Feeding both raw and kibble?

[DaneMama]

Send him to:

Dedicated to proper carnivore nutrition - Prey Model Raw Feeding for Dogs & Cats

Or get Dr. Tom Lonsdale's book "Works Wonders" which is a very easy read.

[luvMyBRT]

Update: Hubby and I talked last night for an hour about raw feeding. He responed GREAT! Listned to what I had to say about the benefits, etc. He even read a bit on the internet about it! I am more than happy.

Here is our problem. Tell me if my math is wrong (I know this is all approximate also). I am also estimating on the higher side with weight and price.

GSH Pointer about 50 pounds:
Would eat about 1.5 pounds of meat a day.
45 pounds of meat in a month.
At .74 cents a pound that's about $34 dollars a month.
This is wonderful IF I could actually find meats that are about this price per pound on a regular basis. We are currently spending about $40.00 a month on a bag of kibble for her. And, a 35lb bag will usually last her a bit more than a month.

In a few months we will be adding a Black Russian Terrier puppy. He will be about 140 pounds full grown.
Full grown he will eat about 4.2 pounds of meat a day.
About 126 pounds of meat in a month!
At .74 cents a pound that's about $94 dollars a month.
He will also eat more while he is a puppy and growing. So for the first year or so, this will be more, right?
I am estimating that he will eat about 2- 35lb bags of kibble a month. So that would be $80.00

Both dogs per month (when the BRT is full grown) raw fed approx: $128
Both dogs per month (when the BRT is full grown)kibble approx: $120

So, the decision is VERY easy that we would feed raw. No brainer.

This is what the hubby is worried about:

-How much more the puppy will eat while growing, thus raising the cost of how much meat we would feed. With kibble being a bit less, it would utimatly be less expensive (but not by much).

-His ultimate concern is not being able to find meat at .74 cents a pound or less on a consistant basis. I am also a bit worried about this. He feels that the cost of meat is variable and changes all the time. Kibble is a set price and easy to budget on a monthly basis. Being in a small town I only have a Safeway and Walmart for shopping. If we lived in a larger town/city with a bit more options I would feel more comfortable.

The next thing I'm going to do is to see if I can find any other meat suppliers in town and watch the meat prices at Walmart and Safeway.

Any tips or suggestions for finding meat? Are my calculations correct? Any other suggestions?

Hubby said if we can find meat at a good price on a consistant basis he is more than happy to go raw. Wish me luck!!

Thanks for all the help!

[RCTRIPLEFRESH5]

Update: Hubby and I talked last night for an hour about raw feeding. He responed GREAT! Listned to what I had to say about the benefits, etc. He even read a bit on the internet about it! I am more than happy.

Here is our problem. Tell me if my math is wrong (I know this is all approximate also). I am also estimating on the higher side with weight and price.

GSH Pointer about 50 pounds:
Would eat about 1.5 pounds of meat a day.
45 pounds of meat in a month.
At .74 cents a pound that's about $34 dollars a month.
This is wonderful IF I could actually find meats that are about this price per pound on a regular basis. We are currently spending about $40.00 a month on a bag of kibble for her. And, a 35lb bag will usually last her a bit more than a month.

In a few months we will be adding a Black Russian Terrier puppy. He will be about 140 pounds full grown.
Full grown he will eat about 4.2 pounds of meat a day.
About 126 pounds of meat in a month!
At .74 cents a pound that's about $94 dollars a month.
He will also eat more while he is a puppy and growing. So for the first year or so, this will be more, right?
I am estimating that he will eat about 2- 35lb bags of kibble a month. So that would be $80.00

Both dogs per month (when the BRT is full grown) raw fed approx: $128
Both dogs per month (when the BRT is full grown)kibble approx: $120

So, the decision is VERY easy that we would feed raw. No brainer.

This is what the hubby is worried about:

-How much more the puppy will eat while growing, thus raising the cost of how much meat we would feed. With kibble being a bit less, it would utimatly be less expensive (but not by much).

-His ultimate concern is not being able to find meat at .74 cents a pound or less on a consistant basis. I am also a bit worried about this. He feels that the cost of meat is variable and changes all the time. Kibble is a set price and easy to budget on a monthly basis. Being in a small town I only have a Safeway and Walmart for shopping. If we lived in a larger town/city with a bit more options I would feel more comfortable.

The next thing I'm going to do is to see if I can find any other meat suppliers in town and watch the meat prices at Walmart and Safeway.

Any tips or suggestions for finding meat? Are my calculations correct? Any other suggestions?

Hubby said if we can find meat at a good price on a consistant basis he is more than happy to go raw. Wish me luck!!

Thanks for all the help!

wait so you dont have a rottie> whos dog is in your avi? looks like a young rottie mix/

[luvMyBRT]

wait so you dont have a rottie> whos dog is in your avi? looks like a young rottie mix/

Yes, we did have a Rottweiler, Kodi. Back in January we lost him to bone cancer. He was 9 years old. I love showing him off...he was a wonderful dog, my constant companion. I miss him like crazy....

[CorgiPaws]

In a few months we will be adding a Black Russian Terrier puppy. He will be about 140 pounds full grown.
Full grown he will eat about 4.2 pounds of meat a day.
About 126 pounds of meat in a month!

the 2-3% is just a guideline, so don't let it freak you out by any means. I usually start with about 2.5% and with both of mine that have been on raw long enough to adjust, I've ended up bringing it down a little.
2.5% of 140lbs is 3.5lbs per day or 105 lbs per month. Around $77.
This is all pointless math though, because as I said it's just a guideline, I just think you may have aimed a tad bit high, then again better safe than sorry!!!

-How much more the puppy will eat while growing, thus raising the cost of how much meat we would feed. With kibble being a bit less, it would utimatly be less expensive (but not by much).

You feed about the same amount through the lifetime of the dog, of course adjusting based off of body condition.
So you'd feed the puppy 2-3% of his ideal ADULT body weight starting the day you bring him home, adjust for body condition after a couple weeks if you need to, and go from there, but generally speaking, it's the same amount as a puppy as it is for adult dogs.

His ultimate concern is not being able to find meat at .74 cents a pound or less on a consistant basis. I am also a bit worried about this. He feels that the cost of meat is variable and changes all the time. Kibble is a set price and easy to budget on a monthly basis. Being in a small town I only have a Safeway and Walmart for shopping. If we lived in a larger town/city with a bit more options I would feel more comfortable.

A very valid concern, I think.
I'm assuming the $.74/lb came from my thread about our actual price. I'll have you know, that two of the meats we buy are nearly $2/lb. (Beef brisket and goat) but i only feed that once per week. I could keep it even lower if I cu out beef brisket and just used beef ribs, which are $1.18/lb
While as much variation as possible is best, we still have to keep our costs down by using chicken as the bast of their diet, and even though 50% of their meat is chicken, and I'd love to even it out a little more between all the protien sources, it's far superior than feeding kibble. Chicken Leg Quarters at wal mart are about $.60/lb at normal price, but go on sale so often I don't think we ever even pay that. I've seen them as low as $3 for a 10lb bag. I use this to keep my costs down, and to make it possible to feed more expensive things and keep my average below $1/lb, which is what I aim for.
If you find somewhere to order chicken backs, those are generally even cheaper than quarters.

Any tips or suggestions for finding meat? Are my calculations correct? Any other suggestions?

I strongly suggest getting a second freezer, and that way you can actually stock up when you see good sales. Jon and I very rarely buy things at full price. Every now and then, when we have freezer space, we'll jsut go to a few grocery stores, check sales, and buy stuff at a good price. By having a constant supply, we never run out and are forced to go out and buy anything at full price.
Chicken leg quarters go on sale at wal mart all the time because they have a pretty short shelf life. I also see beef brisket, pork roasts, and whole turkey on sale a ton. These are things I think I have maybe paid full price for once or twice.



If you know you want to go raw, and you have some kibble left, i'd take advantage of the time to fiish the kibble by getting set up early, give yourself a little time to look for sales and buy some cheap stuff.
Winco, Food4Less, Smiths, and Wal Mart are where I've had the most luck with cheap meats, but also look at ethnic markets for good deals on organs.

[luvMyBRT]

Awesome. Thanks for the comments.
Yes, I did get the .74 cents a pound from your post. It's kinda what I am using as a starting point cost wise.
Lucky has a full bag of kibble right now. That would give me a month or so to do a bit more research, find a freezer and begin stocking up before switching Lucky.
The puppy won't be coming home until July or August, so I would still have a few months to stock up even more.

The key right now is seeing if I can find meats at a price we can afford.

[blue]

Hi, I'm on the other side of he mountains from you. Here's a start for you this guy delivers to central Oregon.Doug the Meat Man Raw Beef for Pets - Home

[Maab]

mhmm... My giant schnauzer is now 13 months old and 72 lb. I give her 1.5 lb a day and she is not under weight at all. Your numbers could be a little too optimistics.

I was in a similar situation like yours and when I saw how well the dog was doing on raw I switched completely to raw and never regretted it.
And I live a small apartment in the city with no freezer space and I still manage raw.

You'll see...

Update: Hubby and I talked last night for an hour about raw feeding. He responed GREAT! Listned to what I had to say about the benefits, etc. He even read a bit on the internet about it! I am more than happy.

Here is our problem. Tell me if my math is wrong (I know this is all approximate also). I am also estimating on the higher side with weight and price.

GSH Pointer about 50 pounds:
Would eat about 1.5 pounds of meat a day.
45 pounds of meat in a month.
At .74 cents a pound that's about $34 dollars a month.
This is wonderful IF I could actually find meats that are about this price per pound on a regular basis. We are currently spending about $40.00 a month on a bag of kibble for her. And, a 35lb bag will usually last her a bit more than a month.

In a few months we will be adding a Black Russian Terrier puppy. He will be about 140 pounds full grown.
Full grown he will eat about 4.2 pounds of meat a day.
About 126 pounds of meat in a month!
At .74 cents a pound that's about $94 dollars a month.
He will also eat more while he is a puppy and growing. So for the first year or so, this will be more, right?
I am estimating that he will eat about 2- 35lb bags of kibble a month. So that would be $80.00

Both dogs per month (when the BRT is full grown) raw fed approx: $128
Both dogs per month (when the BRT is full grown)kibble approx: $120

So, the decision is VERY easy that we would feed raw. No brainer.

This is what the hubby is worried about:

-How much more the puppy will eat while growing, thus raising the cost of how much meat we would feed. With kibble being a bit less, it would utimatly be less expensive (but not by much).

-His ultimate concern is not being able to find meat at .74 cents a pound or less on a consistant basis. I am also a bit worried about this. He feels that the cost of meat is variable and changes all the time. Kibble is a set price and easy to budget on a monthly basis. Being in a small town I only have a Safeway and Walmart for shopping. If we lived in a larger town/city with a bit more options I would feel more comfortable.

The next thing I'm going to do is to see if I can find any other meat suppliers in town and watch the meat prices at Walmart and Safeway.

Any tips or suggestions for finding meat? Are my calculations correct? Any other suggestions?

Hubby said if we can find meat at a good price on a consistant basis he is more than happy to go raw. Wish me luck!!

Thanks for all the help!

[Jordan S.]

The more I am learning about raw the more I like it!

My problems with not going totally raw is I think my husband would totally freak at the idea, cost, and storage of the meat. I currently live in a small eastern Oregon town and am afraid that I would have a problem finding affordable meats and keeping enough stocked.

I would be feeding a 10 year old 48lb GSH Pointer who I am not concerned with the amount and price.
We will be getting a Black Russian Terrier puppy in a few months. He will weight between 120-140 pounds when full grown. I am worried that feeding him raw may be like feeding a horse.

I would love to hear more about this from people who have been feeding raw.
Would it be possible to feed both kibble and raw? Like give a meal of kibble in the morning and do raw for dinner? Or mainly feed a high quality kibble and do some raw treats?
I feel that maybe if I ease my hubby into this he will be more apt to maybe going totally raw down the road...LOL....
If it were me, and money wasn't a problem, I would start raw tomorrow morning.

Yes I feed 70% Wellness CORE and 30% raw. I feed raw and kibble on different days. Considering my main source for meat is the grocery store, 100% raw is not totally duable to to price. He does great on the current diet regime. Mondays and Sundays he gets chicken legs or quarters, sometimes pork, and all other days he receives his Wellness.