Commercial RAW or ....

[Dana]

Because I am new to this, I did some research on commercial Raw dog food and am only now realizing that I should buy raw meat with it's bones and organs and just add the veggies??
Here was my research:

“The Dog Food Advisor”(DFA) does a very thorough job of rating commercial dog foods.
In the category of RAW FROZEN they give 5 stars to all of the following brands but NOT every flavor.
Answers Detailed
Northwest Naturals (X beef, lamb & bison)
OC Raw (X lamb)
Oma’s Pride (Turkey only)
Primal Raw (X beef, lamb & chicken)
Raw Bistro (X lamb)
Raw Wild
Small Batch Raw (X duck or lamb)
Steve’s (X chicken)
Vital Essentials (X turkey)

In my neck of the woods, I can only find Northwest Naturals, Oma’s Pride, Primal & Small Batch. At Dr. Jeff recommendation I was able to get We Feed Raw (not rated by The DFA) and Steve’s online.
Pricing:
Northwest Naturals – Chicken $6.63/lb, White Fish & Salmon $6.17/lb
Oma’s Pride - Turkey $3.75/lb
Primal Raw - Duck $6.96/lb, Turkey & Sardine $7.50/lb
Small Batch Raw – Chicken $6.33/lb, Rabbit $10/lb
Steve’s – Chicken $6.29/lb
We Feed Raw – Turkey $10/lb
Local Butcher – ground chicken w/ bones & organs (no vegies) $3.92/lb

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Dana.

I'd also contact Kevin or Frank at Rawganics about their great and local raw meat.

https://k9kevin.com/

Also @jenbridwell just informed me that Top Quality Dog Food has a Greenwich pickup location:

We’ve rebranded!

While the outward appearance of Top Quality Dog Food has evolved into our new brand, Carnos, what makes us tick hasn’t changed. We’re still on a mission to provide dog and cat owners with the best…

www.topqualitydogfood.com

 

[Dr. Christina]

Excellent, Dana. Thanks so much for sharing those numbers.

One of my issues with regularly feeding the commercial raw foods, in addition to the expense, is that most are ground. the anatomy of a dog's mouth and stomach is designed for ripping, tearing and crunching.

Glad your research is leading you to the same conclusion - feed as close to what they eat in the wild as possible. Be creative. Try different parts of the prey (tongue, feet, heads, tails, etc). Feed organ meat. Puree the veges a lot.

Also, for me, the environmental impact is important. Purchasing meaty bones, organs and veges where you shop (farm, farmer's market, etc) saves gas, saves all the processing and packaging of the commercial ones, saves shipping, and you see each ingredient fed (can't tell what is in there when all ground up).

finding hunters willing to share their kill with you can be free. Finding the hunter's butchers can get you offal and other meaty bones for a small processing fee.

Dr. Christina

 

[Dana]

Thanks for all of this! I will definitely check out Rawganics and Top Quality Dog Food... Christine, I am still a little nervous about creating his food... are there parts of the animal that are NOT good to feed? I know quite a few bird hunters ... do I need to pluck? and the vegies... Do they need to be cooked and pureed or can I feed them raw?

 

[Dr. Sara]

Dear Dana,
You do not need to pluck birds, but dogs make a mess with the feathers they don't eat, so I would feed unplucked birds outside. You also have to be careful about the shot in the meat, as you don't want that ingested.
All organs are fine, though I would not feed liver from bear. Polar bear liver has toxic levels of vitamin A, and 'regular' bear liver can be quite high as well when they are preparing for hibernation.
I would not feed a lot of intestines, even though dogs do like them, as again, they are super messy to feed.
I fed Top Quality Dog Food for several years, as Peter Beukers is a client of our practice. I had issues with the food smelling spoiled, which he could not smell, so I switched to K9Kraving and OC Raw. Many of Peter's foods are also quite high in fat in relation to protein (protein should on balance be twice the fat percentage), which is not appropriate for growing pups.
You want to puree the veggies or blanch them to increase digestibility. a dog's gut is short, so you need more surface area of the veg exposed for optimal digestion.
Whole animals are great, if you can get them! I used to feed whole parts, and it is more economical. In Britain it was easy, as the butchers sold everything, fresh, and I could make a trip a few times a week. I could even get whole birds and bunnies plus organs. Here, it is more difficult to get a varied organ / meaty bone diet, and the ground mixes fit in the freezer a lot better!

 

[Dr. Christina]

Thanks Dr. Sara, for the info on polar bear livers.

Another organ that is best fed outdoors is tripe. Always use fresh tripe (or some canned brands), as much in the stores have been bleached.

See if there are any egg laying chicken breeders near by. They have to kill the 1 day old MALE chicks, so that can be a good source of whole animals.

Please do not be nervous of getting fresh ingredients. It is the same as feeding you or children - you would not buy processed (even high quality) as their main diet. You would not worry about what you fed (though would worry about quality of each ingredient).

Opinions of processed foods, even raw, does vary. I have had a number of dogs turn their nose up at our local K9Kravings, though Dr. Sara has had good success with it.

Please keep asking questions until you feel comfortable feeding fresh that you have "made".

Dr. Christina