Raw feeding...

 Emmies eats raw food. She's got some big health issues, and has done incredibly well, on it. I wouldn't say it's cheaper than kibble, but I will say that she's far better off. We spend a lot less time in the vet's office, now. She eats anything she isn't allergic to, really. Beef, pork, venison, turkey, fish, rabbit... She eats a small amount of ground veggies... She likes green beans, a lot. She gets all sorts of greens, yellow and orange veggies (sweet potato, squashes, pumpkin), and she gets a few fruits, mostly cranberries or blueberries. I rely heavily on Bravo Blends, for convenience. If I didn't, it would be a lot cheaper.

The baby (Ena) eats Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish, right now. I'm still trying to sort her out. She mostly gets canned, and some kibble for treats.

I feed a combo diet of cooked carbs and fish with raw meaty bones and muscle meat, balanced with supplements.  Because I use inexpensive ingredients like potatoes and grains, along with the meats, it is somewhat cheaper than the best kibbles.  It's time-intensive though so you have to take that into account.  And I've been using a nutritional consultant to check my numbers, so that adds a little to the initial cost but it was worth it to me. 

 My dogs get kibble (a rotation of Wellness CORE and Solid Gold Wolf King) and canned for breakfast, a raw meal for lunch, and a cooked meal for dinner. In the past, they have been on exclusively raw diets.

Whether or not it's cheaper depends on exactly the types, qualities, and amounts of food your dog gets, so it varies widely. On average, I'd consider it to be pretty close in cost to buying good quality kibble and canned foods, maybe slightly more.

 I personally don't include fruits and veggies in my dogs' diets, except for sweet potatoes as a carb source and the occasional mashed banana in their Kongs. I try to include a raw meaty bone, some kind of muscle meat, an organ meat, and some crushed eggshell at every raw meal. As for the types of meat- literally everything from chicken to goat to sheep to pork to beef to pheasant to turkey to goose to...anything I can get my hands on. I supplement with salmon oil, Missing link, Solid Gold Seameal, and satin balls as well.
 

I do strictly RMB's and veggie omelets for a small morning meal meal (crushed veggies and one egg with shell) with fish oil and vitamin E. Every now and then I share my banana and apples with him. I may spend slightly more but it's like 5 bucks a month so it's even worth mentioning. Orijen is expensive!

 You aren't kidding about Orijen!  And Karen feeds it to Bugsy - Karen, I'd never actually priced it since everything went up so much, until I ordered something for Ben from K9 Cuisine and thought I'd throw in a small bag to get free shipping.  Holy cow!  Or holy fish!  Is Bugsy on all kibble or some kind of combo deal?  We may seriously have to work out some kind of raw coop thing.  I've got a guy who's going to give me venison, and there's the guy near me who has the grass fed beef - I bet we could cobble together a good number of raw feeders to keep local suppliers happy.

I also would like to order tripe but I'd never use enough to make shipping a case worthwhile.  Believe it or not!  I'd only want to keep a few chubs around for emergencies like what I'm going through with Mr. Picky. 

Four of our six dogs are prey modeled.  Bevo, Brinxx, Shooter, & Schatzi do exceptionally well on raw.  Mercury, the new foster, is eating raw as well, although only time will tell if raw will be his permanent diet.  Chyna did poorly on raw, so she eats Wellness canned, & kibble.

I have finally found a supplier who has very reasonable prices, along with a huge variety of products.  We feed rabbit, duck, turkey, quail, pheasant, beef, sheep, & goat.  (My guys have been working on a goat since Thursday.)  I also have access to ostrich, emu, & bison but I haven't ordered them yet because I am not sure how to cut them up into managable pieces.

I can feed raw far cheaper than what I can feed kibble. 

Well Becca, at 65 bucks for a 30lbs. bag, we're talking $2.15 a pound for dry kibble. 60% of Kane's diet is chicken which ranges from 59 cents to 89 cents a pound and red meats are about 2 bucks a pound. Add some fresh veggies, fruit, eggs and vitamins I'm still ahead of the game and I'm feeding fresh, whole food! A bargain if you ask me! The reason I may spend more is because I have so much fun shopping for Kane, I sometimes don't look for sales or if they had some good looking whole fish or fresh ribs, I just have to buy it for him. I spoil him but he's looked so good it's worth it!

BEVOLASVEGAS

 Chyna did poorly on raw, so she eats Wellness canned, & kibble.

 Just out of curiousity, what do you mean by doing poorly? Vomiting, abdominal upset, physical issues? I'm curious because some folks had said their dogs react poorly to raw and I was wondering in what regard? Thanks.

RaceProfessor

Just out of curiousity, what do you mean by doing poorly? Vomiting, abdominal upset, physical issues? I'm curious because some folks had said their dogs react poorly to raw and I was wondering in what regard? Thanks.

There were a few different issues.  Generally, she is a voracious eater.  While on raw, she became very picky.  She would nibble at her food, & then just leave it, which is not at all normal for her.  She lost weight.  She started shedding excessively, & she just didn't seem to have the energy that she usually does.

I'm starting to wonder how often raw is tried and then rejected because it didn't work out - when possibly it was unbalanced raw that wasn't working.  Clearly there are some times when raw isn't a good idea - IBS, any other conditions where immunity is compromised - some might include the very young and very old there.

But as I've had my diets analyzed, I continue to be surprised at the deficiencies that are uncovered.  Usually I've figured out the "biggies" - zinc, copper, manganese - that are substantially lacking in almost any home prepared diet.  When Ted's diet was analyzed he came up short in potassium.  Potatssium deficiency is implicated in a lack of muscle development - how about that, it's the exact issue I was having with Mr. Scrawny.  We've been on the new formula for a few weeks now and Ted's bulking up like a champion weight lifter.

Zinc deficiency can cause immune problems and skin issues, and long term can affect the thyroid's function.  Copper shortage can cause dry and lack luster coat, and digestion problems.  Diets high in poultry tend to be short in iron.  Iron deficiency can cause a cascade of problems. 

Unless you're managing to feed whole prey animals I think one must obtain a recipe properly balanced from a knowledgable doggy nutritionist. You can't just toss the dog chunks of chicken and expect the dog to thrive long-term.

I think that feeding raw foods, or home-cooked foods, is better....I'm going to try it with my next dog....as Mom wouldn't dare let me feed dear Tazzie raw foods *shakes head*....I'm not sure the lil mut would eat it anyway LOL he's cute though, so he can share my bed....a few more questions....

Do dogs that eat raw food have stinky breathe? Shead more/less? How old does a dog need to be before being started on raw foods?

All of my dogs were fed raw food and I think it is the best choice. I never had any problems with their health, their coat is great, they don't shed as much as they did when they were on kibbles...

Oh yes, and there is no way you can make them eat kibbles now!