Which is the most convenient way to feed raw?

[Champagneforeveryone]

We already feed raw and are delighted with the results. We buy from a local supplier and have always been more than happy with the quality and service.

However with the loss of our oldest dog, the 500g bags are simply the wrong size and we always have leftovers. This has been particularly problematic when it was so hot.

Ideally we need 800g a day, DDogs are not fussy and will have a pop at anything. I'm looking for the greatest convenience and am aware that I will need to pay more than I'm doing currently which is fine (within reason!)

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated

I feed supermarket meat. Throw chicken pieces at him, minced beef in his bowl, and organ meat dehydrated as treats.

You have to be careful about the usual rules- no butcher cut bones and so on.
Depending on the size of the dog and their teeth they'll manage a whole chicken (put it back in the fridge when they've finished, get it out again tomorrow).

Treats like a pigs head or a woodpigeon etc when you can get hold of them.

You can keep the meat in the fridge. So use your 500g chubb. Give 400g in the morning and put the 100g in the fridge until the evening meal then add 300g from the next chubb keep the remainder in the fridge etc.

Dogs dont care if you mix the raw so dont worry about mixing flavours they wont.

Where are you getting your meat from?

I feed mine in pyrex dishes with plastic sealed tops and weigh out all the food for several days and put it in the fridge.

walnuts I'm in awe of you, but think that DH would definitely put his foot down at a raw pigs head

polly I'm actually off to IKEA at the weekend to buy some of their lidded glass dishes for exactly that purpose!

Ours would definitely not care if we mixed flavours! It's more the fact that the meat is very soggy and bloody and there's always drips all over the place

We buy ours from www.nurturingbynature.co.uk

We feed as the rescue centre did, free flow mince from Nature's menu mixed with various things, veg, oats, tinned fish, leftover rice and pasta, chickpeas etc. We're feeding 2 dogs so weigh out enough for 24hrs and defrost in fridge overnight.

We tried all the ready made raw and it was too sloppy and bloody, this is so much easier and pleasant to deal with! Very easy to pick up poop and no funny tummies.

I use complete minces, which I buy in 500g or 1kg packs. I get over 20kg at a time and store it in a freezer in the garage. I get 1kg out when I've almost used a pack up and leave it on the draining board until the next meal, by which time the outside's defrosted and the middle's usually still icy. Then I store it in a plastic container in the fridge.

(500g when it's just for Small Dog, 1kg when my daughter's pack are here too.)

I like Paleo Ridge, Benyfit and Nutriment, which I buy from Not In The Dog House. Durham Animal Feeds is good too but they seemed to have more bone. Minces are much easier if you have a picky eater - Small Dog doesn't like offal and if I give him chunks of liver or kidney he just drops them over the edge of his bowl - as they're balanced, also a plus if you're not confident of doing it yourself. Just be aware that a lot contain green tripe, which dogs seem to love and which smells like something from the other end of the digestive tract.

I also feed raw chicken bones, if I'm deboning a chicken, and if you have a local Morrisons their lamb neck, lamb breast and beef ribs are good treats and take some gnawing.

Treats like a pigs head or a woodpigeon etc when you can get hold of them.

@picklemewalnuts, have you tried giving rabbit, gutted but otherwise whole including fur? It was Big Dog's special treat. She ate the whole thing except a few square inches of coat.

I use Poppy’s Picnic and just store it in the fridge in the tray it comes in. Put it all in a small plastic zip lock bag to prevent any spills.

@ThatLibraryMiss sadly my dog is a wuss. He used to have all sorts, but as time has gone on now he only likes chicken and beef. I sourced all sorts of exciting things, but he just got pickier and pickier.

If you have the freezer space, buy the 1kg packs instead of the 500g and if your supplier is one that uses those plastic bag things as opposed to plastic tubs, get a large secure storage tub and transfer the food to that and keep it in the bottom of your fridge - thawed raw food can last up to 4 days if refrigerated but chances are it'll be used up before then.

Ends up being a lot more cost effective to buy the larger packs and if your dogs aren't picky about leftovers being mixed with the next defrosted batch :)

Nutriment is not messy and liquidy (except the salmon one)

I have two dogs having about 450g each twice a meal.
I use nutriment 1.4kilo sausages which I keep in the freezer. I stick to chicken and beef. I take two out a time and let them defrost.

I then put them in six takeaway plastic lidded boxes in the fridge which is three meals for my two dogs.

I bought a small fridge just for the dog food.

Hope this helps !

I buy the pellets from Pets At Home. They are in the freezer section.

I defrost them an hour before he eats and he wolfs them down.

I used to get Bella & Duke but it was always a sloppy mess. My dog prefers the formed pellets. I think it's Natures Menu he has.

We have the 1.4kg Nutriment chubs. DDog has 350g per meal, so one chub does 4 meals (2 days). We open a chub at meal time, and the remaining 1050g fits nicely in an old Carte D'Or ice cream tub and lives in the fridge until used up. As soon as a new chub is opened, the next one comes out of the freezer to defrost on a narrow tray in the fridge (they can drip as they defrost, especially the duck and the tripe!).

We have an American style fridge freezer, one of the freezer drawers takes 5 chubs max, and one is always defrosting in the fridge.
We get deliveries from our daycare place weekly when they drop Ddog off. If we're going away somewhere with Ddog, we take enough chubs in a polystyrene box with ice packs, which works for up to a week's worth of food.

Could you use 1/2 chub per day for 700g of food, then make up the additional 100g with chewable treats eg chicken feet/ cows ears etc?

I use DAF 500g blocks, he has one a day split into two meals - if I forget to defrost it, I kind of hack bits off & feed frozen 😁
I also feed the free flow minces frozen, DDog doesn't mind at all.
So I'd look at free flow minces, chunks, nuggets, & just feed frozen or as defrosted as you can get.
So I'd suggest

@Champagneforeveryone - Nutriment Raw (nutriment.co) sells 1.4kg cylindrical "Chubbs". From experience they are not smelly, liqudy, or overly messy and they come in a variety of vet-confirmed and nutritionist-tested flavours. If you happen to be based in surrey, (i understand you are most likely not), I am actually a stockist of it. Pm me to order :D

I have a couple of bags of raw food constantly defrosting in the fridge which I separate and weigh every night before feeding the dogs. I think you need weigh up your budget with how convenient the food is. I’ve just googled nutriment chubs and I think £28 for 5 kilos of dog food is ridiculous. I’m buying raw food at the correct meat/bone/organ ratio for £19 for 12.5 kilos.

I have a lot of dogs though :)

@LtDansleg what supplier do you use?

[quote Bakewellisntjustacake]@LtDansleg what supplier do you use? [/quote]
I use a few. I found bulmers far superior when it comes to quality and price, but due to a sudden massive demand in their local area they no longer deliver to mine. I’d definitely recommend those if they deliver to your area though. My latest order was from Middletons who charged 37.50 for 24 kilos of raw chicken with free next day delivery

Dry raw?

e.g. www.frescodog.co.uk/collections/dry-raw-food

I get nature's menu nuggets because it has all the veg and rice mixed in so I literally just throw the right amount of nuggets into the bowl. A bag lasts me 3 days so it's just over £1 /day (my dog is only 10kg though)

@LtDansleg Not sure where you get £28 from. 4 Chubbs is 5.6kg, that works out to more like £20 for more than 5 kilos.

[quote elloveraa]@LtDansleg Not sure where you get £28 from. 4 Chubbs is 5.6kg, that works out to more like £20 for more than 5 kilos.[/quote]
I had a look on the website. You are right that it’s 5.6kg for 4 rather than 5kg, that’s not a huge difference though. The prices vary from 5.50-7.00 each depending on the meat so potentially £28 for 5.6kg. Even the cheapest one is still a hell of a lot more than I’m paying for human grade meat.