I think feeding what works for your dog is the most important thing. One dog - or hundreds - might do really well on prey model raw or a whole prey diet, but it doesn't mean that all of them are going to. They are all individuals, and what works for most isn't going to work for all of them. If Bella does best with grains, then I think BP should by all means be feeding her grains, even if it doesn't fit in with most people's perception of a prey model diet. The dog's weight, coat, and general health isn't going to lie about what they do best on, and to me, that is the most important factor in whatever you are feeding.
You are correct in the fact that health matters most...but I think the part that Jon was trying to convey, and obviously failing, is that PMR can work for every dog. You just have to find out what the right balance is. One member of a single species does not differ much, if at all, from the rest of the members in that species.
The core thinking behind the PMR diet is not just lots and lots of protein. Its the correct balance between skeletal muscle meat, bone content and organ meat that works for an individual dog. A PMR diet is not balanced or complete without all three.
Some combination of these three ingredients can cater to any dog out there. I think what he was trying to say was that maybe there was a combination that would work, like adding more bone and cutting back on skeletal muscle meat, that would have worked. The general rule or guideline is 80/10/10 for meat, bone and organ respectively. But this is a guideline. If changes need to be made to make it work for a particular individual, then that is fine. Just as long as all three are in the diet.
Saying that a dog needs grain is just silly...*runs and hides LOL*...but seriously. Dogs are carnivores, and do not have a requirement in their diet for grain. My guess is that just some adjustments had to be made in order to make it work.
The reason why most people give up on a PMR diet, is because they started wrong. There is a right way and a wrong way to make the switch over. If not done correctly it can lead to serious health issues. I don't know the background of this person, and I don't pretend like I do...but in my experience of knowing people who make the switch if there is any problem at all it is because they are not following the proper procedure to make it as easy as possible on the dog. Of course there are more extreme cases than others, and sometimes the transition might take a month or so to resolve. But the long term benefits are astounding and worth every minute or the switch over.
I am in no way trying to tell anyone what to do or what to feed their dogs...just trying to help clarify where Jon was trying to come from and what he was trying to communicate.
But that's just in your area. In mine, the cheapest meat I can get is somewhere around $1.50-1.75/lb. And it's not usually of a quality that I'd feed to my dog.
As far as freezers go - space is an issue for a lot of people, especially those in apartments and condos, or those who have roommates. It's not always about space or money, though - sometimes not feeding raw is about a lack of knowledge, a lack of time, reservations about how sanitary it is, etc.
But...people come to forums just like this one to learn about this stuff. They are most likely going to do searches for thread pertaining to a raw diet. Information and stuff like this should be posted up...and not bashed on either. Forums like this are built for debate, and you gotta have a strong backbone to survive and take what people say in stride...but stay curtious and open-minded all the while.
You're coming off just a little bit strong, Jon.
He is coming off a bit strong, but from reading some of the other posts in reply to his were a bit strong right off the cuff as well. If you don't want to debate...don't post up. And people should really not get offended if someone doesn't agree with what they do or believe, but just take what they say with a grain of salt. Absolutely no reason to get bent over it.