Do a search in here, there are TONS of threads, and, probably all your questions would be answered...as far as the difference it makes...I'll give you an example. My little RB dog, bruno, was about 12 or 13 when I changed him over cold turkey. I literally went from feeding him kibble to raw in one day. I fed him cubes of beef brisket and pureed veggies. I was nervous about feeding bones at that time (as in chicken) but, i let him chew on marrow bones and things like that, because he wasn't a voracious chewer and i wasn't worried about him breaking a tooth or breaking off pieces of bone that he'd swallow but couldn't digest (like pork or beef bones). He completely changed! He went from not being able to jump on the bed, barely able to walk fast, let alone run...he went from having bad breath, runny poop, throwing up daily, cloudy eyes, dry and dull fur...to being able to get up and down out of the bed and the car, he was running again, better breath, better teeth, solid poop, no puking, clear and bright eyes, shiny fur, it was amazing! And, he made nearly all of those obvious changes within a couple of days of raw feeding. Something drastic will have to happen to convince me that it isn't the right way to feed.

As for Finn, he has little to no body odor at all, never throws up, small amount of poop, almost always solid (unless i feed a lot of food without bone)...he has no bad breath, no plaque (the chicken bones clean his teeth as he eats it), his skin and coat look awesome. The main thing I notice with him compared to other dogs his age fed kibble, is the breath. He just doesn't have stinky breath.

As for what you're supposed to feed, it's something like 2 to 5% of the dog's weight. Depending on the activity level. And, a rule of thumb is to feed something at least as big as the dog's head so that they have to chew, instead of just gulping. Finn's a gulper, so, I have to do that. If your dog doesn't gulp, then you might not have to be so strict about the size of the food.

I don't find that it's any more expensive than feeding the quality dog food I'd choose to buy. I mean, yeah, it's cheaper to buy Ol' Roy or Kibbles and Bits or Pedigree, but, those aren't foods I'd buy if I were feeding kibble. I don't have a freezer, yet, and, I have a large dog. I just buy him a ten pound bag of chicken leg quarters and divide them into daily portions. Usually two leg quarters into one of those freezer/microwave/dishwasher safe disposable/reusable plastic containers (Ziploc and Glad both make them, as do others). I freeze several containers (a ten pound bag usually lasts Finn five to seven days), and, keep a couple out for the first couple days. I take one container out of the freezer at a time...empty a container that night, take one out of the freezer, etc. So, that gives each frozen portion a full day to thaw in the refrigerator. A freezer does allow you to buy in bulk, but, I've done it without one so far, you could probably manage. Especially with such little pups.

As for the types, chicken leg quarters are Finn's main source of food. I will buy beef brisket and cut it up every so often, usually giving him a piece of beef as one of his two daily meals every couple days. Just for variety. I rarely will give him boneless meat (whether it be pork or beef), twice a day, just because his poop tends to be too soft (because there's no bone). I will also sometimes buy pork loin chops and cut them off the bone, and, replace a leg quarter meal with a pork meal every couple days. He's eaten salmon before, and, I am planning to check out a butcher here in the next couple days. David also can get pretty much a neverending supply of deer meat, so, Finn will probably be getting that a lot, too. Hope he likes it, because it seems like it may be the cheapest way for us to go!

Like I said, type the word raw into the search engine within Pet Talk, and, read a lot. Also, what I did was to join several groups on yahoo...several groups that were pro-raw and several that were anti-raw. I didn't go into either with a strong opinion, yet, just joined to get both sides...I didn't argue with the anti-raw group, just listened. I obviously chose raw, but, don't do it if you're not sure it's right for you. You have to be comfortable with it! Good luck!