Well, we're switching to raw!

[wolfie]

Cocoa has bad allergies. She chews her feet and legs and rubs her face. She's been doing this for years.

A couple of days ago we took her to a holistic vet. It was really cool. We found out that, among other things, cocoa is allergic to chicken! The vet recommended a raw diet for her. To get started, we are mixing some frozen raw food (Steve's (http://www.stevesrealfood.com/)), canned (Merrick (http://www.merrickpetcare.com/)) , and veggies (green beans, squash...) and a couple of suppliments. Eventually we plan on making our own raw diet though.

And now we're thinking of switching Daphne too. It will be more expensive for her though, since she eats more, so we're going to do a bit more research before doing that. Anyone have suggestions about cheap raw? I know I've heard people say before that it's not that expensive. If you don't mind me asking, about how much per month do you spend (...and how much your dog weighs would be helpful too! :) ) Daphne weights 40 pounds. I know it'll be more than the $9 a month we spend now on her purina one, but I'm hoping it will still be reasonable.

[binka_nugget]

Woo! Good luck with the diet! My boys LOVED every meal when they were fed raw.

I paid about $60-70 (Canadian) every month (I think). It's hard to say since I never really kept track but it wasn't too bad. It would have been much cheaper if I didn't buy single packs of premade raw and bought bulk meat and made our own veggie mix instead.

I was really happy with the results though. Kaedyn's teeth looked much better, Kai's were really clean and both dogs' energy levels were great. The only reason I switched was cause the vet thinks Kai has food related allergies so I switched them to Evo for the time being. I'll be switching them back to raw once get off my butt and pick up bulk meat from the butcher's.

Edit:
Kai weighs 40 pounds (ideally 35) and Kaedyn weighs 25 pounds.

[finn's mom]

Finn's main diet is a ten pound bag of chicken for a little less than $5. I'd say that lasts about five days maybe. Finn weighs about 75 pounds. He also gets veggies when I eat them, which is daily. And, beef and pork occassionally as well. I think it's great that you're switching them, I have never felt good about feeding my pets until I started feeding raw. My cat, Lock, who is with my ex, still gets fed a raw diet as well. Good luck! :)

[wolfie]

Thanks guys! ^_^

Okay, sounds like premade is quite a bit more expensive, but still, $40 a month is a lot less than I had figured (I thought like $80-$90/month).

And wow, $5 for a 10 pound bag, that sounds great! I think that'd last Daphne 10 days then... so $15 a month, plus some other meats and veggies. Sounds pretty good.

[slleipnir]

I'm pretty sure Zeke is allergic to chicken as well...however, I switched to a fish and potatoe dog food...it's working so far. He hasn't been throwing up, and he hasn't been chewing on his paws. So if the raw doesn't work, you could think of things like fish, lamb...those sort of things. I had to change all his treats as well to fish or something without chicken...that means no rawhide :X

[wolfie]

I'm pretty sure Zeke is allergic to chicken as well...

Wow, and I thought Cocoa was just weird, because I've never heard of an allergy to chicken before! Glad she's not the only one. Good luck with Zeke. Yeah, the treats are hard to find something without chicken. We bought some freeze dried fish from the vet for treats (kinda smells! ;))

[slleipnir]

A friend of mine works at a pet food store, so they have a little of everything. Her dog has allergies too, which is how I found out about Zeke. She knows a lot about that sort of thing...Otherwise zeke would still be throwing up?? lol

[areias]

At the boarding kennel I worked at we had two bichons that came in, and one was allergic to any kind of poultry. They were both on Hills's Z/D...if RAW dosen't work out you should look into some of the Hills stuff.

[wolfie]

Thanks!

I have another raw question - where do you get the meat. Would a big chain supermarket be okay, or should I go to a local one, or right to a meat market?

[DogLover9501]

Good Luck! I hope it helps Cocoa :)

Jasper is alergic to chicken also, and turkey, ham, etc. He breaks out in bumps from any of them.

[finn's mom]

Thanks!

I have another raw question - where do you get the meat. Would a big chain supermarket be okay, or should I go to a local one, or right to a meat market?

I get mine from the regular supermarkets...but, ideally, I'd like to eventually go to a reputable meat market.

[wolfie]

I get mine from the regular supermarkets...but, ideally, I'd like to eventually go to a reputable meat market.
Okay, thanks!

[pitc9]

Sierra is allergic to Chicken too!!
Gosh, I didn't think so many dogs would be!!!