What do you think about the raw food diets? I'm sure this thread has come up before but I had a few questions & concerns.
I notice dogs who are on it have beautiful coats. The other thing I noticed is their poop is very hard & small.
I wonder with the hard poop, if they are getting any fibre in the food?
I have also notice that the dogs are a bit thin.
Comments ~

Check out the Natural Diet section, that is where most of us that feed raw or homemade diets post.
By the way our dogs love it.

yes, check out the natural diets section... loads of info there.

my dogs are both lean, homer has almost no fat on his body. people tell me that he looks too skinny but the vet says that he is perfect weight. :)

the amount of fiber that a dog gets is dependant on the type of raw diet that he is being fed... there is no one raw diet, in fact there are many many variations. so long as everything comes out okay fiber is not too much of a concern... many people provide fiber by feeding vegetables or canned pumpkin (love that stuff). my guys get veggies once a week at least, and they have no problems due to lack of fiber. poops are small and hard, and they smell much less pungent than kibble poops... and as an added bonus, they disintigrate into dust in my backyard in a week.

i am happy with the results of a raw diet, and my dogs love it. clean white teeth, shiny coats, and they are both lean and fit. i know its not for everyone, but for us the raw diet is a great thing! :cheers2:

How about cost? I am on a pretty tight budget. My friends I think spend about $70.00 per month on raw.

How about cost? I am on a pretty tight budget. My friends I think spend about $70.00 per month on raw.

i order my meat through a co-op so i buy in bulk, pretty cheap. if you did not have access to a co-op or some other way of buying in bulk it might not be so affordable.
i have two dogs, a VERY active lab and a 110 lb rottie... each dog eats about 2.5 lbs of food a day, and my last order was 129$, plus 15$ a month for canned fish, veggies, and suppliments... so thats about 72 dollars per dog per month. all of the meat that i buy is organic, but there is also a non-organic raw co-op in my area. if i fed non-organic meats i could probably do it for closer to 55$ a month per dog.

BC has a number of raw feeders, so if you can connect to some local suppliers it would end up being much cheaper. We feed our 3 on less than $70./month.

What do you think about the raw food diets? I can't speak for myself, but Zoe and Opal love their raw foods!

See you down below :D.

Zoe's homemade diet, and raw bones and necks costs us about $60.00 (Can) for about 35 days. Opal's organic chicken necks cost us $1.80 for a bag of 10. We buy in bulk and on sale.

I love it, there is no way I would ever go back to kibble again.

I get my supplies from a co-op near Denver and I buy in bulk, so I spend around $55 every two months.

Rhea is actually on the chubby side... I think I'm feeding her a little too much. But her coat is awesome, teeth are pearly white and she also has poops that disintigrate into dust. ^_^

I've been feeding Guinness raw for about a year now, and would never go back, I also would never get another dog if I could not afford to do it RAW!! He is sooo much healthier and absolutely loves his food.

Up front feeding RAW may be a little more expensive - I'm in Calgary and I spend probably $70-80 per month on his food. But before I fed RAW I was spending more than that trying to figure out why his eyes would get all gunky and swell shut... Basically I think that this upfront investment in such a healthy diet will end up saving money in the long run on Vet fees.

Guiness,

With my new butcher friend it should be much cheaper than that!!!