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Thread: Cost Raw vs Dry

  1. #1
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    Cost Raw vs Dry

    If you've seem my thread regarding ear infections, you know I'm thinking of going raw. Just out of curiosity, what has your experience been regarding the cost of raw vs dry? A big bag of Fromm costs an average of $60 at my local pet store. It will last my two beasts just over two weeks. I do add in greek yogurt, egg yolks, and salmon scraps that I get free from work. So I figure about $35 total per dog for two weeks.

    What do you average in cost per two weeks per dog feeding raw?

  2. #2
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    I've never really added it up when I was doing raw. I would spend about $100-$150 a month but I would be stocking up on large quantities that did not run out over the course of the month. Do you have a place where you can get bulk raw? I was buying 40# of beef heart, pork heart, chicken wings, necks at a time. It was averaging between 2-3 dollars per pound.

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    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I made up monthly menu plans and the meat part alone was about $90. I fed BARF and found the fruits and vegetables were more expensive than the meat but then I did not feed as much of them. Now that we've had a health set back and are back on kibble it's expensive Rx kibble and one 8 kg bag costs me $98 and lasts a month. Two 4 kg bags cost me $127. And, Oban is restricted to one single protein and ground Kangaroo so I can make my own jerky is $28 a pound. That lasts about a month, a bit more.

    However, raw did not eliminate the ear issues. Same as the previous winter Oban's eyes and ears started getting goopy in NOvemeber. He was fine in the summer. What does seem to make a remarkable difference to his eyes and ears is TCM, specifically Dispel Dampness and Nourish the Skin. The link is the one we use.

    Kan Essentials

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    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    I figure I spend about $2 per lb. My goal was $1 per lb and sometimes I hit that, especially when you look at all the venison we had this year, but that's just about gone. I buy in bulk from the local meat place and most of what I buy there is about $2 per lb. I grab chicken at the grocery store when it's on sale plus in the 50% off bin and hack it up myself. I often get chicken for about 75 cents per lb. My dry food was about $3-4 per lb. I don't feed many veggies, fruits, or yogurt. Sometimes I will when they've had a lot of bone, but not daily. It varies. I feed mostly scraps and mostly in the summer during grow season. I have chickens, so I feed fresh raw eggs on a regular basis, too.

    But, you have to look at how much your dog eats. Sam's daily consumption, for example, is two chicken thighs, a chicken liver, a spoonful of tripe/heart blend, and an egg. Linus will get four chicken thighs, two eggs, a chicken liver, 1/2 cup of tripe/heart, and training treats (light string cheese). Big difference in cost between the two dogs!

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  8. #5
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    We try to stock up on meat on sale a local grocery stores. If we didn't have a freezer and had to pay going price for everything we would average $3.00 - $3.50 per pound. We try to stay under $2.00 per pound. We look for sales, we watch the prices at Costco. Pork is one of our staple proteins and the price varies greatly. We go to our RAW COOP for the more obscure proteins so we can feed a balanced diet. We just got whole frozen mackerel that was $1.75 per pound. We give them each a chicken wing in the am feeding that we buy from Costco by the bag. It would be cheaper if we bought whole chickens and chopped them up but that's a more work other wise we purchase grinds that have organ and bone mixed in. The price really depends on how much you do yourself. If you go 100% commercial raw from the Pet Shop it is incredibly more expensive than kibble.

  9. #6
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
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    It really depends on where you live and what you have available, also how much time you are willing to spend sourcing and processing food. For example I can get three huge pig livers for 50 cents a lb, but they are frozen in a HUGE block that I have to sit out and let thaw for 12 hours, and then cut up and portion in Ziploc baggies. Or I can spend quite a bit more and it comes already cut up in baggies. I'm in a local raw feeding group, and every six weeks or so a large bulk order is placed with a company that delivers in 50lb frozen flats that need to be thawed and portioned. It is cheap, but time consuming to process. And sometimes I will get things from hunters, that are free but need some processing done before I can feed. It is really hard for me to estimate how much I spend per month, b/c I will buy things as they are on sale, etc, and not necessarily feed them that same month.

  10. #7
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    My cost varies too; but on average, I spend less then I did when they were both eating kibble because they utilize more of it; stools are smaller, no vet bills, no ear issues, etc.

    BUT, I totally eliminated all starch/grains for the one dog with previous ear issues.

    I grow my own 1/4 acre garden, so veggies that we use are grown by us, year-round.

    If I had to sum up a 2-wk average, it would be about $25 for both dogs; probably $30 if I had to purchase vegetables. I do NOT use pre-packaged raw as a staple, I do however, get my beef & chicken from Walmart; organ meats from the neighboring locker plant.

    One dog is 45lbs, but I feed her as if she were 60lbs; she's very thin. Other guy is 65lbs, he eats average for his size most days, other days he eats a bit more.

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