[Kari L]

Hi, I am considering doing a raw food diet with my two dogs. They are old and have no real health problems but do have big lumps forming on their skin for the past 1-2 years. Fatty tumors I am guessing. I haven’t taken them to a vet in a very long time.
My daughter has autism and is obviously my priority. We eat 90% organic diet as a family and spend most of our money doing so among many of her supplements.
I am kind of sick of buying crappy dog food for them. I buy them a grain free dry dog food now which is mostly meat then followed by sweet potato which I know they don’t need.
I am not so worried about these two ( I love them but realize they are on there way out of this world and the damage of their teeth wont be repaired) but when they go would like to ditch the crappy dog food for sure.
So sorry for the long introduction but my question is how much does this all cost and how much preparation is involved? I have been buying what I thought was raw dog food at Whole Foods lately but realized it was lightly pasteurized. It was lamb and many lamb organs with many synthetic vitamins/minerals.
Do most people use synthetic vitamins/minerals on this diet? Again total newbie but do love nutrition.
BTW my dogs now are 11 and are 10 and 15 pounds. My next dog I plan will be bigger like a golden retriever.
Thank you much!

[Kristin C]

Hi Kari-I feed both my dogs raw and have found making my own food to be the most economical, although I estimate it’s still almost twice the cost of high end kibble. Buying commercial raw or freeze dried raw is probably 3-4 times more than the kibble. My husband and I agree we’d rather spend the money on real food for them versus vet bills and potential illness. Sounds like you have a lot going on as it is, but you can probably start by making small changes. The book See Spot Live Longer the ABC Way might be a good start. I’ve started using the SSLL Dinner Mix to ensure my homemade meals are AAFCO compliant. There are other supplements and base mixes you can use as well and just add meat. Hope that helps some.

[Kari L]

Thanks for the reply Kristin! So could you quantify the amount you spend and how much I would approximately spend on two older small dogs?
I guess price is the major factor. I spend about $50 a month now is my guess. I looked into this a long time ago and was feeding them some meat with egg shells mixed in from what I remember. Then the baby came and poor little guys got put on back burner.
I really am getting to the point where I think if I can’t afford to feed them right I shouldn’t own a dog (obviously these two are my forever babies but talking about future dogs).
I do a ton of food prep now for my daughter but if it isn’t more than 10-20 minutes a day I am ok with that.
I will look into those resources.
Thank you!
Kari

[Kristin C]

Hey Kari-So it’s been a while since I’ve done any cost calculations. But when I was doing them and I could get chicken for $1.99 or less/lb and beef for $2.99/lb I was coming up with about $4 per day. My girls are 35 lbs and 25 lbs so your cost would be half that from the sounds of it. You can always use a little more beef heart or chicken hearts and gizzards since they tend to be less expensive and they are considered muscle meat. I find it easier to make 7-10 days worth of food at once and freeze it. It takes me about an hour and a half. But if you are preparing fresh food daily for your daughter that may work best for you. Hope that helps.

[pugmomsandy]

There are some sample diets in the Homemade Diet section at dogaware.com.

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