Although I can get the Bravo chubs at a better price then from the 'store', it is still not as cost effective to feed as a home made diet. No ready to eat food for dogs or people is inexpensive....someone else is doing all the work, not you. It is expecially more costly to feed very active large breed dogs. I purchase my food for the dogs at restaraunt wholesaler. I buy 10 lb chubs of ground meat & 40lb cases of RMB's. Since I am feeding GSDs I don't need to feed the dogs ground bones, unless by choice. I also think that feeding the 'bones' whole & not ground keeps their teeth cleaner & they enjoy it more :-) It is still less expensive to prepare it myself, even including the cost of the suppliments that I feed. JMO & the way I do it.

Oh, heck, no. It could never be as cheap as done-at-home.

I feed digestible bones "as is," too, but I could expand a lot if I could grind some of the bones my dogs can't eat on their own (I have a mix of dog sizes).

What are the RMBs that you buy by the case? Poultry backs?

 Quote:

I am envious. Mike Armstrong (on this board) also makes use of a grinder, and I would too. It would greatly increase my variety options. What kind of bone will it manage? Rib, or what?

So far it has handled tom turkey necks, turkey wings and legs, all with no problem. chicken parts go through like butter. Interestingly, fat is more of an issue than bone. The only thing that clogged it so far was too much pork fat.

I haven't yet tried any pork ribs, but I am confident it would handle them fine. I don't think I would attempt any beef bones.

I'm now grinding food because Luca bloated and our vet recommended his food be ground from now on--and it's just easier for me to grind it all instead of making different meals. One other item: for my "gulpers" the ground food has slowed down their eating considerably. I mash the ground food into the bottom of their food bowl, forcing them to work to get it out. Before, they'd swallow hunks of RMB whole.

I think the grinder has simplified and sped up meal prep for me.

Well, if it can handle Tom turkey legs, it can handle anything I would want to put through.

For example, turkey legs are one of the RMBs that are just too big for me to feed.

I introduce a good bit of variety in the MM that I use to supplement the chicken RMBs, but that grinder would mean that I could change up the RMB part too!

That's a hefty chunk o' change, though.

 Quote: Tracy Collins

I think the grinder has simplified and sped up meal prep for me.

Not to mention the option of grinding in less-desirable items and disguising them (for one of mine, that would be liver).

 Quote: Kimberly Bunk

. . . the Original Formula. The site said 14 lbs of food a week, so at Petfooddirect, it was $582.27 for 55 lbs (40, 10, 5 lbs tube on order).

$10/lb? Is that source your only choice? Did you check the Bravo site for retailers? Around me it's about $13-14 for a 5# tube of beef; the other meats are more.

Mine - this one - is smaller than Tracy's, but it works fine and was well worth the investment. I'm off today to stock up on whole chicken at $0.77/lb, The biggest PITA is doing a little cutting to get it to fit in the hopper inlet. Other than that, it works like a charm. I don't grind all the backs, wings, and thighs so there'll be something to chew on and clean teeth, but I've found that even if eveything is ground up, the tarter buildup is so minimal as not to be a concern. I grind up at least 2 weeks worth at a time, package up 2-3 days of meals in ziplocks and throw 'em in the freezer. I usually have a tube of Bravo on hand for when I run out or want to throw in a little variety, but I wince at the price.

Mike

 Quote: Mike Armstrong

..... I usually have a tube of Bravo on hand for when I run out or want to throw in a little variety, but I wince at the price.

Mike

I keep this stuff on hand: http://leerburg.com/honestkitchen.htm for both reasons.

It would be a good newbie raw diet, too, if the RMBs were added to the THK as directed.

But I make it kinda thin and pour it over the raw meal now and then, because of the great variety it offers.

 Quote: Kimberly Bunk

OMG, just looked up this product. I can't believe how expensive it is. I would be paying over $500 a month on this compared to $50 for one dog on home prepared raw. YIKES

For phoenix if I feeed 100% witch i feed 75% raw and 25% Parie kibble at the moment it would cost me for the raw. 39 to feed 100% for a whole month if I bought just parie kibble it come out to about the same. Phoenix is 28 pound after dinner all wet.

She also get salmon iol 400mg of vitimin e everyday. And something else I have to go pull its a powder and yogurt 3 times a week and turkey necks. Anytime I cook I give phoenix a peice of the meat.

I only have the chicken formulia right now but kieth is going to get me all of them.

For phoenix it is just easy to have something premade.
If she was any bigger it would probally be not worth it.

But her kibble and raw equal right now. On the plus side her kibble last her like 6 months now alway have. The only reason I really do kibble at all is I want her to get some things that I may not be giving her.
What does she need if I deside to go 100% raw? Witch I have been wanting to do for a long time.

Oh I buy the 5 pound paddy cause phoenix eats one pady a day. 10 paddys in 5 pounds. 3 packages a month. at 13 to 15 bucks not bad.

Connie, I buy 40 lb cases of turkey necks (tom), chicken necks (fresh or frozen, I prefer fresh), chicken backs, & pork neck bones.(not too many or often on these as they can be binding) I pay about $12-$14 per case, depending on the item. I feed chicken leg Qtrs also occasionally. I would not give these to young dogs that don't have the jaw strength to masticate leg bones. Some people are afraid to feed weight bearing bones, but I have never,so far, ever had any issues with feeding these. I will NOT feed turkey leg Qtrs or even wings. Just my choice on this. Pups are fed chicken necks & chicken wings & then later pork neck bones. Then eventually when older all except legs until MUCH older. I like to use the Bravo for very young pups (expecially since mine have all had food drive thru the roof & tend to GULP even the larger chicken necks & wings.) I get tired of diving down their throats & having to retreive these large bones to keep them from chocking. I'm getting too old & less quick with my hands to deal with this. I feed the wings as recreational bones...when they are more relaxed & not MEAL TIME, so that they will tend to munch on them & not gulp them down, I don't feed alot of fresh veggies in the winter, I use the 'Honest Kitchen Embark' food as a vegtable source (especially in the winhter). They each get a scoop with their am feeding. I do tend to feed them in the summer quite a bit since the prices are better. I also will get them at the restraunt wholesaler that I purchase my mneat from. I will often get 50lb bag of carrots & bring most of them to the barn for my horse & some home for the dogs. Of course it goes without saying....that you have to have the freezer room for all this volume buying to work. I process the food into 2-3 meal quantities )both bones & 10 lb meat tubes) when I get home & thew freeze it all. That way I can take out what I need & can rotate the variety for meals.