Skip to content

Less expensive raw food?

Basenji Feeding
  • I've been feeding my two Bs Steve's Real Food - it comes as frozen chunks in a 10-lb. bag. Both dogs love it and do very well on it. Neither of them seem to tolerate dry food, though. Anytime that one gets diarrhea, it's generally from eating a lot of kibble (Merrick's Wilderness Blend).

    I'd stick with the Steve's Real Food but it's really expensive. $30/bag, and I'm going through three bags each month.

    Any recommendations on a similar raw food that doesn't cost as much?

    Thanks in advance!

  • How about real raw food? Not sure where you're located, but there are a number of raw food groups that could help you find what you're looking for (check out Yahoo groups). I feed my boy raw for about $1/lb. He gets about 1/2 lb. a day, so he's fed for $.50 a day, pretty much.

  • My boxer is on raw because of food allergies. They kept raising the prices over 3 months so eventually it was costing me $70. per week! I bought my own grinder over the internet. It's in between a commercial and home use one and should work for me. Because she does have allergies, I have started with a base of hamburger only (her sire is allergic to chicken) and will start adding things to it. There is also a vitamin called Bio Vites that can be added to raw food for people who make their own raw. Right now it's costing me about $20 per week to feed a 65 lb dog. Just a thought you might want to keep in mind if prices keep going up. While I am limited in what I can give her, you could add your own ingredients. I believe it's about 10% organ meat, 10% veggies, and whole eggs crushed in, shells and all in a base of food. I'm still working on my levels, but it's something I had to do. If I get it right, I may change the Basenji's over as well. I know they do better on raw than kibble, but it will be something to think about.

  • Well, I may try making the raw food for the Bs. Does anyone have a good recipe (including both ingredients and process - I've never done this before and can't even cook for myself!)? Do I need a food processor of some kind?

    Lori

  • I know you'll need a grinder that can grind bones, which is why I opted for one of the stronger ones. Chicken bones are fairly easy to grind up, they are light bones. I'm sure if you look on the internet, there are raw food groups that can help you. Like I said, I am limited, here's one website that had a listing: http://www.animalhomeopathy.net/id19.html.
    Here's another link on FAQ that I found interesting as well. http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
    Hope these help.

  • Here is what Only Natural Pet carries, maybe it might give an idea of what Raw brands are out there, http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=raw-pet-food

Suggested Topics

  • Raw Food

    Basenji Feeding
    2
    5 Votes
    2 Posts
    7k Views
    D
    Thanks for posting.
  • Raw Food Diet??!?!

    Basenji Feeding
    26
    0 Votes
    26 Posts
    30k Views
    Buddys PalB
    Ok, just had to add some more. Had a friend over yesterday (our first thanksgiving turkey, then Thursday again!) and she saw Hershey 12.8 years old and she mentioned how alert he was. Coat and eyes were clear and shiney! I was really excited to hear this as I read this about others' dogs in different forums etc. So, anyone thinking about it, it is not a fad…..it works and they all love it!
  • Dog food

    Basenji Feeding
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    21k Views
    kah211glhK
    I was feeding my Basenji brand blue and she started getting crystals in her kidneys. With the recommendation from my pet store owner (Pet Ranch), switched to Nature's Variety Instinct RAW. Withing 2 months…all crystals are gone. Now Basenji, Rotty, and Puppy Mastiff/Pitt all get Nature's Variety. Their coats are very shiney and teeth are so white.
  • Raw bones

    Basenji Feeding
    34
    0 Votes
    34 Posts
    17k Views
    NerdyDogOwnerN
    Gizmo is loving his raw bone from the butchers experience. He has had 2 so far. The rib bone goes down nicely, and I have not seen it break into any sharp shards at all. But I still take it away once it is down to a small enough size so that he has the whole thing in his mouth and is chewing at it with is head up high. I don't want him to get too over excited and try to swallow it. Today I was going to mix it up by giving him a rawhide bone instead…he just sniffed it and looked at me as if saying "Where is the good stuff!?!" :D
  • Raw diet

    Basenji Feeding
    23
    0 Votes
    23 Posts
    13k Views
    KanangaK
    @nkjvcjs: I'm not at home, so I can't remember what we switched to, but I think it is the same thing. It comes in 4lb bags, and has a pheasant variety that the dogs are nuts for. -Nicole Yea, must be the same one. I picked up a 4lbs bag of the chicken formula and pheasant formula.
  • Food Suggestions

    Basenji Feeding
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    6k Views
    E
    For "everything you ever wanted to know about corn", read the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. Corn products are in almost everything anymore, and they affect the way everything is metabolized.