RAW for cheap
There you have it. The trick is to find what works for your dog and stick with it. We have been feeding raw for about 14 years. Going to introduce some kibble as the price of meat is so damn high these days.
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so my dog has been having a chronic skin infection for about the past 2 years now, antibiotics would make it go away but it would always come back. Most recently i took him to the dog dermatologist, he was placed on this soy dog food thats quite expensive, and he has gotten much better. So supposedly he has a food allergy, possibly to beef or chicken or whatever. I agree with the food allergy, but have a hard time believing a dog is allergic to meat. I am thinking its more along the lines of whats in the dog food, or how the dog food is made, or any number of other ingredients. Between vet bills and expensive dog food, it will basically be cheaper and better for my dog to just feed him raw. which I plan to start doing. I have been feeding him rice the past few days. I plan to feed him meat and rice.
so basically my question is, how can I feed my dog raw for cheap?
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Good question. Typically, raw is not as cheap as it was few years ago. Couple tips:
1. If you have a local butcher get the know them and arrange to buy the scraps and bones.
2. Look for the sale items in the supermarket - usually with yellow or red label. These are items that are about to expire and need to be sold. ground beef, ground turkey, Beef, chicken, turnkey necks, chicken backs etc.. but basically whatever uncooked meat that you can find. Bone in is best.
3. Supplement with an egg, greens (veggies) and probiotics (yogurt or cottage cheese)
Best wished and let us know how it goes.
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just a few days off the dog food and hes doing much better. like I said before I have a hard time believing a dog is allergic to meat. More like he is allergic to whatever nonsense the dog food is made with, additionally, the protein sources in some of the dog food is some kind of alternate protein source. I used to work for science diet dog food back in around 05 I believe it was, right at the height of the dog food recall. The dog food being manufactured in china, which most brands are, were being spiked with melamine to artificially boost the protein levels. Feeding raw is going to be cheaper than the "special dog food" that has no meat in it, and all protein from soy. Its also going to be cheaper than the vet bills and medication. I already purchased about a months worth of food for him what would be the equivalent of 2 weeks worth of dog food.
Its absolutely mind boggling to hear that a dog cant eat meat! lol cmon now.
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This is something that we understood back in 2003 when our friend Cindy from Trails End Estrela turned us on to raw feeding. We have had long lived healthy dogs since then. I am glad that you have started your journey in feeding your dogs something closer to their natural diet.
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I agree with everyone that says I have a hard time believing the dog is allergic to meat. It's not the first time I've heard that. But I didn't believe that either. I have never heard of a dog that eats Raw being allergic to any meat. They have been allergic to grains, corn, rice, and dyes put in commercial foods.
You can introduce the dog to one meat source at a time. Give it to the dog for at least a week. You will be able to determine if the dog is allergic to it.
It was mentioned that you can give the dog veggies. This is true. However, a dog does not have the digestive system that omnivores and herbivores have to digest veggies. They are carnivores (meat eaters). Sure they are opportunist and will eat anything but will not benefit from it nutritionally. Veggies, fruits, etc need to be crush beaten into a pulp in order for the dog to digest it. In the wild the dog ate the contents of a herbivore that it hunted and that provided the nutrition needed. The food would have already been in a form that the dog digestive system could digest. It's the circle of life. Another way to give you dog a complete balanced diet feeding raw is to give them green tripe.If you hunt or know a hunter you can get it that way. If not you can buy it frozen. It smells bad, but dogs love it and it is full of healthy nutrition.
Every now and then you should give the dog organ meat. This means organs that are used as filters like gizzard, kidneys, liver, etc. Some thing hearts are organ, but it is a muscle meat.
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The "veggies are to simulate the ripping out of the guts of herbivore and to provide a boost to probiotics found in Yogurt or cottage cheese.
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I agree Gary. This is why I said turn the veggies into a pulp in order for the dog to benefit from the nutrients. In order for a dog to digest veggies they first need to be crushed. This would be done by the jaw teeth. Dogs don't have them. Therefore, when I give my dog a raw carrot it comes out in their stool just like it went in. It is still whole or however I sliced it. This is because they don't have the teeth to break it down. We have to help them by putting it through the food processor. There are some that will cook the veggies. This doesn't harm the dog, but it is not very beneficial. Cooking our veggies rob them of most of the nutrition. The same thing applies for the dog. I recall in a nutrition class I had in college. We tested several types of food and how they respond to release nutrients. On one experiment we had some broccoli. We cooked in for different time.. The raw broccoli had many vitamins. The one cooked just just a little had a decent content of nutrients. The one boiled the longest had very little nutrients. We tested the water that it was boiled in and it had a high content of nutrients. The results of the experiment was that the longer they cooked the the less good it was for us nutritionally. We would be better off drinking the water than eating the veggies...lol
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Understood. So we use canned spinach, mixed veggies, sweet yams, and colored greens in the food. Switch them daily.
We also use one egg and couple dallops of yogurt. Mash it all together into a slurry and then drop in some meat.
I made a video over 10 years ago that showed how we did it then. Will find it and post it then.
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That sounds like some great combinations! I do the eggs too. Sometimes I even throw in the eggshell. I've heard that is good for them but I have my doubts that they can digest it.
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Agreed.
You may want to try organic dog food. Nature's domain is good, either the red or green bag. It's cheaper at Costco. Lots of dogs with hot spots and itching from allergies is from all of the chemicals and GMO's in traditional dog food.
so my dog has been having a chronic skin infection for about the past 2 years now, antibiotics would make it go away but it would always come back. Most recently i took him to the dog dermatologist, he was placed on this soy dog food thats quite expensive, and he has gotten much better. So supposedly he has a food allergy, possibly to beef or chicken or whatever. I agree with the food allergy, but have a hard time believing a dog is allergic to meat. I am thinking its more along the lines of whats in the dog food, or how the dog food is made, or any number of other ingredients.
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now that this has happened and my dog is doing better. I will never do dog food again. its all made by a bunch of greedy corporate bastards. its all made in china. its all done in the name of profit. All the healthy this and natural that are all gimmicks to increase sales. Its not healthy, its not natural. I used to work for science diet dog food about 10 years or so ago. stuff is garbage. I also recall the huge dog food poisoning epidemic years ago. What happened? they were putting melamine in the dog food to artificially spike the protein levels.
That being said
I recall a thread about how to raise and feed your dog rabbits for around $50 a month. it was on game dog forum. I stumbled across it once, and never could find it again. I have also heard of people raising guinea pigs as well. I dunno though. it seems like it would be expensive. 1 rabbit or guinea pig a day for 1 dog seems expensive and time consuming, let alone 3. Maybe if I had some more room and I could build a large enclosure for some a bunch of rabbits, but for now im sticking with just giving him chicken and rice and any other left overs really. He is doing much better now. still a bit of inflammation and pustules in his paws, but way better than before and hes not even taking any more medication. he was previously getting an allergy shot at the standard vet, while still eating regular dog food, and was about in the condition he is in now. I am thinking now that if I get him the allergy shot, and feed him raw, he should finally be 100% back to normal. I think his allergies may be enviromental as well, maybe partially, but fixing/changing that is really beyond my control. Gonna get him to the vet soon and try the shot, ill keep you guys updated. Good news is I wont need to take him to the dog dermatologist anymore, it was real expensive. I have a great relationship with my standard vet, if anyone is in socal and needs a good vet let me know I can refer you.
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cawkazen,
Sure whatever works for you. My pit had a similar problem with his skin but not as extreme. The vet said allergies. I changed up his food to a more healthier/ and or limited ingredient along with some soft food. It works for my dog. I also use dermabenz shampoo once a month on him which is helpful and also add and fish oil and dasaquin into his bowl. It all works synergistically for my dog and I've had great results.
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I changed up his food to a more healthier/ and or limited ingredient along with some soft food. It works for my dog.
That is they key. find what works for your dog and monitor to ensure stability.
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How is everything going now that you used a limited source for months?
I have a client that is having similar issues, wanting to convince them in making the switch off of kibble.
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It all works synergistically for my dog and I've had great results.There you have it. The trick is to find what works for your dog and stick with it. We have been feeding raw for about 14 years. Going to introduce some kibble as the price of meat is so damn high these days.
