[Carl L]

I am a dremel user for our new Lab. I find I have better control.

I started with the dremel on our previous Lab many years ago because I was a novice dog owner, she had dark nails, and I was terrified of cutting the quick.

Arrow is a yellow lab with light nails and when we adopted him this winter, I could not find the dremel and tried the clippers, figuring it should be easy. I drew blood anyway. Never again. A tiny nick and he went out into the snow and made it look like the scene from a horror flick. lol.

Thank goodness, with the reward of a nice treat when I am done, Arrow is quite okay with the sound and smell of the buzzing dremel.

[Carl L]

Great discussion.

Coming full circle: We love the idea of homecooking. I will pick up Hilary’s book from the vet this week.

But if the cost of home ingredients and the supplement per month for a 60 lb, high energy our young dog – like Bunny B – turns out to be much more expensive that getting a high quality “cooked frozen” which is complete and balanced, it seems silly not to consider it.

Buddy’s Kitchen is in Ontario, and it is sold by Global Pet Foods as “Nature’s Harvest”. We could do this for under $200 a month ($6.70 a day). There is also Rayne Cooked Frozen, but I don’t have a price yet.

If Bunny B’s estimate of $16 a day is even close for a Hilary Diet, it is completely out of whack. I would be freezing some of the home cooking anyway. Could home cooking be THAT much better than a quality cooked frozen at two or three times the price?!

Maybe it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Maybe some home cooking and some commercial frozen.

[Carl L]

Hey BunnyB, thanks for the reply.

Holy smokers. $16 a day? Really?? I hope you have a 240 pound dog. Then I can do it for $4 a day for our 60 pound guy. I had no idea homemade would be so expensive. We just got the idea about Hilary’s recipes from our vet. I had not costed it. The supplement alone is almost as expensive as a quality kibble.

We are not convinced yet to go raw. But we feel we should try to better than kibble. If the cost for home cooked is as you say, I wonder about one of the 5-star, “lightly-cooked” frozen, commercial foods. Surely it could be done for less than $16 a day, without the hours of cooking time.

Appreciate the reply from someone that has “been there, done that”.

[Carl L]

Hello Carolyn,

If you are still checking in, could you help?

I just found out about Hilary’s book and supplement, and we are considering it. We have a young Lab, and not three chihuahua’s, but I am concerned about the expense of the supplement – which would be in addition to the cost of the good, wholesome ingredients in the recipes.

On her website, I think I read that one bottle of supplement would last about a month for a 40 pound dog. Does that sound about right to you? (I have no idea how much 3 chihuahua’s weigh, ha, ha!).

Thanks,
Carl

[Carl L]

So much to learn, crazy4cats, about our guy. And not just about food. We adopted him in November, and he came with “issues”. 🙂

Canadian Walmart does not seem to carry Pure Balance. So, so far, only Kirkland Cuts In Gravy at around $1 can.

As you say, good thing about Labs is they are not finicky eaters. My wife has Arrow chewing kale stems, for goodness sake. As long as we don’t discover allergies or GI problems, we should have a wide open field.

I think when we feel more confident, we will try to transition to homemade food. That will be the next research project. Ha.

Great people here.

[Carl L]

Thanks for the replies. So many angles to think of.

Not too many feed 100% canned I am gathering. The beauty of the Kirkland, I thought, was that it was 5-star and still within the budget even at 100%. But the point about food rotation is a good one. I could likely never feed another 5-star canned to work in the rotation and meet the budget, as the BCnut points out. I am trying to find out if I can get Whole Earth Farms canned here in SW Ontario (if it is truly a budget-friendly option).

By combining with kibble, however, I can accomplish food rotation easier. Most 5-star kibbles would fit the budget. So I like that.

Giddyupb, I just discovered Pulsar yesterday! I was at our local Pet Planet and the manager suggested Pulsar as a great food, even at least as a transition to Acana from the junk our guy is on now. I like the price!

I appreciate the responses.

[Author]

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