Fully Committed and Prepared

[kathylcsw]

As many of you know I went to an all raw diet for my dogs on December 21. Since then I have been researching and transitioning the dogs to all proteins. Lola eats chicken, turkey, beef, fish, pork, and deer. I think she is finally over the hump with liver and I will introduce kidney next. I finally found pork kidney today at an ethnic grocery store. I want to get her more adjusted to liver first then will add the kidney.

Buster is not fully transitioned yet because he is only 3 months old and I had been feeding Lola some raw food since October. Buster eats chicken, turkey, pork, and deer. I started fish tonight. He has done well and it has been smooth.

I have had big scores on Craig's List and gotten over 50 lbs of free meat from people. My brother saved me the trim when he butchered a deer and that got me about 30 lbs of deer meat. Today I took the biggest step and bought a small freezer just for the dogs. It is small but will hold 150 lbs which would feed my 2 small dogs for almost a year. It was on sale at Kroger for $159 with a $10 mail in rebate so I couldn't pass it up.

I am in for the long haul at this point. I have my freezer, Craigs List for free meat, and the ethnic market for organs and more "exotic" meats and cuts. At the grocers today I got the pork kidney, a pack of duck wings, and pork tongue. They have packs of whole mackeral and goat meat. I plan on getting my dogs goat meat at some point but it is pricey. Of course if I can keep scoring free meat I can afford to splurge on things like goat meat.

I am also reading Raw Meaty Bones by Tom Lonsdale. It has been so eye opening! It is dry in parts but it has made me even more certain that is how I will always feed this way. It is more work than putting kibble in a bowl but I know that it is the right thing for my dogs. I am so grateful that I found this site and learned about raw feeding. I hate that it took the deaths of my heart dogs Heidi and Sam for me to become a better pet owner. I wish they had been given the life that Buster and Lola will have but I do it all in their honor. It is because of my love for them that I have vowed to be the best damn dog owner ever!

[Halliebrooks]

Awe that was such a nice post! It is sad that so many dogs have been fed kibble, but like me and everyone else on here we all had to learn about the way we should feed out pets by making mistakes first.. And we can not be blamed for being raised thinking kibble was dog food. You have learned and it already sounds like you are the best pet owner!
Good luck!

[bridget246]

Awe that was such a nice post! It is sad that so many dogs have been fed kibble, but like me and everyone else on here we all had to learn about the way we should feed out pets by making mistakes first.. And we can not be blamed for being raised thinking kibble was dog food. You have learned and it already sounds like you are the best pet owner!
Good luck!

I fully agree with this. I wouldn't have ever found this place if Bridget didn't have so many problems with her kibble. I'm kind of glad she had those problems. It made the choice to translation her easier. What if raw hurts her? Well... kibble is clearly hurting her so. So in my case I had a lot to gain and very little to lose. Kibble made me my vet's best friend. I saw the vet at least twice of months for problems with kibble. I've gone over an entire month now without a need to go to the vet.

[kathylcsw]

I looked in my new, mostly empty freezer this morning and thought I better be on the lookout for free meat now! My uncle owns a small convenience store in a rural, farming community so I think I am going to post a request for meat there. We also have a weekly publication here called The Trading Post where people post things for sale and wanted items. I am thinking I will run an ad there to hit the people who don't frequent Craig's List. I need to fill the freezer up! I am hoping to get lots more deer meat. My dogs coats are amazing when I feed lots of deer. I would love for that to be the staple meat in their diet.

[DaneMama]

Your dedication and success warms my heart! So happy for you and that you're fully dedicated as that's what it takes! Keep up the good work!