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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 24, 2013 10:34:47 GMT -5
Andreina - thank you! ill check that out Lisa - you mentioned that some people feed raw and kibbles. How would you split that up? I have heard that you definitely cant feed it like that in the same feeding because they digest differently. So how is that done? Please forgive all my questions - I just want to learn everything before I make a final decision, even thought Im almost convinced to go all raw
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Post by Lisa on Feb 24, 2013 12:01:39 GMT -5
I never mixed kibble and raw and would not recommend it... but some people do. I fed my dogs kibble in AM (25% of daily meal) and raw in PM and never had any problems.
When Acana changed the formula and my dogs got runny stools I decided to feed them 100% raw and never looked back.
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Post by dobermoms on Feb 24, 2013 20:12:39 GMT -5
Nik, you seem to have made up your mind about feeding the dogs raw. Have you worked out a $$ on how much it will cost monthly?
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Post by ladydon on Feb 25, 2013 8:45:46 GMT -5
I'm actually want to try feeding Diesel raw. I know a supplier who lives in my area and also I got Diesel to try it before but he didn't wanna. I'm just curious - it would hopefully help his farting issues lol
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Post by ladydon on Feb 25, 2013 8:46:03 GMT -5
and...who doesn't mind picking up small poop? LOL
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Post by Lisa on Feb 25, 2013 11:07:04 GMT -5
Barb I will tell you... it will cost around $200 to feed two Dobermans. It may be less than $200 if you feed chicken (40%), pork(40%) and beef(20%) what is a sufficient diet for dogs. You may feed heart, tongue, tripe, soft meaty bones as musle meat and not ground meat which is the most expensive. It will reduce costs to $150 a month. If you want to spoil your babies you will pay more than $200. It's hard not to spoil them when you start raw feeding Lana what did you give Diesel to try? A chicken leg from the grocery store may work... or meaty beef or pork bone if he is not a gulper. Did you try it?
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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 25, 2013 20:45:46 GMT -5
I still have to work on convincing my husband to do this work with me but for now I think I'll start with seeing if they like raw in the first place. Ive never given the dobes raw meat so ill try them as treats for now. The little dogs LOVE it!! My maltese practically bit my finger off when i gave it to her but im not gonna lie i was very nervous giving it to them because ive never given them bone to chew on before but they seem to be good now. If I can get it for $150, we will most likely switch because my husband says it has to be a decent saving for him to be bothered with it and at the moment we spend 180+ taxes for Orijen every 3-3.5 weeks. So first Ill try it as treats to see if they will eat it, but Im really liking the idea of it. Thank you so much for everybodys help, tips and suggestions. You are all so helpful
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Post by Lisa on Feb 25, 2013 22:22:38 GMT -5
When I said $150 I meant two Dobermans... if your maltese almost bit your finger you may spend much more LOL Seriously I have no clue how much small dogs eat. You have to find really good deals on chicken, pork and beef then. How much do organs cost there? Pork organs cost me $1.20 if I buy 5lbs and more in China town (heart, tongue, intestines, kidney, liver) but I have to do some barging for better price. My co-worker brought me there and showed how to do that If you feed 4lbs daily and buy food approx. $1.50/lbs it will cost approx. $180 a month only for Dobermans. So you need to find food $1.20/lbs to reduce costs to $144. It doesn't include your small dogs. You may find chicken $1/lbs, pork $1.2/lbs but it would be difficult to find beef for $1.4/lbs. Then I recommend you to buy 50% chicken, 30% pork and 20% beef. Dogs need red meat.
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Post by dobermoms on Feb 26, 2013 6:28:41 GMT -5
Nik.....where are you buying your kibble from? What are you paying per bag? I am wondering if you are paying too much? I am getting the large bags of Chicken n Potato for $54/bag...buy 6 get the 7th free.
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Post by cocoloco on Feb 26, 2013 9:23:55 GMT -5
Hi there
I am Andreina's crazy raw food friend lol!!
Regarding raw just do it!! Don't overthink it like I did at first. It is stressful, overwhelming and gross at first but once you start and your dog does well you will never look back.
When Coco was a pup she did not do well on any kind of kibble. She was always so skinny, had horrible gas and was always loose. She was switched "cold turkey" to raw at around 18 months and we have never looked back. We started on ground chicken with bone ground in, offal and tripe cubes. I am fortunate to live around the corner from a raw food home business where I can easily get already packaged foods, bones and organs. The prices are not too bad but I have now discovered organs and chicken feet at T-Phat which are cheaper than my lady so I have been buying them there.
Lisa has given you great advice on raw feeding already so I won't repeat. You just have to remember certain things like heart is not an organ it is considered a muscle meat, white chalky straining poops means too much bone and runny cannon butt means too much organs particularly liver lol.
If you have any questions feel free to ask me. I am by no means an expert but have been feeding raw for about 2.5 years now and I love it. We will never go back to kibble!!
Good luck!!
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Post by Dobereich on Feb 26, 2013 18:48:19 GMT -5
- maybe they have a used one to purchase on kijiji or something. ill look into it. thank you for that I just happened to purchase a new upright and I'm selling my large chest freezer. Never had an issue with it, keeps everything good, no ice build-up, etc.
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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 26, 2013 20:30:04 GMT -5
dobermoms - Orijen just increased their prices, so for the biggest bag they offer we pay $77 for chicken/fish blend, and $88 for strictly fish (Zeus and Porscha are on different diets) and we buy it at Global Pets. Buy 10 get 1 free. My hubby really likes the kibble, so its gonna take a little convincing lol Im going to give the dobes some chicken to try raw and hopefully they like it. Lisa - oh wow thank you for breaking that down for me. My math sucks and its much easier for me to comprehend it when you break it down like that. There is a grocery store close to my house that has all kinds of things - livers, kidney, toungue, pig feet thats all sold. I should maybe talk to the butcher. It all seemed pretty cheap too. If I can show my husband the portions and prices that Zeus and Porscha would eat I think Id then be able to convince him to do the work with me. @monica - Thanks for letting me know. If we decide to go ahead with this new method, Ill give you a shout to see if you still have the freezer
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Post by nzelic01 on Feb 26, 2013 20:32:39 GMT -5
cocoloco - thanks for you motivation as well its definitely gross - i bought some liver for the little dogs and it was so nasty cutting it up to freeze it. my little dogs LOOOOVE it. im scared to see them chew the bones though. My dogs tend to swallow without savouring the flavour haha
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Post by Lisa on Feb 26, 2013 22:12:14 GMT -5
If your dogs are gulpers you need to watch them and never leave them chewing without your supervision. Eventually they will get used to and slow down.... GIno is OK and Asha is perfect. I love to watch my girl chewing on bones. She is so gentle "killing" raw bones. Gino may swallow bigger pieces but we never had any problems.
Cocoloco I enjoy feeding raw a lot too! It takes more time to prepare and freeze meat but it's so rewarding to see dogs enjoying their food so much.
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Post by dobermoms on Feb 26, 2013 23:08:05 GMT -5
Well I know we are all interested Nik in hearing how the transition goes.....remember we all want daily updates.....because we are on this road with you.
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