I used to feed my doggy poison. :D

[Jazi]

Teeeeeef. Nice bright pearly whites come from being raw fed since birth!

[fairytale.]

I wish my doggies had teeth like that! I'm hoping to go from a BARF type of raw to sort of in between BARF and PMR. I need to introduce more chunks of meat. The dogs get necks and leg quarters, but not very often. I actually have a five pound chunk of turkey necks I need to thaw and portion. Raw has helped their teeth, but they need more things to actually chew on. That's the downside of grinds, premade patties, and freeze dried raw.

[Imzadi83]

I picked up a new type of Primal last time I was at the store, new for Chloe anyway. It's turkey & sardine. I'm starting to add little bits of it to what she's eating now, duck or chicken I can't remember. So far so good but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I found out that the store I get her food from also sells duck necks. I didn't have the money to pick up any last time but it's good to know for the future.

[Lupen]

I mentioned a few weeks back that due to being a bit tight on money, I was switching my animals off of orijen. I love that food and they've done amazing on it, but it's soooo much money.

I already switched the dogs about a month and a half ago to Zignature and they're doing really well. Seeing as they were on Orijen for almost three years, even after switching gradually Rylee had a bit of a, uh, gas problem xD but it's gotten better now, and they always eat it up right away.

I noticed Chewy, where I've been ordering Zignature, also has Fromm so I might try that out on the cats. I tried Wellness Core first, but they refuse to eat it and Fromm is only a couple dollars more, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to order the 2 lb bag and test it out. Fromm has three grain free formulas (Chicken/turkey/pheasant, salmon/chicken/duck and salmon/tuna/anchovy) and they're all only $41 each.

So.. we went from $78 for a 28 lb bag of orijen to $40 for a 27 lb bag of Zignature for the dogs.
And $62 for a 15 lb bag of Orijen to $41 for a 15 lb bag of Fromm - if I do end up going with that brand.

.. Saving about $60 a month on dry food alone. (!)


I also looked at Hills Science diet just for fun and really? $60-85 for a 27-35 lb bag? What a scam. :|

[Daisywolf14]

Any tips on switching my dog from pedigree to canidae? I already mixed the two foods but she is picking out the pedigree kibble.

[Lileevine]

I've never been a fan of the 'higher dog food brands' - so I never really fed my do that. She actually eats 'normal' food, most of the time, like raw meat or cooked from time forums, occasionally with a bit of rice. There aren't slot of dog food brands she enjoys, and the ones she likes have been checked to be completely healthy for her, while I noticed she wouldn't eat ones that contained corn a lot. She also loves vegetables for some reason, so from time to time she gets some soup (lukewarm blended vegetables), and is it weird she loves carrots? I don't even know XD

Anyways, she's always had a very sleek and shiny coat, even though she eats all the time (I mean, she'll beg for food whenever she can >.>). Also, bones are alright for dogs, I think? I give her bigger ones, but through her childhood she are a lot of chicken bones and such, even though she's completely healthy now.

[fairytale.]

Raw bones are perfectly fine, cooked bones are dangerous. Cooked bones are brittle and can splinter in the digestive tract. My dog has stolen a few cooked chicken bones, and I was so scared. I would never give them to a dog on purpose, even if they've never had a problem before. You never know when it will cause an issue. Raw bones are soft and flexible, making them safe.

[.muse.]

So we've finally been able to figure out this raw feeding thing financially. The problem before was not the dogs, they loved it, it was the costs living in the city with very few bulk meat purchases even optional. Does not help we are in a severe drought and prices for everything are slowly rising beyond reason. $4 per pound of the cheapest ground beef? Seriously? Gah!
But we have been able to find a lot of "managers specials" at the big name grocery stores by going in an hour before they close and snagging the stuff that 'expired' that day, portioning it out as soon as we get home and tossing it in the freezer. I actually got 2 whole chickens and a giant pack of leg quarters for $1 a pound last night!
So here we go again with the transition to raw now that we are making it work financially!
Boys have been getting organ treats each night for the last couple weeks to get them back into the swing of things. This morning they each had a half portion of chicken, both chomped down and enjoyed like no tomorrow. I'm so happy to get them on raw fully this time. Doakes has been itchy and dry skinned with the weather change and he has itched his coat dry and scruffy. I want my silky furred little bug back dang it.

[Cardinal]

Muse, have you heard of Big Dans or Blue Ridge? Big Dans sales beef around 35cents a lb, but depending on your location might be expensive. Blue Ridge has loads of distributors across thd US and sales beef around 1.50 a lb.

[Jazi]

I can't recommend blue ridge more- it's a staple of Creed's diet. There's also oma's pride that has similar packages and similar prices.