# Frozen commercial raw diets



## ann g (May 6, 2010)

Does anyone use frozen commercial raw foods, I thought I would try these but they seem extremely expensive for a 90lb dog if you need to feed 2-3% of weight. That would be 2 and quarter lbs a day.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

It's difficult for me to recommend premade raw to large dogs because it's so expensive. PMR is better and much less expensive.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I have given my dogs some of the Natures variety and primal stuff when we have a damaged bag delivered to my business, and it's something I have a hard time getting my hands on. I have a bag of Primal Duck patties, and Primal Bison patties in my freezer, I give them more or less as treats because I don't like the plant matter in them, but because they're free for me, and from animal sources otherwise difficult to get my hands on, I do feed them in smaller amounts. I feed just over 4 lbs of food per day to two dogs so I can not imagine paying for pre made diets as 100% of their intake. I have fed Primal Duck medallions as a whole meal one time. Their poo had orange and green flecks in it, but was otherwise solid. I'm assuming these flecks were undigested plant matter. It was of course no harm done, but enough to tell me that they're not worth the price, ESPECIALLY considering my dogs can not even USE the food in its entirety.


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## ann g (May 6, 2010)

Yeah, it looked like it would be good to try but figuring the price would be like hundreds of dollars per month, NO WAY. I am just really scared to try raw like everyone here feeds.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

ann g said:


> Yeah, it looked like it would be good to try but figuring the price would be like hundreds of dollars per month, NO WAY. I am just really scared to try raw like everyone here feeds.


I think we all were at first. I know I was. I was certain my dogs were going to choke on a bone or something. 
It takes a little bit of time to be entirely comfortable with it. For me, the change meant life or death to my Corgi... so I just dove on in. I probably would have had a MUCH harder time if I didn't have to do something ASAP for him, but he needed carbs OUT entirely. 

You have to do what you're comfortable with, I supervised feeding times like a hawk the first two weeks. Now I just toss some random animal part on the ground, and walk away. It takes time to get to that point. For some more than others.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

ann g said:


> Yeah, it looked like it would be good to try but figuring the price would be like hundreds of dollars per month, NO WAY. I am just really scared to try raw like everyone here feeds.


What are some of your fears about feeding raw? Sometimes just talking about them will make you feel a bit better about it. And we would all love to help you switch...feel free to ask all the questions you want because we were all in your shoes at one point :wink:


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I feed frozen commercial raw! I don't go by the 2-3% rule, rather I go by the guidelines on the bag (more or less). I feed my standard poodles 8 oz of raw in the morning and then they each eat a cup of kibble for dinner. If I was to ONLY feed pre-made raw and no kibble, I would feed about 12-16 oz. daily. One of my poodles is 42 pounds (still growing though) and the other is 60 pounds. I am terrible at math so I actually have NO idea if the amount I feed follows the 2-3% rule.


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2010)

ann g said:


> Does anyone use frozen commercial raw foods, I thought I would try these but they seem extremely expensive for a 90lb dog if you need to feed 2-3% of weight. That would be 2 and quarter lbs a day.


I offer my dogs premade frozen raw but not as a whole meal. More like a snack, or a supplement. The majority of their meals is kibble, Taste of the Wild at present time.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I give my dog a meal of NV lamb patties once a week just to add another protein source in her diet. I'd have to take a mortgage out on the house if I wanted to buy fresh lamb round here.....


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

ann g said:


> Yeah, it looked like it would be good to try but figuring the price would be like hundreds of dollars per month, NO WAY. I am just really scared to try raw like everyone here feeds.


I was a little anxious as well when I first started. I did read a whole lot before I ever found this forum and I had busy bodies telling me all the myths and telling me feeding raw was wrong, I was going to kill my dogs, (they still try to tell me this....pscht), etc.

Then I found this forum. I read a bit and then decided to start talking. What I read made me realize that a lot of people here know what they are talking about, one gentleman has been feeding raw for years and years...I decided, there is no way all of these people would feed raw if it wasn't good.

So, I listened, read, paid attention, asked tons of questions, shared my apprehensions and it really did make me feel like I could go for it.

I was nervous the very first night when I fed raw chicken with bone! BONE! Chicken bone! They could die! What am I doing?! But, no, it wasn't cooked, it was raw and I sweated over it for nothing. 

The hoodlums handled it like pros and looked at me like, "Dude, like, we've been doing this forEVER what is your deal? Chill!"

So, I chilled. And the people here helped me in that chilling process. And now? Thanks to the peeps here? I'm chill like a frozen margarita. 

Ask anything and everything. A lot of the busy bodies out there in the world don't know what they are talking about. In the end, do what you feel comfortable with and what you think is right for your dogs.


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## ann g (May 6, 2010)

BrownieM said:


> I feed frozen commercial raw! I don't go by the 2-3% rule, rather I go by the guidelines on the bag (more or less). I feed my standard poodles 8 oz of raw in the morning and then they each eat a cup of kibble for dinner. If I was to ONLY feed pre-made raw and no kibble, I would feed about 12-16 oz. daily. One of my poodles is 42 pounds (still growing though) and the other is 60 pounds. I am terrible at math so I actually have NO idea if the amount I feed follows the 2-3% rule.


They handle the raw and kibble in the same day ok?


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

ann g said:


> They handle the raw and kibble in the same day ok?


Yes it's perfectly fine! I do feed raw and kibble in separate meals though, to be safe.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

ann g said:


> Yeah, it looked like it would be good to try but figuring the price would be like hundreds of dollars per month, NO WAY. I am just really scared to try raw like everyone here feeds.


Don't be afraid! I was too in the beginning. Then I saw how much my dog enjoyed it and the wonders it did for his body. At first I would give him raw in the mornings on weekends and kibble at night, which progressed to raw morning and evenings on weekends, then raw for dinner weekdays and raw on weekends, and now pretty much all raw! Take your time if you aren't ready. I didn't do it overnight like a lot of people do. It took me most of the summer but here I am and we made it :smile:


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

ann g said:


> Does anyone use frozen commercial raw foods, I thought I would try these but they seem extremely expensive for a 90lb dog if you need to feed 2-3% of weight. That would be 2 and quarter lbs a day.


I use these occasionally for convenience and I try to get them in a protein I don't find in stores as easily. Although it's affordable for me because Louis is small (a couple patties/nuggets a week and a bag will last me months) I don't think I would feed them if i had a dog your size. I also agree with others on the 'extra' ingredients.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

I was a bit comprehensive at first about feeding PMR because like most people, I was afraid of a nutritional imbalance. It's all about balance over time. If you feed a reasonably variety of meats like poultry, red meat and fish, your dog will get all the nutrients he/she needs.

One semi tricky part is perhaps the ratio of muscle meat, organ meat, fat and bone but it takes little time to see what works best for each individual dog.


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## ann g (May 6, 2010)

I think I may have to pick up a few types of chicken to start and see if he enjoys that. He eats kibble with no enthusiasm, since he was a puppy, he's never been into eating. I would love to see if he would take to raw. It sounds like its ok to start with raw for one meal then kibble for another. The main thing that scares me is eating the bones but it sounds like I'm worried for no reason. Anyways, thx for all the info.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

ann g said:


> I think I may have to pick up a few types of chicken to start and see if he enjoys that. He eats kibble with no enthusiasm, since he was a puppy, he's never been into eating. I would love to see if he would take to raw. It sounds like its ok to start with raw for one meal then kibble for another. The main thing that scares me is eating the bones but it sounds like I'm worried for no reason. Anyways, thx for all the info.


Most novice raw feeders are afraid of bone at first. Feed a chicken back at first and see how it goes. Dogs will generally effortlessly crunch right through it and that should reduce your worries.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

ann g said:


> I think I may have to pick up a few types of chicken to start and see if he enjoys that. He eats kibble with no enthusiasm, since he was a puppy, he's never been into eating. I would love to see if he would take to raw. It sounds like its ok to start with raw for one meal then kibble for another. The main thing that scares me is eating the bones but it sounds like I'm worried for no reason. Anyways, thx for all the info.


It may take awhile for him to figure out how to eat the raw meat/bone at first, so just be patient. Louis' first raw meal was a chicken wing and it took him 25 minutes or so of sniffing and licking before he attempted to chew it, and it took him 45 minutes or more to eat the whole thing. Now he devours it in less than 5 minutes :biggrin:


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