I'd like to feed our new puppy raw

[Dreaming]

She's a 4 month old lab mix. Very sweet and smart.

I bought "Dog Training for Dummies" and the authors talk a bit about raw feeding. It makes the most sense to me. I always assumed I'd feed a dog raw since I first read about it years ago.
Anyway, DH is very concerned that feeding her raw will run us $200 a month and he'd rather I got the premium kibble with no grains and only meat in it. I'd be willing to compromise and do that plus feed some completely raw meats on the bone and organs and eggs and veggies.

If you are a raw feeder, do you do 100% or mix with a really good meat-only kibble? Is feeding raw super expensive? I understand it terms of health, you spend less at the vet, but DH will freak if I'm buying tons of meat for her every month. We cannot afford a huge bill.

Thanks!

[Dreaming]

Update because I'm not patient enough to wait. :P

Maybe this will be helpful to someone.
I went to the store and bought Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken (they have Salmon and Duck as well that can be freely switched to). It's "cold processed" which I think is a fancy way to say "freeze dried"
It contains no grains. It has meat as #1 ingredient and also contains some veggies and fruits and herbs. It's more expensive, but also not full of fillers, so I need to feed her less. Once she is used to it, I will introduce completely raw and bones to her a few times a week (one thing at a time, of course).

ETA- Chicken and chicken meal are the 1st two ingredients followed by potato starch and turkey meal and then a long list of other goodies.

[Raene]

I see that this is old, but I wanted to chime in. I am also planning to feed raw. There are some REALLY great yahoo groups about it which have really helped me. I have found that it's MUCH cheaper to feed raw than to feed kibble.

If you are feeding the low-quality kibble (Iams, etc) that later can backfire in health problems/vet bills. My dog died of cancer when I fed that stuff. I wish I'd known to feed better.

If you feed the expensive kibble (Orajen, Taste of the Wild, etc) then you are really paying $$.

Raw is VERY affordable in comparison. I am vowing to only spend under a buck a pound for the food. Many scraps can be found for very cheap or even free. You have to find some good sources and stick with that. Processing plants, Asian grocery stores, local butchers, etc are all great places. Friends who deer hunt will probably happily give you their scraps. It's all about learning where to find it.

I'm vegetarian but I think this is all a great adventure. I think it's the way dogs were really meant to eat. I've read that our pet dogs and wild dogs have the same DNA.

Oh yeah, and I really recommend the prey-model raw rather than the BARF. The prey model is all about meat. The BARF diet recommends fruits/veggies. I don't believe dogs would eat fruits/veggies in the wild, personally. Grass, yes. But are they out apple picking? I don't think so

[Arduinna]

We don't feed any type of prepared pet foods. How much it will cost would depend on what sources you have available.

[Mama2Kayla]

It costs me $20-30 a month to feed my 55lb boxer mix raw. Much cheaper than grain free dog food. Look around and find sources for under $1 a lb and it can be done.

[Mom2M]

Can anyone recommend a good site with info on a raw diet? The ones I have looked at either were really ads for a product or kind of confusing as to what a sample many might be.
Thanks!

[Katie T]

In a raw diet is there any concern about grocery store meat with the antibiotics, growth hormones and such?

[greenmulberry]

I feed grocery store meat to my dogs, and better pastured stuff when I can afford it.

Unless you are purchasing the most high end kibble with organic meat, you are not feeding meat that is better than grocery store quality anyway. At least with a raw diet you are avoiding the unnecessary carbs that are added ONLY for the purpose of allowing the kibble to be formed.