what is the cost of a raw diet?

[lollie]

Whilst reading through the feeding section of the forum, and on my other topic about what you feed your cockers, some people have said they feed the raw diet, and I was wondering what the cost was? I get the impression that feeding all this meat can be quite expensive?

Also, I have also read some people feed their dog chicken wings? I've always been told never to give a dog chicken bones. Is this a myth?

xx

[Maria n Dennis]

I'm going to be changing my dogs to raw soon so not sure exactly how the price compares?

Mine get the occasional chicken wing. You should never give cooked bones as they are brittle and splinter easily. Raw is ok though.

[MaggieR]

I costed it all out when I originally switched but unfortunately can't remember the figures... For me it works out a little more expensive than the JWB and Nature Diet I was feeding her - but not much.  I go and fill up the freezer (getting a freezer specifically for her food has cost me more - especially when I had to replace the first one after breaking it  ) once a month and it costs me between £25 and £30.... thats with some contingency.  Its always worth keeping an eye at the supermarkets for reductions on the offal etc brings down the cost.  I picked up loads of liver, kidney, hearts and ribs all massively reduced the other week.  And if you're lucky you'll live near a butcher/farm shop who are just happy to get rid of "leftovers"...

ETA - I should say I'm a convenience raw feeder i.e I buy a lot of the meat/veg pre-minced/pulped...

[bluegirl]

The way I feed raw I'm probably looking at around 50p per dog per day for meat.

I must stress though that cost had nothing to do with me switching to raw it was my belief that I was doing the right thing for my dogs.

[jmanagh]

I think I am probably spending less or about the same and I believe my boys are now having an excellent quality raw diet.  The boys are definitely enjoying their food a lot more and I am delighted with the benefits. I have only made this transition recently and I'm hoping that the benefits will be long term.

[lollie]

The way I feed raw I'm probably looking at around 50p per dog per day for meat.

I must stress though that cost had nothing to do with me switching to raw it was my belief that I was doing the right thing for my dogs.

Wow that seems cheap. Would you be able to give me an example of a typical days menu for your dog. Maybe menu is the wrong word  And where do you buy your meat?

xx

[bluegirl]

I buy most of the meat from supermarkets and butcher and market, I buy a few different meats, offal and bones and then mix them together and feed. I hope you don't think I go and actually spend 50p per day, I mean the break down would work out to around 50p per dog per day once I'd made the initial layout.

[ollie nathan's mum]

Some days I spend less than 50p per day, I buy most of my meat on line from landywoods. Although the "basics" chicken wings from sainsburys are good value. I buy cows hearts from the butchers, they cost between £2 and £3 pound each, but cut up to around ten meals. The biggest cost for me was the freezer but that has probably paid for itself now. Feeding raw is not as complicated as it can seem, I don't add veg to his meat unless I have cooked veg left over.

[Sharon]

My dogs are fed raw, I've never actually worked out how much it costs, just know it suits my dogs better than any dry complete.  I paid over £300 for a freezer and fill it once a month, I buy from Landywoods, my order probably comes to about £180 a month which isn't much to feed all my dogs.

With raw you don't get as much 'poo' either which is great, they have great coats too.

[elaine.e]

The cost can vary hugely. Buying from somewhere like Natural Instinct, where the ingredients are of a quality that could be fed to humans and the meat/veg/herbs etc. mix has been done so that it's effectively a complete raw food bumps the price up considerably. I use Natural Instinct some of the time and even buying when they've products on offer works out at about £1.60 per dog per day.

I also buy from Nurturing By Nature http://www.nurturingbynature.co.uk/ and use a variety of their foods including chicken carcasses, various raw meat and bone mixes, fish and blitzed mixed veggies. It works out at about 65p per dog per day.

I buy hearts, liver, chicken wings and various other meats from supermarkets and local butchers and that cuts the cost too, but I've never worked out the exact amount.

I don't have a seperate freezer but use the bottom compartment of my household freezer. I'm lucky enough to be able to store some in a friend's freezer as well but for me the biggest inconvenience is having to buy fairly small amounts regularly rather than bulk buying.

It's definitely worth the effort though, as William's coat, skin and general health have improved so much since I switched him to raw.