Guest Swifthounds Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'm curious since this thread is going again if there really are 4 people who pay over $90/mo to feed a single dog or if those were mistakes (people who were answering what they pay for more than one dog a month)? I'm totally just curious. If I were rich, I'd source all of my meat for Zuri from local farms and probably have no problem spending that much per month, I'm just not rich. I volunteered with someone last year at a greyhound event who spent that much on some premium kibble. I forgot which one because she told me this right after commenting that it must cost me a fortune to raw feed my hounds. True, however if the allergy is secondary to a gut permeability issue, healing that will improve digestion and he may be able to tolerate chicken. I think he's more likely allergic to some other ingredient in kibbles than chicken. Though many people say their dog is allergic to chicken or that an allergy test told them so, it's pretty rare. (Not to mention a deficiency that nature deems incompatible with life). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trihounds Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'm curious since this thread is going again if there really are 4 people who pay over $90/mo to feed a single dog or if those were mistakes (people who were answering what they pay for more than one dog a month)? I'm totally just curious. If I were rich, I'd source all of my meat for Zuri from local farms and probably have no problem spending that much per month, I'm just not rich. Unfortunately, yes. We buy bulk, have a commercial freezer, and two males weighing 85 pounds. Our base meat is rarely below $2/lb - in fact, we stock up at that price. The add ins are extra - organ meat, chicken or duck feet/backs/wings or turkey backs/wings and glucosamine and omega's as supplements. We are easily paying $3 per pound of food in their bowls and at 4 pounds per day...we are at $12 a day for 2 dogs ($360 a month). It is ridiculous, obviously and I wish I could find a more inexpensive source. Quote Doe's Bruciebaby Doe's Bumper Derek Follow my Ironman journeys and life with dogs, cats and busy kids: A long road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swifthounds Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Unfortunately, yes. We buy bulk, have a commercial freezer, and two males weighing 85 pounds. Our base meat is rarely below $2/lb - in fact, we stock up at that price. The add ins are extra - organ meat, chicken or duck feet/backs/wings or turkey backs/wings and glucosamine and omega's as supplements. We are easily paying $3 per pound of food in their bowls and at 4 pounds per day...we are at $12 a day for 2 dogs ($360 a month). It is ridiculous, obviously and I wish I could find a more inexpensive source. Wow. You're really feeding close to 5%? Are they very active or just hard keepers? My IGs probably eat that, but so far not my hounds, though my old men have pretty much had carte blanche to eat as much as they like. What's your base meat? I've been very lucky to stay around $1/# and $1.50 average at max. The freezers definitely help, as does watching sales. Still, I'm always surprised at some of the places where meat (any meat) is just very expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trihounds Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Unfortunately, yes. We buy bulk, have a commercial freezer, and two males weighing 85 pounds. Our base meat is rarely below $2/lb - in fact, we stock up at that price. The add ins are extra - organ meat, chicken or duck feet/backs/wings or turkey backs/wings and glucosamine and omega's as supplements. We are easily paying $3 per pound of food in their bowls and at 4 pounds per day...we are at $12 a day for 2 dogs ($360 a month). It is ridiculous, obviously and I wish I could find a more inexpensive source. Wow. You're really feeding close to 5%? Are they very active or just hard keepers? My IGs probably eat that, but so far not my hounds, though my old men have pretty much had carte blanche to eat as much as they like. What's your base meat? I've been very lucky to stay around $1/# and $1.50 average at max. The freezers definitely help, as does watching sales. Still, I'm always surprised at some of the places where meat (any meat) is just very expensive. ~ 4lbs is for 2 dogs...we don't measure anymore...that's about 2% - 2.25% depending on the day. We add in a handful of Orijen kibble every now and again depending on how much meat we have thawed. The boys are at a perfect weight for them, not too thin, nothing extra...about 4 - 5 pounds over their racing weight. Base meat is anything we can find inexpensively. Usually ground beef, but I just bought a pork roast and cut it up for them. We also do chicken....so the staples are beef, chicken, pork. I can't get turkey and duck cheap enough so they get those as 'body parts', usually wings, back, feet. Quote Doe's Bruciebaby Doe's Bumper Derek Follow my Ironman journeys and life with dogs, cats and busy kids: A long road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Well I applaud those of you who are feeding at that price. I would do it too, my question wasn't meant as a criticism, I was just surprised, but seeing some of the prices you are averaging per pound makes sense. I think now I probably average about $2/lb, but I'm lucky to have a male who only weighs around 75 lbs although I do think his metabolism is pretty high. Fattier cuts work for him though, which is good for me b/c it's cheaper that way. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swifthounds Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 ~ 4lbs is for 2 dogs...we don't measure anymore...that's about 2% - 2.25% depending on the day. We add in a handful of Orijen kibble every now and again depending on how much meat we have thawed. The boys are at a perfect weight for them, not too thin, nothing extra...about 4 - 5 pounds over their racing weight. Oh, ok. That makes more sense. It used to be more affordable to get ground beef, but that has really gone up in the last 18 months or so. It's not as ideal as whole meats, but I bought it because I could get it cheap. Now it seems it's never leas than $2/# and I can get beef heart, pork, and London broil for less than that on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trihounds Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 ~ 4lbs is for 2 dogs...we don't measure anymore...that's about 2% - 2.25% depending on the day. We add in a handful of Orijen kibble every now and again depending on how much meat we have thawed. The boys are at a perfect weight for them, not too thin, nothing extra...about 4 - 5 pounds over their racing weight. Oh, ok. That makes more sense. It used to be more affordable to get ground beef, but that has really gone up in the last 18 months or so. It's not as ideal as whole meats, but I bought it because I could get it cheap. Now it seems it's never leas than $2/# and I can get beef heart, pork, and London broil for less than that on sale. Exactly - I'm with you 100%! We try to economize wherever we can because $175 a month per dog for food is tremendously irritating. If they did well on kibble, we'd switch, but of the 5-6-7 brands we tried, everything gives them 1) gas, 2) far too much waste 3) soft stools. Bumper had a spinal injury and can't seem to hold his poops longer than 6-7 hours (incl at night) so the raw works so well for easy cleanup. Shows us how much in kibble doesn't get processed either. Quote Doe's Bruciebaby Doe's Bumper Derek Follow my Ironman journeys and life with dogs, cats and busy kids: A long road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swifthounds Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Shows us how much in kibble doesn't get processed either. When folks ask why raw is better than super premium kibble I like to say because $100 of raw food made my hound healthier and $100 of kibble made little difference whether I fed it or just tosses it in the yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonder Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I was feeding Sparks raw and bought 200 lbs of ground turkey and 50 lbs of tripe for $85 total. He only ate a little of it and now I have about 225 lbs of meat left Quote Kari and the pups.Run free sweet Hana 9/21/08-9/12/10. Missing Sparks with every breath.Passion 10/16/02-5/25/17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest quietstorm Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Our base meat is rarely below $2/lb - in fact, we stock up at that price. The add ins are extra - organ meat, chicken or duck feet/backs/wings or turkey backs/wings and glucosamine and omega's as supplements. We are easily paying $3 per pound of food in their bowls and at 4 pounds per day...we are at $12 a day for 2 dogs ($360 a month). It is ridiculous, obviously and I wish I could find a more inexpensive source. Base meat is anything we can find inexpensively. Usually ground beef, but I just bought a pork roast and cut it up for them. We also do chicken....so the staples are beef, chicken, pork. I can't get turkey and duck cheap enough so they get those as 'body parts', usually wings, back, feet. WOW! I had heard that it was expensive in the Ottawa area but didn't realize that it was that much so! Shoot me an email if you are looking for saving some $$ and let's see if we can come up with something??? I have a few ideas in mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snoopycomehome Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I think we spend $60 or so per month for our 80# boy. His breakfast is chicken...one thigh and two drums. Now that he has reached his goal retirement weight, he has only been eating one of each. Dinner is 1-2 c. grain-free kibble (my dh wants him on a little kibble just so he is used to it) with 1-2 raw eggs, 1 omega fish oil capsule, 4-6 ounces of chicken hearts (his FAVORITE EVER food!), 2 oz. liver, 2-3 oz. canned mackerel, shredded carrot or canned pumpkin, green beans/peas/broccoli, parsley for fresh breath, and sometimes rice or noodles. Twice a week he gets a pound of ground pork & ground beef and just goes crazy over that! Snacks: Sunday he gets a turkey neck, Monday & Fridays- marrow bones, Tuesday & Thurs- trachea or pig ear, Wednesday- yogurt with whip cream , Saturday- 2 chicken feet. Needless to say, dh doesn't call him by his name (Dragon)...he calls him 'spoiled rotten'! I like the ground beef days with no kibble, because then we don't deal with the gassiness that knocks us unconscious!!! When we first started raw it was more expensive trying to figure out what he liked/disliked. (He hates tripe, for example...crazy dog!) I get a lot of his stuff from a big Asian market. And I get the chicken at Costco. It is packaged up nicely without messy drips! The drums come in 6 packages of 5 drums each, and the thighs in 6 pkgs of 4each. Super easy. Anyway, I hope this helps...let me know if you have any questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinM Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I voted over $90.00 plus. We pay about 171 for 48 pounds of duck and we pay 7 for 5 pounds of ground meat/bone/organ in a roll/ My Ollie eats 15 oz 2 x a day and a duck neck as a late night snack. Teddy eats 14 oz 2 x a day (He eats chicken which is cheaper than duck in addion to the group that Ollie eats) He also gets a duck neck as a late night snack. It's not cheap. Quote ROBIN ~ Mom to: Beau Think It Aint, Chloe JC Allthewayhome, Teddy ICU Drunk Sailor, Elsie N Fracine , Ollie RG's Travertine, Ponch A's Jupiter~ Yoshi, Zoobie & Belle, the kitties. Waiting at the bridge Angel Polli Bohemian Ocean , Rocky, Blue,Sasha & Zoobie & Bobbi Greyhound Angels Adoption (GAA) The Lexus Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swifthounds Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Is that 48# of duck meaty or bony portions? Just wondering as I've not ever priced duck, so I don't know what it runs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinM Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 That is 48 pounds of duck parts. We buy from Hare today, gone tomorrow. Quote ROBIN ~ Mom to: Beau Think It Aint, Chloe JC Allthewayhome, Teddy ICU Drunk Sailor, Elsie N Fracine , Ollie RG's Travertine, Ponch A's Jupiter~ Yoshi, Zoobie & Belle, the kitties. Waiting at the bridge Angel Polli Bohemian Ocean , Rocky, Blue,Sasha & Zoobie & Bobbi Greyhound Angels Adoption (GAA) The Lexus Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 We have completed a full month of raw diet on our two boys. The nerd in me did an excel spreadsheet to track amounts fed in weight in correlation with pricing. I'm pleased to announce I was able to feed 2 dogs for $108 in April (based on consumption). It has of course cost me considerably more to buy the food and stock up my freezer, a good few hundred dollars in fact, but now that we are in the swing of things, that is the total I have calculated that they have eaten. A total of nearly 32 kg between the two of them. Avg about $1.35 a pound (for all raw ingredients together). Not including any "additives" like eggs, yogurt, treats, etc. I figure we were spending about $92 a month on premium kibble. So to only do $108 of raw isn't too bad of a deal!! I'm quite surprised and relieved. Kasey doesn't seem to have kicked his allergies yet though. Sigh. After a month, I've noticed that they are happier, they have been shedding quite a lot - probably based on spring, but maybe getting rid of their coats because of the raw too? We've had some bumps along the way but all in all so far, seems like we will stick it out for at least another month and see how it goes. Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swifthounds Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliered Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Is it possible to feed IBD dogs a raw diet? Fish, venison and bison seem to be the only protein they can tolerate. Thanks, Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyhound9797 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Is it possible to feed IBD dogs a raw diet? Fish, venison and bison seem to be the only protein they can tolerate. Thanks, Nan I know of at least one member who will disagree with me but I have heard, not experienced myself, that dogs will do fine eating raw proteins that they were previously "allergic" to or had reactions to for other health reasons. Canned mackeral and fresh caught shark were Piper's favorite foods. Bison would be very pricey to purchase and unless you have a lot of hunters in your area, venison would be difficult to get. If you do want to try raw, perhaps you could try very small portions of it to see how they respond? Sandra in FL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I have heard also that a dog's reaction to raw as opposed to kibble for a direct allergen might not be as bad or even existant when a switch is made. This is why we have gone raw, since we have tried everything with Kasey who is allergic to everything! So far 1 month, and while his allergy reactions aren't as bad as they could be if he were on kibble, he's still having reactions (he has environmental allergies as well, so I have a feeling we will never completely get away from allergy reactions). We are now moving slowly to feeding him his biggest allergy - chicken. Time will tell, and it's always worth a shot. Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest manawatugal Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I think I am spending approx NZ$25 per week which converts to US$19.50 for my 80lb boy. Meat here is not that cheap although if you hunt around you can find bargains even though (we are surrounded by sheep and cows) all our beef and sheep are grass fed. I do buy some commercial raw human grade dogfood which is very pricey but try to use the other things I find from butcher's shops/supermarkets etc. If you have the time it's quite fun seeing how much you can save ad how many animals parts you can fit into your car/freezer. Today I am off to a local butcher to stock up on ox heart. Yesterday I got brisket bones from organic butcher which were cheaper than non organic source. I think I have a happy boy anyway. If we got another hound I think I would have to invest in a small chest freezer as I wouldn't have the space. All fun and games in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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