Help with an Economical Raw Diet

Hello!

I feed my dog Max a raw diet, but let's face it - it can get expensive.
The first raw I bought was from Darwinspet.com, specifically I got their zoologics chicken, duck, and turkey. Link to their raw dog foods.

However, recently I decided to purchase raw from a local butcher. He makes pet food for $1.98/lb which includes a mix of chicken, beef, and pork. (not really sure how I feel about the pork in there).

If I calculated correctly, Max needs about 2 lbs of raw a day. Now I'm not sure if I like the quality of meat the that butcher is producing for pet food, so I want to find a better solution for my dogs diet without breaking the bank.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

any commercial raw will be ungodly expensive. That price for the butchers is pretty good. Do you know if it's only a mix of boneless meat? Does it include bone and organ? I purchase a lot of meat from local grocers, i pick up in bulk on sale. Regularly 10lb bags of fresh chicken quarters are $6. I buy 8lb boxes of sardines from asian markets for $5, they sell whole duck with innards for $1.89/lb. But, i'm in a very large city with a ton of access to stuff and im only feeding one dog. Do you have access to hunters for scraps or meat processors is a good place to look. I found a wholesaler that has a few locations nation wide. Buying in bulk will help if you have no outlets for scraps.

Colorado Boxed Beef | Leading Distributor of Refrigerated Frozen Food

 

I honestly don't know if it's just a mix of boneless meat. I'll have to ask. I'll have to see if I can find chicken quarters at the grocery store. The chicken quartets that you get, it has everything? Bone and organs? Just for clarification, dogs can eat chicken bones so long as it is raw?

 

raw bones are safe cooked are not , weight bearing bones from a heavy animal are very hard and could damage dogs teeth , if you have a freezer you can stock up when you get bargains or someone selling surplus cheap, hunter or the like

 

There's no way around it. You get what you pay for. Food is expensive. Just try to find deals when you can. Every Tuesday I'm going through the grocery store ads. I'm amazed how close I model my own diet after my dogs. I cook my meat, not much though. my steak skips across the grill, and I dont eat bones, but besides that not to much is different other than a few ingredients. Ha ha! So basically when I shop for myself, I shop for my dogs. That cuts down on one extra thing to do at least. Time is precious right?
I have a tendency to take things to extremes though. I won't hesitate when I say my dog really does eat better than I do. Just the other day I bought 12 dollar jar of coconut oil to suppliment my dogs diet. Some of my family think I'm crazy but its all part of my passion of owning this breed.
Another way I look at it is that my dog's bloodline, comparatively speaking is better than my own so he deserves it!
Boil it down, it still comes to what you are comfortable with. I Probably didn't help you one frickin bit with that, but good luck on your quest.

 

find you a local poultry processor, see what deals they offer on chicken backs/necks. i get mine, $24 for 40lbs (which is very expensive compared to other states). buy a pallet of 5 dozen eggs. buy bulk CA sardines (the big ones at the bait shop). throw in a multivitamin & your golden. oh yeah, dont forget a source of animal fat (salmon oil for example). i also render & use chicken fat. if i fed any kind of decent kibble (oxymoron, i know...lol) id be spending a lot more than i do now. it can be done fairly cheap if you learn your shortcuts and play your cards right.....

 

dude....if your in pheonix, you can get chicken backs for $15 a box (40lbs).

 

I dont doubt that, but I dont believe I would be supplying my dog optimal nutrition with just chicken backs. I do feed backs however, along with an extremely wide variety of other animal protein sources.

 

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll have to ask my butcher about chicken backs. There's also an Asian market that I can check out for canned sardines and Costco for the eggs. Then get a multivitamin at the pet shop.

 

i would stay away from the canned sardines myself, if your gonna use sardines use the CA sardine not the small canned ones. if you have a "foodmax" grocery store out there, they sell sardines for $2.50 a lb (roughly 3 or 4 sardines in the pack)

 

CA sardine? I'm sorry for my ignorance, can you provide a picture?

 

Theyre the big sardines you get from the bait shop