Is there a simple inexpensive raw diet?

[jeff]

Just skimming through the different threads, raw feeding appears more difficult than I have time for. Is there a simple way to feed raw for those with not alot of leisure time? Also my Shepherd does have a sensitive stomach while my mix breed has no problems in that area.

[marshies]

I have no experience with feeding raw, but have been doing some research on the forum just like you.

There are a few options, and please, someone correct me if I am mistaken.

1)Pre-measure and freeze your meals once in a while (depending on freezer space), and just thaw out before feeding.

2)Buy pre-prepared raw meals from special purveyors.

3)I've heard some people say that you don't need to feed a complete and varied meal every day, as long is it averages out in the week. So if you stick to the same weekly schedule where fed say, organ and bones on Monday, and muscle meat on Tuesday, you can reduce the prep time of preparing several protein sources in a day.

4) I am not sure if this is true in dogs, but I know in cats, they have nutrient powders that you can mix with ground meat to ensure a complete and nutritious meal is fed each time.

Again, just some of the things I read while researching. Please perform due diligence before following any of the options.

[suzzyq01]

Raw Diet and simple/inexpensive don't really go together.

It's not cheap unless you can buy in bulk and freeze it. It's not easy unless you always have a supply of it.

Benefits are great, but it's not cheap or easy.

[jeff]

Originally Posted by suzzyq01

Raw Diet and simple/inexpensive don't really go together.

It's not cheap unless you can buy in bulk and freeze it. It's not easy unless you always have a supply of it.

Benefits are great, but it's not cheap or easy.

Thanks, not what I was hoping to hear, but I guess it is not for me at this time.

[suzzyq01]

I tried it, and it's difficult to keep up with unless you have a place to store bulk amounts of meat. It's also not cheap around here because I had a hard time finding inexpensive meat sources. So grocery store markdowns were my source. If your a hunter then deer is awesome, freeze it for a week and then feed it to the dog starting with the organ and muscle meat, then you can work your way around the whole animal. Not a option for me. So I went back to high quality kibble.

[onyx'girl]

Jeff, look into a yahoo group rawfeeding co-op in your area, then you can get cheaper wholesale pricing when others go in on it with you. Also there may be a Quest recycling group in your area that is taking on new members....

[martemchik]

Unless you have enough fridge to store about 500+ lbs of meat at one time you won't be able to do it cheap. What is your definition of inexpensive? I feed half kibble half pre made raw and it runs me about $100 a month.

[onyx'girl]

I feed raw and am in a co-op. Feeding 3 GSD's runs me about $100 a month, that is cheap! Though I am blessed to be in the group I'm in. My dedicated dog food freezer is full and I am getting free(old) bison from a friend.
You can place an ad on CL or freecycle for old meat, too. There are ways of getting around the grocery store costs.
Of all the food I buy, the most costly is the stinky green tripe, but it is worth it due to the benefits it provides.

[sable123]

Originally Posted by jeff

Just skimming through the different threads, raw feeding appears more difficult than I have time for. Is there a simple way to feed raw for those with not alot of leisure time? Also my Shepherd does have a sensitive stomach while my mix breed has no problems in that area.

You can feed green tripe a few times a week without driving yourself nuts. Green tripe while not a complete food is balanced enough that it won't throw your dogs' diet out of whack. You shouldn't see any issues with digestion either.

Green tripe is the best raw food to give. The rest is just not worth the trouble versus good kibble.

[onyx'girl]

I dissagree, I'd rather control what my dog ingests vs a 'good kibble' that may be subject to recalls. Once you get into the groove of rawfeeding it isn't a big deal. I've never gone "nuts" due to feeding raw....