So, can I go shopping in the grocery store for ingredients? If so, what do I need? She's a 40lb dog, very active. How much will this cost monthly? What are the pros and cons?
I tried googling all this stuff, but google seems to be very unhelpful these days. All I get are controversies surrounding the raw food diets for dogs.
Thanks in advance.
Also, what are the risks of disease?
Also, how much will this cost weekly?
♥shelter puppies rule♥
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You receieved a few inaccurate answers here. Ultimately, you will need to do your own research and decide what is best.
1. Grocery store is fine if there is a variety of meat, meaty bones, and organs. One of the organs must be liver.
This is the prey-model feeding guideline:
80% of the diet is meat of proteins that should be varied as much as possible and half should be red meat such as beef, pork and lamb.
10% of the diet is bones, which must be covered by meat, such as a chicken quarter. The only bones that should not be fed are meat-less bones and weight baring bones of large mammals (for example, beef marrow bones aka soup bones, should not be fed)
5% of the diet must be liver, where beef is more nutritious than chicken but you can mix it up.
5% is made up of other organs, most commonly kidneys (there is one exception to organs: heart, stomach, tripe, lungs and gizzards don't count as organs for this percent. but they do count as meat.).
Raw feeders can also buy from local butchers, or join local co-ops or find distributors through http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier
2. Pros- it's the least processed, most nutritious way to feed and you know the real source and quality. No cons except perhaps putting more thought into the diet. (I for one do not think that is a con however)
3. No more risk of disease than feeding kibble ( http://rawfed.com/myths/bacteria.html ) Actually if you look at FDA food recalls, there is more of a risk feeding kibble.
4. Cost will depend on your area, availability and storage. If you have extra room in your freezer, or better yet an extra freezer, you can buy in bulk for better deals.
dhrampla
Answers Raw Dog Food
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cat & jo
Here's a good site with info on raw feeding. http://rawdogranch.com/
I used this site when I fed my dogs raw diet and there are things I learned about what they tolerated and what they did not. I ground their raw meaty bones because I had gulpers and they'd throw up unless it was ground. For convenience sake they are now on a quality dog food and a second meal that is home cooked. None of my dogs got diseases from their raw diet, but I did handle the meat as if I was picking out meat I'd feed my kids. Lots of people do not do this. What it will cost weekly depends on what meats/parts you purchase and what you have available where you live. For example, you might get fresh meat from farmers, or find a butcher shop that sells parts like chicken backs, necks, wings for cheaper than area grocery stores.
Edit: I just noticed that the site I referred you to is being re-vamped but there is an e-mail contact posted. I see that others here have posted info on raw feeding.
I'd just really emphasiize again, to grind the raw meaty bones if your dog gulps food or has a real sensitive stomach.
Jeanne
someone else posted this link for raw food quantity calculations, not sure how reliable it is, but u can take a look. http://www.raw4dogs.com/calculate.htm
hmm try typing raw food diet, some good website should turn up.
i recall that experienced raw feeders recommend to feed some amount of organs & bones as well, not just e meat.
How much i'll cost depends on how much u feed it. but its definitely gonna be more expensive than kibbles. btw u should also give it some fruits & veggies but just a ~small~ quantity. e veggies should be "processed" by either steaming and mincing/blended, and fruits should be given occassionally. Contrary to what most people says that dogs cannot digest or absorbs the nutrients in fruits & vegetables, they can, so long as they are "processed". a very slight amt of carbs like cooked rice could be given too if u like, again probably occassionally is enough.
Rather than analyzing pros and cons, e simple answer would be how much time & effort (& money) u be willing to give your dog. I mean the pros & cons depends on e dog itself; how well each dog do on a raw diet, a homecooked diet or a kibble diet is different. u could give it a very good quality kibble diet coupled with a raw bone treat every now and then, or incorporate into its food, and who is to say it could not be as healthy as one who only eats raw meat? i guess what im trying to say is different dogs respond differently. any type u choose as long as ur dog looks good, healthy and happy, thats all matters =) of course exercise & other things also play a part.
Good luck. =)