Welcome back to part II in my four part series on dog nutrition. In part I I discussed the ideal diet for dogs which is a raw diet. After I praised the health benefits of a raw diet and exposed the problems with dried dog food, I said that Lipton, the golden retriever I live with, continues to eat dried dog food. That’s Lipton in the above pic.
I shared a few pics of her when she was just a puppy in part I. Here’s a few more of Lipton today at 15 months:
This is from the recent Nor’easter which dumped two feet of snow on us in western MA. She LOVES the snow.
Her toilet paper-shredding phase has now morphed into a stuffed animal shredding phase.
As you can see I’m a bit of an addict when it comes to sharing pics of Lipton. I always have my camera ready to go so I can capture any priceless moments.
And if you’re wondering about her not-so-golden coat, Lipton is an English golden retriever (sometimes called a white golden retriever). English goldens are notable for their lighter coat and stockier bodies compared to the more common American goldens.
Yes, I’ve run into the one common problem that I’m sure millions run into: feeding your dog raw isn’t exactly easy or inexpensive.
What further complicates the matter for me is that Lipton is not my dog. She’s my roommate’s dog.
When I approached my roommate about changing Lipton’s diet to a raw diet, thankfully, she was open to it. I told her I would pick up some raw food and see how Lipton took to it.
There were two freezers with raw food in the pet store, each representing a different company. Both seemed excellent in quality and were comparable in price. Here’s what I picked up:
Never having purchased dog food before I guess you can say I was pretty naïve expecting the raw stuff to be comparable in price to the dried stuff.
I was shocked at how expensive it was.
A small three pound bag cost $17.99. I purchased one for the video in part I but I knew that would be the last one. That bag lasted Lipton three days. Compare that to the dried kibble which she was getting previously which was $40 and would last about a month. To feed Lipton the raw food it would cost about $175 - $200 for the same amount of time.
I couldn’t possibly expect my roommate to pay that. Neither would I.
So I looked into other options. I asked around the internet, did some research and found that a raw diet could be considerable cheaper if you could find good inexpensive sources in bulk for things like raw meaty bones, ground meats and organ meats. Local farms and various online sources could make this possible. I found most people pay between $100-$200 per month for this.
Even if I could find some sources to get it down to around $100, there’s just no way I could ask my roommate to pay considerable more. She’s a busy professional. As I mentioned in my last blog, she lost her husband a few years ago to cancer and is working hard to support herself and put her daughter through college.
So I had to settle for the most realistic, best-case scenario which was to find the best possible dried food on the market. And then to supplement that with raw food as best we could. I volunteered to chip in a little to help with the added cost and to find some good raw sources.
My roommate was open to it and I’m thankful to her that she was. She’s been a trooper in dealing with my somewhat persistent pleas to feed Lipton better quality food.
So what is the best dried food for dogs on the market? This video by veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker can help you navigate all the options out there.
Another good resource is www.dogfoodadvisor.com which reviews all the different brands and choices of dog food out there.
We settled on Orijen brand dog food. It’s one of the best dried dog foods out there. It’s grain free and there’s no soy, canola, preservatives or chemicals. Dog Food Advisor gives it five out of five stars. And Dr. Becker recommends it at the end of the above video.
Does Lipton love it?
No. And I hate that. After all, it’s still dried food and not even close to what a dog would eat in Nature.
So I supplement her diet with a variety of things now. To learn how you can do the same, pick up a copy of The BARF Diet. This is extra important if you can’t feed your dog a raw diet. You’ll learn about the different supplements and foods including vitamins, minerals and probiotics that can help keep your dog healthy.
To pick up a copy of The Barf Diet on Amazon, click here.
Here’s what I do:
1. Every morning I now add a raw, pastured egg or two to her dried food. It’s funny watching her eat the egg. She goes right to it and slurps it up around the dried food before eating the dried food.
2. I also give her a half teaspoon of fermented cod liver oil a few times per week. I’ll discuss the benefits of cod liver oil for dogs in part III and part IV.
3. I give her raw bones from my meat CSA and my local co-op which of course she loves.
4. I add some homemade bone broth to her food when I have some defrosted and ready to go. Lipton LOVES it.
Can you tell?
5. And finally, I give her human food!
Next time, my friend Eric of the Amazing Dog Training Man, will also explain why and how he feeds his dog human food and why he recommends you do it too.
So that’s what Lipton eats now. No, it’s not perfect but it’s so much better than the poor quality kibble she was eating for the first few months of her life.
Have you experienced the same dilemma when it comes to feeding your dog a raw diet? What compromises do you make?
Hi, my name is Craig Fear. And yes, that 's my real last name. Welcome to Fearless Eating, my blog about traditional foods where I dismantle common food myths and help you eat, well... fearlessly!
I'm also a certified Nutritional Therapist as well as a GAPS certified practitioner. My practice, Pioneer Valley Nutritional Therapy, is located in Northampton, Massachusetts.
For me, feeding my cat raw is not an option. Even the good dry cat food (Taste of the Wild, Wellness, Blue) gives here terrible intestinal issues; and, wet food is horribly expensive and does the same thing. By terrible issues, I mean bloody stool that smells so bad she won’t even bury it; she just takes care of business and bolts. On regular cat food, she ends up at the vet about every other month and goes on a round of antibiotics that may or may not work, needs FortiFlora added to her food, and other medical measures.
When I went against the advice of my vet, who wanted kitty on Science Diet prescription food, and switched her to raw, she stopped leaving a bloody litter box, started burying her presents to me, grew a glossier coat, and became more affectionate. Clearly, it was her tummy troubles that made her so grouchy for almost a year. Sure, I pay $50 a month in cat food, but it’s better than paying the vet bills and having a constantly sick fur baby!
I feed Primal Raw, which is also available for dogs. Granted, a dog the size of Lipton would eat quite a bit more than my little 8 lb cat, but they are a great source of raw food. I can’t recommend them enough or give enough praise for what raw food has done for my kitty. You could totally check them out for supplementation for Lipton.
Your link to dogfoodadvisor is awesome. I’ll pass it along to my sisters, both of which share homes with canine compaions. Here’s a good companion link for the feline crowd: http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/landing/choosing-the-best-cat-food-for-your-awesome-cat/ Liz Eastwood has done tons of research on what foods are best for cats and provides very clear charts of the pros, cons, and price of each food, along with her reasoning for rating it the way she did.
While I do recommend raw, I also suggest keeping a stock of freeze dried food on hand in case of power outs. If their food goes bad from a week of no power, you’ve got to have an alternative!
Lipton is lucky to have a mommy and friend that care about her so much. And thank you for bringing the message of proper pet nutrition to the health-minded public!
Thanks for this awesome comment! I’m a cat mama, and was looking for some more cat-centric advice, and you offered it up so well. Thank you!!
[...] « Beautiful Babies: My Favorite New Resource for Fertility and Pregnacy What to Do When You Can’t Feed Your Dog A Raw Food Diet [...]
I have wanted to transition my dog and cats to a raw diet and did a lot of research on the subject. Unfortunately, my vet strongly cautioned me against feeding a raw diet. I have not yet made the switch, but may still do so. Have you discussed raw diets with your vet, what was his or her opinion?
Many, many vets, as well as breeders, feed their dogs a raw or combination, &/ or homemade diet. YET, most of them will tell you not to do it & even send you home with Science Diet Specialty food (dreck) that can only be purchased from their offices. That is because they 1) Do not want the liability if you or your pet (most likely you) get salmonella or another food borne illness; 2) the veterinary industry is highly wooed & supported by, you guessed it, the Pet Food Industry!
Likewise, with selling Pet Pharmaceuticals that often cost more than the human equivalent you can get at your pharmacy with the same prescription made out to your esteemed Mr.Pet.
It’s no surprise, as well, to stray to a related subject, that the counters at veterinary offices are now lined with pamphlets advertising Pet Insurance Policies that echo the increasingly high rates that practices are now charging for their a la carte services. Do I sounded like I might be hissing & growling? Yup.
I’ve changed vets; feed my dog, Django, a combined raw/homemade/ and Acana kibble diet (Orijen, the higher end line from the same excellent small company)was too rich for him. It’s very important, as Craig noted, to be supplementing with vitamins, minerals, oil, and probiotics to feed a nutritionally complete home diet. But it’s really fun to see our hairy buddies enjoy new tastes and develop funny preferences (anyone for brussels sprouts !)
Lilly Gaev, Northampton
Good article! I had the same worry about the financial burden of feeding my dog raw food. It’s just not an option for me now. But, supplementing the diet with additional raw goodies is definitely doable! By the way, Lipton is ADORABLE!
We add in chopped kale or broccoli raw when in season from our garden or we have extra from our CSA and Jada loves it. I also use cod liver oil a few times a week. I know you like the fermented one but I have been twin labs for cost effect…bad or ok?
Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone. I can’t tell you how many people have written me privately to express their successes with changing their pets food to raw. Jamie, I’m not sure about Twin Labs and yes, I am partial to the fermented stuff. It will last quite awhile though so I think it’s worth the investment.
I love this article! I own a pet supply store and we’re always trying to let people know that raw doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition! Just because you can’t afford to feed it 100%, doesn’t mean you can’t get raw food into their diet, like you say. That bag of commercial raw food you pictured has 48 nuggets - that’s 48 days of one nugget of whole foods added to their diet each day as a topper, for just $17.99. What a nutritious treat! Some customers feed kibble but have one raw night a week. Some feed kibble in the morning and raw food at night. Bone broth is an amazing option, as are other whole foods - yogurt, fresh eggs like you’ve done, steamed carrots, raw goat’s milk, chicken hearts, gizzards (great for cats if you cut them into chunks), etc. Raw meaty bones and chicken necks are excellent and inexpensive additions that help to keep teeth clean. Thanks for writing this!
Sorry, I don’t have time to read the whole article but just wanted to say this. You don’t have to buy “raw food” at the pet store. I get “pet food” meat at the local butcher and use peelings and juicing carrots and veggies that are starting to go off for my dog. It isn’t that expensive. My cats (when I had them) got just raw meat.
When you add the cost of the vets up, you come out better financially with feeding them raw. They only time my 9 year old dog has been to the vet, other than for shots, is when he scratched his cornea. He has otherwise never been sick and is as lively as a younger dog.
We feed our dogs a cooked food diet instead of raw. I make basically a meat and veggie stew add in eggs and their shells (ground). I don’t think the diet has to be raw to be healthy as I’ve been inspired by my mother-in-law feeding her dogs this way for decades and they live very long lives. I do supplement with just a little grain free kibble, usually Blue Buffalo. I used to buy high end grain free canned food (I have two Boston Terriers) and I’ve calculated I save anywhere from 25-50% of the cost of the canned food with my stew. I do wish I could find more cost effective farm meat to use.
I am just starting to do research on the best possible dog food for my dog. I have a Yorkie who has a liver shunt, I found this out when I was feeding her regular dog food high in protein which made her very sick. After many tests at the vet, they recommended Sciencediet for Hepatic health. It’s worked good so far and she hasn’t been sick at all but now I’m finding that Sciencediet might not be the best possible answer either. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should be feeding my 7 year old Yorkie so she can live a long healthy life?! Responses would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
[...] of the problem with conventional dried dog food and why you should feed your dog a raw diet. Part II was about some common obstacles to feeding your dog [...]
After my 8 year old Scottish Terrier died suddenly from liver cancer I did some research and switched my Corgi to a Raw Meat diet. We initially bought a commercially produced product from the supermarket but then discovered that our butcher ground up his off-cuts and offal into pet food that sold for the equivalent of $4.00 for just over 2 pounds. Many supermarkets also make up large, approx. 6lb bags of off-cuts and bones which are a great cheap way to feed your dog raw; a meat grinder, avalable from harware stores means you can make your own ground dog meat. Another great source of cheap or free meat is a friend who hunts, they will usually have lots of meaty bits, offal and bones that they will be glad to give away rather than throw them out.
Our dog loved this and a great side effect of raw feeding is that the poop is small and quite dry - most of the nutrients are used by the body unlike kibble.
Occasionally our dogs go into kennels, most of which insist on feeding kibble, usually Science Diet or Eukenuba, they see this as the healthiest food for dogs. Afterwards we can always see a big difference in the dogs coats and the poop is revolting!!
I started feeding raw within a year of getting my Olde English Bulldogge. It was the best and hardest thing I’ve done. It took awhile to fall into a groove but here we are. I buy pork shoulder and cut it down to size-able chunks, he gets a chicken back, neck or feet to keep his stools from being pure mush. Plus bone is a great source for calcium and minerals, a piece of kidney or liver and a small patty of Bravo (I buy the 5 lb chub). He gets a can of sardines once in awhile, eggs here and there and loves a dollop of yogurt. This is complicated folks, it is work but after everything I’ve learned along the way I do not feel I have a choice as a responsible pet owner…When he was on a high grade kibble he was a mucous machine that passed gas incessantly !
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[...] Care - Now I don’t have a dog but I was very interested in this post on what to do if you can’t feed your dog a raw food diet nonetheless. I have a little kitty that suffers from outbreaks of eczema and have been giving him [...]
[...] What should you feed your dog then? Find out what’s involved with a raw food diet for dogs. [...]
[...] So I give Lipton a half teaspoon. That’s actually a little more than what Dr. Billinghurst suggests but I’m not really worried about it. I only give it to her a few times per week and she’s not eating a raw diet. [...]
We’ve been feeding our yellow lab a raw diet since we’ve had her. Just normal human food, mostly meat. She gets mostly chicken quarters or legs, plus some duck, rabbit, chicken feet, beef organ meats, etc. (usually from the Mexican or Chinese grocery store).
I aim to spend about $1.00/ pound. I can find the chicken quarters much cheaper, usually, but then I have to spend more to get other meats. My dad is a hunter, so occasionally I can get wild game, which is great.
The dog also gets eggs, fruit and veggie scraps (though sometimes I have to slip those into the chicken skin, or smear them with some kind of animal fat to make them appealing). She hasn’t taken to fish as much as I would have liked (whole sardines are CHEAP at the Chinese market), but she did finally take a couple of shrimp, so maybe that will be a gateway.
I did the research, and if you’re not buying pastured meats, it comes out about the same cost as mid-level dog food. I’d prefer those meats, of course, but factory-farmed meat is still better than factory-farmed kibble.
I have three dogs and feed them a raw diet plus a special supplement that was devised by a vet who happened to be my web design client. My dogs have been on raw food now for 3.5 years and are all doing very well on it.
The vet that I did the work for has her website here : http://www.petplusvet.com and you can also buy her supplement there too (Petplus). It is excellent and she even recommends that if for some reason you cannot feed a raw diet, then the next best thing is to use PetPlus.
She likes to answer questions, so if you do visit and have questions, write them as a comment on her site and she will respond.
Liz