# Primal Raw



## TanegoGSD (Jan 14, 2017)

Hi all,

I’ve been thinking about switching my boy over to a raw diet. 

Looking at Primal, how many 14 oz bags would I need to buy per month in order to maintain his current weight (85-90 lbs)? 

I tried using their calculator, but I feel like I didn’t use it right as by their recommendation there’s no way it’d be financially feasible.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Usually you figure 2% of their weight, but that depends on activity level, the dog's metabolism and age. Most premade raw products are not cheap to feed though I don't know any thing about how they compare to high end kibble and I have never looked at Primal.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Good for you!!!!!

Yes, a commercially prepared BALANCED raw diet is expensive.

You probably figured correctly on their feeding calculator.
Our 85 lb. male eats 2.25 pounds per day or 14.9 lbs. per week.

Using "Darwin's ZooLogic Raw Food" (more economical) price page: https://www.darwinspet.com/product/raw-dog-food-zl/ 
Chicken – $3.15/lb
Duck – $4.09/lb
Turkey – $3.59/lb
Beef – $4.49/lb x 14.9 = $66.90 per week/$267.60 per month

Darwins is delivered right to your door, which is a plus!

You may want to check out the prices for Bravo - *BALANCED*. *:* Discover Balance Raw Diet | Beef Frozen Raw Dog Food Diet - Bravo Pet Food Find a store: Find a Bravo Retailer - Bravo Pet Food 


Moms


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

What you're calculating might be correct.... buying frozen pre-made raw at regular retail price is expensive. Buying it in 14oz increments might be obscenely pricey.

If you have access to some different choices, some of the more cost effective varieties (around here) are the large bags of Tucker's (6lb bags) and the 10lb Bravo rolls/chubs. Gotta read carefully with Bravo though, they have some that are just meat (requiring you to add to them), and others that are complete diets.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

If your boy weighs that much and is intact, I can almost guarantee that feeding commercial raw will cost you at least $300/month, but probably more. My 72 lb intact male eats Stella & Chewy’s (he has IBD, it’s the only food he tolerates) and depending on which proteins I buy, feeding him now runs between $350-$500/month. When he was younger, I was spending about $600/month just to feed him. I see commercial raw as a short term solution for most people trying to make the jump. I wouldn’t choose commercial raw for a healthy dog that could tolerate homemade raw. It’s just too expensive. My healthy girl eats homemade raw and, even with the bulk of her food being lamb, that runs me about $100-$150/month, supplements included.


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## TanegoGSD (Jan 14, 2017)

Wow lol I mean, it’s doable but just seems a little much. 

I’ll check out Bravo and then look at just doing homemade as well. Thanks for the suggestions


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Make sure you do your research on a homemade diet.

You need certain % of the following for a BALANCED diet: 
Muscle Meat (MM), Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) and Organ Meat (OM)

Here are some sites:
http://rawfeddogs.net/
http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/index.html (for finding bone percentages)
http://rawfeddogs.org/rawguide.html


Moms


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

For one dog? It is way more cost effective to buy fresh, figure your calculations to hit the balance of muscle meat, bone, and organ (and variety) and just do 1 big buy and spend like 2 hours weighing and bagging it and freezing it in individual meals for the month. It is time consuming 1 day of the month, but pays off financially.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

TanegoGSD said:


> Wow lol I mean, it’s doable but just seems a little much.
> 
> I’ll check out Bravo and then look at just doing homemade as well. Thanks for the suggestions


Look on the Tefco site and see if a distributoris near you. They are mostly on the east coast. I feed that. Many sport people feed it.


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

Jax08 said:


> Look on the Tefco site and see if a distributoris near you. They are mostly on the east coast. I feed that. Many sport people feed it.


Their beef chubbs are 75 bucks for 40pds by my. Good price.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

CometDog said:


> Their beef chubbs are 75 bucks for 40pds by my. Good price.


yeah.  That's what happens when you cut out the middle men! I pay $80. Shipping must be more to the guy I buy from.

The 2015 WUSV world champion eats it


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

I get it here..it's a guy's (named Pete) house, and operates on honor system. He is a good guy that really just wants local dogs to have the best. The only have the one mix...Performance. 

Ramapaw Natural Pet Food


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Primal is sold in much bigger bags. Those 14 oz bags are trial-sized...or "snack sized...or for wee-bitty dogs. The Pronto nuggets come in a 4# bag. The regular nuggets come in 3#, and the patties come in 6# (= 12 x 8 oz. patties). For a big dog, the patties are probably the most efficient Primal option.

My vague recollection is that my dog got something like 2 patties, twice a day, when he's getting those on travel or in boarding. It's pretty expensive to feed that way, esp. considering that there's a good bit of of veg in it.

You can also cut the cost down quite a bit and avoid needing to track micronutrients on a spreadsheet by using a base-mix with fresh meat of your choice. There are lost of options now: The Honest Kitchen, Sojo's, Dr. Harvey's, Balance It, Volhard Nutrition. More keep appearing. Most are just-add-water mixes to combine with meat.


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