Raw feeding menu

[SaraB]

Check out Raws for Paws, pretty decent prices and you don't have to pay a ton. If you want meat at like $.19/pound, let me know. We buy in bulk.

[PWCorgi]

If you want to make your own completely (which I find works best) then Pricing from Anderson Produce is AWESOME! That is where I get turkey necks for Megan and I when I am not broke

[Southpaw]

I don't have the space to buy in bulk. I'm using the side-by-side refrigerator in our garage haha and the freezer is just so narrow and provides no space.

I'm probably going to go broke just because of that.

[Greenmagick]

You could probably still buy some bulk if you just process it and put it in ziploc bags and stack them?

[Southpaw]

I'll have to see if I can make it work once I get into the swing of things. If we cleaned out our human food freezers I could probably sneak some food in there without upsetting anyone lol but I don't foresee that happening!

I am like, way more excited about this than I should be. Ready for Poop Patrol.

[kady05]

If you have the space, check CL for freezers. I got mine (16.5cu ft.) for $125, and it's in like new condition.

[jenv101]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

She looks great!
That website is super helpful too.

I'm feeling a little more comfortable about doing this, I just hope Juno's digestive system doesn't make it complicated. She's got a bit of a sensitive tummy and it took forever to find a kibble that didn't give her the runs. So my fingers are crossed that transitioning her to raw isn't such a headache.

My two were like this too, Aura had super mushy puppy poops that I couldn't get rid of, and Riley had a sensitive tummy, but when I started them on raw chicken their stools were awesome almost instantly. The first month is pretty easy, like everyone has said, start with chicken for the first 1-2 weeks and go from there.

We did chicken (bone in and then boneless) for 2 weeks, then turkey, fish (whole frozen sardines), pork about week 4 (bone in and boneless) and then boneless beef. Working on adding organs right now. Right now I just alternate variety as much as I can with what I have in the freezer. Not too concerned about the 80/10/10 thing as long as they are getting a nice variety and the poops are good. Balance over time.

Every dog is different. You might find Juno loses weight for the first 3 weeks or so, because chicken is pretty lean.

I have to feed Riley just over 2lbs a day to keep weight on him!! It's crazy.

[Southpaw]

Her poop was so perfect this morning I could have cried lol. The kibble she was on wasn't causing her any problems at all, so it wasn't like we had an issue that needed to be resolved--I'm just SO happy that, thus far, it hasn't created diarrhea. I haven't even been cutting off the skin/fat which is apparently recommended at first... oops.
It was a little bit smaller too. And this is after only 3 raw meals.

Thanks for your help so far everyone! This is so fun.

[kady05]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

Her poop was so perfect this morning I could have cried lol. The kibble she was on wasn't causing her any problems at all, so it wasn't like we had an issue that needed to be resolved--I'm just SO happy that, thus far, it hasn't created diarrhea. I haven't even been cutting off the skin/fat which is apparently recommended at first... oops.
It was a little bit smaller too. And this is after only 3 raw meals.

Thanks for your help so far everyone! This is so fun.

I only cut the major fatty parts off of the quarters when I first started Piper, and she surprisingly (she DID have lots of stomach issues, that's why I switched her to raw) had no ill effects from it. I never took the little pieces of organ meat off either.

[katielou]

YAY!

It gets to be almost as simple as kibble when you have the hang of it.

As for the freezer thing we only had the little side by side freezer when i first moved here (chest freezer from CL for $60 was awesome) and using the vaccum bags for stuff that was going to be in their for a while so i could stack it was great.

I only buy food once every month or 2 at the most now that i have a big chest freezer and just spend a few hours that Saturday cutting and bagging everything up. Bagging into "meals" also cuts down on time.