It appears that alot of very informed people have very different opinions regarding the proper diet for the dogs they love. They compare dogs to wolves, but at the same time suggest that you bleach out their water bowls daily. Most of the stuff published recommends that you don't allow your dog to drink from lakes and streams, but advocates a raw, natural diet like the wolf. The people who study wolves, state that the bones found in the scat are covered with hide and hair, and consuming the whole animal, allows the safe digestion of bones,ect. Everyone, for the most part, agrees that healthy dogs are resistant to bacteria like salmenella, ect.Predators like wolves normally regergestate their kill to feed their cubs, however, I have no idea how long they continue to do it. I don't trust the large pet food companies, and the vet's are contradicting each other to the point that I think about half the time their just guessing. I know that my dog has dined on a deer hind quarter, freshly killed, with no ill effects on a number of occasions, and consumed raw beef and chicken with no ill effects. On the deer leg, she ate all of it, within a few hours, nothing left. My conclusion, I really don't know. Personally, I've been pretty impressed with Kelly's discussion on the raw diet, and the information she has provided when contacted by E-mail. I've decided to trust her judgement, and combine raw foods in addition to the honest kitchen dog food. Why, because the lady loves dogs, and that seems to be her only agenda. I trust her!

boy, some people are really cashing in on the raw food craze, aren't they? those prices from those websites are ridiculous.

maybe if i was feeding a chihuahua, i could swallow spending that kind of money to feed a dog. but i average about .60 cents/.lb to feed my dog and if he were any healthier, he'd be immortal.

Alice, I thought the same thing, ridiculous prices, that is why I make my own.
The only thing I care to order is the green tripe and the rabbit meat and that is cause I can't get it hear but all the pre-made mixes (patties), no thanks>Not to mention the last time I ordered such patties I paid $65 for shipping!
Shoot ,I am going to start selling patties....want to be partners LOL,J/K

Had a dog with only 1 nut ,got him half price.I didn't relize dogs sold buy the nut. He did live 15 years

 Quote: Angelique Cadogan

You would think that in Canada they would have a supplier of Rabbit meat.

You know, they probably DO but I am just not finding it... I'm kind of thinking that if the property I end up with is big enough (I am moving this summer) then I might grow my own rabbits. Chickens might be nice too but I don't know what's involved with that. Man I need land... :-)

Jennifer,
You know Yuko(board member) raise her own rabbits for feeding(her K9).I myself couldn't do it, I would have to hire someone to kill them , and then explain to my kids why mommy is saving so much money on dog food raising rabbits LOL
I need more land too,land period.I think with chickens it would be easier though

 Quote: Angelique Cadogan

Jennifer,
You know Yuko(board member) raise her own rabbits for feeding(her K9)..../

Really? I think if I had enough for a little hutch I'd get into it. I don't know much about rabbits or how much space they need. I wouldn't enjoy the killing part either, but at the same time I'm not really enjoying spending $15/day on food for three dogs.

About bones, I just got my dog back from having a dentistry. The aftercare sheet cracked me up. I fully expected to see something about brushing teeth daily. Nope. This is basically what the sheet said to do to keep a dog's teeth clean:

Get a large knucklebone from the butcher and freeze it solid. After the bone is frozen, give it to the dog and let him work on it for about 20 minutes or so. Then take the bone away and put it back in the freezer. Repeat once or twice a week or whenever.

The reason why you only allow the dog to gnaw on the bone for a limited time is to keep the dog from throwing up. I gather the thinking is that since the average housepet might not be fed table food on a regular basis, they might not be able to handle a real bone.
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Karen C.

lol, Angelique that's too funny

You're right though, it's impossible to kill a rabbit when you've cared for its mother, watched it being born and raised it its whole life!

I have the perfect solution though! I give some of my baby rabbits to another rabbit breeder so that she can add them to her breeding stock. In exchange, she gives me some of the rabbits she doesn't need (usually the excess males; she sells those to pet shops) and those are the rabbits I feed to my dogs!
If I get them as babies, I have to raise them for a month or two until they're big enough, but I try not to get attached. They don't have names or anything

The first time I killed a rabbit my heart was pounding so much I thought I would have a heart attack
But their skulls are so delicate, one strong hit to the head with a mallet and it's instant death! They're not scared and they don't even flinch. It's probably a lot more humane than the way livestock is usually slaughtered for human consumption.

Besides, I see it this way: I gave the rabbit a happy life, with plenty of outdoor access, fresh air, sunlight, exercise, attention and petting (and breeding privileges lol!). I then give it an instant and painless death.
How bad can that be?

Jennifer, if you had land with lots of plants to feed the rabbits it would probably be feasible (you'd have to watch our for predators though; my solution is a very protective 10-year-old german shepherd who loves to mother the rabbits!).

I can't believe you're spending 15$ a day on the dogs! Have you looked into meat wholesale instead of retail? Or visiting a butcher to see what they may have? Or trying to contact local hunters?

I admire you for feeding your dogs raw at that price...