The cost of a raw diet

[Heather Kay]

Hi all,
That last thread about the recall got me thinking about raw. I was just curious for those of you who have your dogs on a raw food diet, about how much/per month on average that you spend on food?

This is something I'd like to try down the road hopefully!

[Maxwell&me]

Great Question, becouse after buying my Dog Food again tonight....Im thinking I could almost get Raw for about the same......

[Jay]

I buy Primal which is very complete in terms of supplements, organics, and premium meat sources. I buy in the 8oz pattie size. A package of 16 8oz patties varies from approximately $32 to $46 depending on the meat source. Each of my two dogs gets approximately 6 oz daily so each package will provide approximately 21 days worth of feeding for one dog at the amount I feed. I mix up the meat sources, so I guestimate, it costs about $100/month to feed my two. (That doesn't include treats, other supplements, etc.). At first I was aghast at the expense, but it isn't uncommon for us to spend $25-30 to eat out, so my dogs are worth it! Their coats are shinier and Gem's brown yeast eyes and mouth have almost completely cleared up. With all these recalls, I feel so much more comfortable feeding them food that is grain-free.
J.

[CavyGirl]

I spend on average $1.70 CDN a day for Charlie's raw diet -- but most of this is prepared (we buy frozen raw meat by Urban Carnivore made in Saskatoon and Arusha made in Edmonton). We also buy the more expensive meats because of his allergies, so we buy the lamb, rabbit, chicken and ostrich. I also buy the smaller sizes of patties because they are easier to thaw and serve...it would be cheaper to buy the larger patties/slabs of raw food.

Once a week, he has a can of tuna or sardines in place of the raw. Some of the frozen food we buy contains the vegetables and fruit, but if it doesn't, I give him a cube of the veggie and fruit mix I juiced then froze in ice cube trays.

It would likely be cheaper to prepare myself, but at this point, I'm more comfortable buying it already prepared.

[Cathy T]

I am feeding the same thing Jay is although one of mine gets 6 oz, the other gets 8 oz. I will rotate protein sources. To tell you the truth...I didn't even look into the cost because it just doesn't matter to me how much it costs

[enchantingdragon]

I feed Ellie NV's Raw Instinct Kibble and NV's raw meat patties. Her kibble last a while as she only east 5/8 oz at each meal and the bag is pretty big. We do use some of the kibble as treats though. As for the patties they last us about 3 weeks or so. She gets 3 oz per meal of that. All in all I think its about $20 a month for us so worth it for the peace of mind it brings. If we had a lot of dogs though it would cost a lot more Im sure.

[Caraline]

It is costing me around $5 AU per day to feed a grand total of 85 kg (187 lbs) of dogs ie 2 Boxers & 2 CKCS.

It can be done much cheaper than this as I am paying top dollar because I buy human foods from human shops. I do not trust the handling hygiene of pet quality meats. I also buy whole meat & mince it myself as butcher's mince has too high a fat content for my senior Boxers.

It probably sounds like a lot but with 2 big dogs & 2 littlies, this is actually cheaper than feeding them a middle of the range quality kibble like Eukanuba & Science Diet, which comes it at about $11 per kilo here in Oz, while a bag of premium, eg RC, for a large dog is mortgage the house time. And yes, I feel the same way about the cost of the diet as Cathy T does.

Oh PS - I don't necessarily feed all raw, but the cost is the same anyway, regardless of whether you feed home prepared raw or cooked.