is the barf diet really cheaper?

So I have been looking into the raw food diet for my dogs (and I don't mean just the chickens that wander into the yard) many sites say it is cheaper to feed them this way which would be a big plus for me of course as well as the health benefits. how does it really pan out in the real world dollar wise?

I think that depends on a couple of factors.

What do you feed now? The cheap stuff or a premium quality kibble?

If you fed the Barf diet, would you feed what you raise yourself, store bought organic or what's on sale at the grocery store?

On the surface, organic does cost more. But when you think of the hormones & antibiotics in most commercial meats it may be cheaper in the long run. They may cause illnesses in your pet that require visits to the vet.

I personally would like to feed more Raw Meaty Bones. But I can't afford that right now. As we start raising more meat birds that will change. Right now I feed my dogs a good quality holistic kibble, RMB (mostly chicken & fish), veggies, oatmeal, rice, yogurt, molassas & oils rich in Omega-3. They don't get all of that in one meal. Each meal is different. I also bake them biscuits for treats.

Is it more expensive than just kibble? Yes, but they are happy and healthy. I am striving to give them a more natural diet. I hope to one day eliminate the kibble altogether.

If you are raising a lot of your own meat, around harvest time there is always the idea of feeding the offal to the dogs.

And if you raise the cornish-rock cross chickens, those things have heart attacks at the drop of a hat - with dogs, at least the meat doesn't go to waste.

paul wheaton wrote:
If you are raising a lot of your own meat, around harvest time there is always the idea of feeding the offal to the dogs.

Feeding the offal is good but you shouldn't give it to them every day. A few times a week is ok. I freeze the excess for future meals.

If you'd like to learn more about RMB here are a few websites with good information & links.
http://www.rawlearning.com/

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/


I have a book that I bought about 25 years ago called "Dr. Pitcairns Natural Health for Dogs & Cats". It contains some recipes for meals & supplements.

thanks for the links and insight. I would be able to provide some meat from my own stock and I was going to pick the brain of my butcher who is an old friend to see what kind of inexpensive but appropriate scraps I could get. I feed premium food right now. not organic but the best I can buy at the grocery store (per my own personal standards). thanks again!

I would just like to add that commercially mass produced dog/pet foods scare me. There are no controls or regulations for the pet food industry and most are full of all types of scary stuff. Even the so called premium brands.

Read the ingredients and you will see what I mean, some have enough stuff to fill a page or two, and they use a lot of fillers and words I can't even pronounce, If I can't pronounce it, I have to wonder how bad it is.

There are some good pet foods out there but I think they are far and few between.

I think a good rule would be to read the ingredients and if you would not eat it yourself, then it probably is not fit for your pet either.

The first thing I look for in a dog food is that the first ingredient is MEAT.  what a novel idea! 99% of them start with corn. There is some regulation, not that we can count on the FDA to insure it is good for our pets. Which is fine, I will decide for myself what is good for my pets (and family) and I don't expect the gooberment to do it for me.

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/petfoodflier.html