit more effort. But the work involved is compensated by the benefits, which make life easier in the long run. No one has mentioned the poop on this thread, but WOW! The reduced odor and diminished quantity of the poop is enough to convince many people to go raw. Other health advantages: healthy teeth and gums, gorgeous coats, less flatulence, and no allergies caused from corn/grains. The thing is though, you really need a freezer (and preferably an additional refrigerator) so you can stock up on meats on sale.


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## Lauri & The Gang

What is YOUR definition of 'easy', 'time consuming' and 'expensive'?

I have 7 dogs that eat a raw diet. Everything is DIY - no premades.

It takes me about a total of 15 minutes to feed ALL of them each meal.



Gather up the bowls from the floor and line them up on the kitchen island
Get the defrosted food out of the small fridge (we have a dorm-style fridge for the dogs food and our drinks)
Place one bowl on the scale and start measuring out Dog #1's food
Dump measured amount into bowl for Dog #1 and go to Dog #2
Try to keep cat from stealing from bowls 
Continue Step #4 (and 5) until all bowls are filled and ready to feed
Call dogs name, place bowl on the floor in THEIR spot and get out of their way
Repeat for the other 6 dogs
Put any leftovers back in the small fridge
Wash hands and cutting utensils while watching to make sure no-one is stealing from others
When they are all finished, go down to basement and pull out something to thaw for the next day
Place package to thaw on top of fridge in thawing bin (large plastic tub)
Finished!!
That is my daily meal routine and it takes no more than 15 minutes.

Before I joined the Quest program I used to buy my stuff in bulk.

Once every 3 months I would get cases of stuff delivered and I would spend maybe 4 hours packaging it. That 4 hours would allow me to package 120 pounds of chicken parts (usually necks or leg quarters), 120 pounds of beef or pork hearts and maybe another 100 pounds of misc stuff I purchased.

So, 30 minutes per day and 4 hours every 3 months or so. Not what I would consider 'time consuming'.


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## Verivus

Lauri & The Gang said:


> Before I joined the Quest program I used to buy my stuff in bulk.


Out of curiosity what is the quest program?


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## CookieTN

Not easy? Wha? More work than kibble, certainly, but in my experience it's not difficult. (At least Prey Model isn't. Not sure about BARF.) Expensive? Moreso than some brands of kibble and depends on several factors including where you live.
I fed Cookie partial raw to cut expenses. Or more like supplemented her diet with raw.


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## GSDSammie

The first couple of months of feeding raw is difficult - trying to find the right balance for your dog and providing enough variety, but once you get the hang of it it does become very simple. You get used to knowing when you should thaw certain foods and how much to measure per meal. We did have to buy a dedicated freezer for the raw diet but we will have that freezer for a long time and we bought it used. 

If there are any poultry or meat farms within your reach you may be able to buy in bulk. As suggested earlier, check craigslist, kijiji or websites to see if you have anybody in your area who sells raw meat for dogs. 

When we first started we weren't sure it would fit within our lifestyle and that it would be easy or inexpensive enough but seeing our GSD's face full of pleasure when he chomps down on some meat is totally worth it! Also, his stool, stomach sensitivities, coat and teeth are in excellent condition now compared to when he was a puppy with a sensitive stomach.


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## Lauri & The Gang

Verivus said:


> Out of curiosity what is the quest program?


It is a program that started about 2 years ago by a company out in CA. Their goal is to minimize the amount of grocery store waste that gets sent to landfills and such. They have 2 programs - meat and organics.

We go to a local big-chain grocery store once a week and pick up their out of date meat products. This ranges from steaks to chicken to the half-used deli meat rolls to pizzas to anything that has a Sell-By date and meat in it. Since we go every week the most the stuff is out of date is 7 days.

We sort through all this stuff, pulling out the stuff we can feed to the dogs. The rest of the stuff is split up between a couple local farmers (for their chickens and pigs) and a local mink farmer.

It is a GREAT program but it was put in jeopardy because a member (not in MY group) complained about the quality of the meats (they ARE past date) and said she thought her dog got sick from it. That put a stop to any NEW dog groups joining but the existing groups were able to stay with the program.

Through this program my dogs are able to get a TON of variety in their diets! Our group pays $100 per month to get between 4-5 thousand pounds of food!! On average, half of the food is good for the dogs while the other half goes to the farmers. Some people take the deli rolls to cut up and use for dog training (makes for GREAT tracking treats). My guys get beef, pork, lamb, fish, shrimp, chicken, turkey, and more just from this program. And since it is so inexpensive it lets me order some of the higher priced things for them that I normally wouldn't get.


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## Rodeo.

I don't have much trouble with it. My friend wants to buy a food processor and make meals ahead of time but it really doesn't take very long. As far as price, I can get by with no more than $5 a week most of the time. I feed a lot of "sawdust" as my muscle meat. It's essentially ground beef and pork off the saw in our meat department. Oh and it's free. I usually get about 6 pounds at a time. I go back and forth between chicken wings and backs. And I stock up on leg quarters when I have freezer space. I get eggs for free thanks to my hen investment, and chicken livers are really cheap anyway. I try to mix it up though. Ground turkey, tilapia filets... it varies.


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## JoanMcM

Our pit bull has been on raw for 2 years. She is 4 years old, 37 lb rescue and is in great health. The first two weeks is the hardest because you have to get yourself in the mode of doing it. Then it comes as second nature. You look for items to use to feed the dog when you shop for your family. After awhile you just kind of see something at the store and say oh yeah good idea. Our dog gets people grade foods. Cost is about $1 per lb average. Some items cost a bit more, some a bit less. Local farm stores usually put stuff aside for dog food people so ask. 

We also raise meat chickens and egg chickens. The meat chickens are for people but I freeze the organs, feet, heads left over from processing for her. Her main diet chicken is natural or farm raised and not our own. Our own chickens are kept for people because I use special food etc and it is less costly to give her natural or the freezer burned stuff from the farm market. Make sure you use natural chicken and not the Perdue stuff. There are always thighs/legs, soup chickens on sale that are perfect. The salt in Perdue etc seems to upset her stomache. She does get the benefit of bone broth made from my own chickens. Maybe once a week she gets .5 c rice made with broth or left over soup (pick out onions).

We use prey model raw. Per week she gets 10 bone/meat meals (think drumstick ratio), 2 organ, 2 misc (eggs, veggies, etc.) She probably gets a bit more organ per week. Typical week she would get meat/bone meal examples chicken parts, sheep head, beef/pork/sheep heart w/raw bone of some sort, chicken feet with misc meat/processing organs; organ examples would be tripe patties, brain, liver, lungs, etc from chickens, pork, lamb; one serving at least of fish a week (high in Omega 3s) canned mackerel w/bone, tuna, salmon w/o bones. I give her cooked fish. That is the one thing I cannot get past. Veggies are whatever bit we are eating ourselves. Typically carrots, green beans, kale, spinach whatever. Veggies are cooked as well. She gets flipped a Vit e once or twice a week as well. That is the only Vitamin supplement I use.

ALL BONES FED MUST BE RAW.

I cut up nothing more then to get it in the correct size serving before freezing and freeze everything for at least a couple of weeks to get rid of some pathogens. Serve it frozen most times and not cut up into 'bite size chunks'. She is unemployed other then training and I am not. Plus you never want to spend more time feeding the dog vs what you time spent feeding the family  It also gives her something to do. She enjoys the chewing up bit. And her teeth at 4 years old are immaculate. No tartar whatsoever. 

She gets fed outside unless the weather is severe. During freezing sleet or cold, she is fed in a shower stall for easy cleanup.

I was lucky enough to have a lady guide me on a pit bull forum who is very knowledgeable about nutrition. So seek someone out like that. Hard to find but they can offer guidance. I am not a nutritionist. The above suggestions are just to give you an idea. It works for me and my dog.


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## katdog5911

suzzyq01 said:


> Raw Diet and simple/inexpensive don't really go together.
> 
> It's not cheap unless you can buy in bulk and freeze it. It's not easy unless you always have a supply of it.
> 
> Benefits are great, but it's not cheap or easy.


I have found this to be true too. Although some folks seem to be able to get meat very cheap. I try to buy on sale and stock up but I don't have a separate freezer so am limited in that respect. I feed some premade raw and some store bought. I go to a local meat locker for chicken backs and turkey necks. I suppose if you hunt, have a friend who hunts or live where you can raise your own animals, costs are less. My dh is not happy with the amount of money spent on raw. I started almost a year ago and am still trying to work out a cost effective way to feed.
Sometimes I am amazed at how little it costs some people. I feed 1 GSD and if I can keep it between $120 and $150 for the month I am happy. Would be ecstatic to be around $100....


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