Hey. I've been reading through this forum for quite some time now and have found it absolutely awesome and helpful in every way. I've also done some research from books recommended by Ed and found those very helpful as well. There is just one more hurdle I have to jump over before switching to the raw diet.

I can't seem to find a decent priced butcher or supply warehouse that will fulfill my needs for my dog. It's a 12 week old GSD that's been fed Science Diet Kibbles for the weeks of 8-11 then Orijen Large Puppy starting his 12th week while I've been doing research. So switching to raw I think will be a huge improvement. Like I said, I can't find anyone that will sell me Chicken Neck/Chicken Gizzard for the first 2-3 weeks of the raw diet.

The cheapest I've found was just under $5/pound. Considering that he weighs 25 pounds now and will obviously get bigger very quickly (his father was 100 pounds) this will cost me $12.5 a day to feed him. Spending $100 a week after taxes cannot be done, so I am asking for help.

I am wondering if there is anyone of the 8,500+ members and hundreds of anonymous users that lives in the Ottawa/Gatineau area of Canada. If you are from here and know or already have an agreement with a butcher I would GREATLY appreciate any help or mention you could give me. This is something that is very important to me and would greatly appreciate anything anyone could do to help me out.

Another thing, I've always read that chicken is the best thing to start your dog off on. This is why I'm asking for help with finding someone that could give me a great price. What about starting with ground beef? Costco sells ground beef at less than $5 a kilo so it would be economically feasible for me, but what would that do for the dog?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be awesome! I'll be checking back here regularly to try and get Mylo off kibbles as soon as possible.

Thanks, Alex.

http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd182/amarko87/?action=view&current=DSCF2401.jpg

Ground beef is all muscle.... no bones.

How much do you pay for whole chickens (or halves, or quarters) in the supermarket? I mean, for people-food?

You have Costco? Surely they have prices of much less than $5 per pound for chicken.

Good point, to tell you the truth I never thought about buying a whole chicken. $22-25 for 3 uncooked chickens, the supermarket, ready to go into the oven kind. Ok, no bone = bad, must've slipped my mind. But is it alright to start feeding wings and thighs in the first couple weeks? To tell you the truth, I've done research, but I'll be frank, I still feel like I know nothing. I guess it must be stress worrying about it all.

Thanks for the reply Connie,

Alex.

 Quote: alex markovic

Good point, to tell you the truth I never thought about buying a whole chicken. $22-25 for 3 uncooked chickens, the supermarket, ready to go into the oven kind. Ok, no bone = bad, must've slipped my mind. But is it alright to start feeding wings and thighs in the first couple weeks? To tell you the truth, I've done research, but I'll be frank, I still feel like I know nothing. I guess it must be stress worrying about it all.

Thanks for the reply Connie,

Alex.

For a dog new to bones and fresh food, I'd probably hack those lil bony tips off wings and the rip some of the skin off the meaty part of the wing. Sounds like a pain, but for a beginner dog, wings are a lot of fat (skin) and bones.

I would pick up a couple of the whole chickens (unless you see a bag of backs there; the Costco here does often have what they call "stockpot chicken," and it's necks and backs with a few wing tips). I'd probably grab a *small* package of ground poultry (turkey or chicken) just in case he's nervous at first about the texture of real raw meat. (They all like ground meat of all kinds, even at the beginning, IME.) It won't be wasted if he turns out to adore all the chicken immediately (most likely); it will freeze great.

If you have these things, your fish oil and Vitamin E, and maybe a package of natural plain unflavored live-culture yogurt (a nice probiotic to help the digestion get up to speed), then you could wait a few days for the organ meat, produce, eggs, and whatever else you plan to use for protein variety (like maybe that beef you mentioned?).

I like to start with limited ingredients and go very slowly, and then if the dog gets a little diarrhea or something, I will know what did it.

I'd probably quarter the birds. And I'd probably start with the front parts (remembering that this all freezes just fine) until he is good at digesting heavier bones (might be just a few days).

This is all just one way to start. Many dogs start with all their ingredients at once and do just fine.

I've started a lot of seniors who have been on bad kibble for many years, so I tend to go very slowly and gradually. :>

P.S. Have you looked at the Leerburg sample meals for adults and puppies? Nice visuals of what you're aiming for.

Also, I wouldn't be too concerned about the whole-birds' cost..... I think that most people find that after they start raw, they find poultry and other sales all the time, and buy as much as they can fit in the freezer. It becomes second nature pretty fast.

I betcha others will post beginner suggestions, too; this board is just riddled with raw feeders!

Thanks for all the help, you guys are awesome! Still doing some research here, but that helps soooo much. Really appreciate it! And thanks for all those that PM'd me.

Alex.

I agree feeding raw in Canada is expensive! I finally found a butcher in Kingston who supplies alot of kennels in the area with chicken carcasses for a 1.00 a lb. He grinds them for me too which is a bonus. I can get as much as I want at a time too. Maybe there's a butcher in Ottawa that would do the same thing for you too.

OMG your pup is adorable!! Gotta love those ears and such a lucky dog!

I live in Toronto and purchase the meat for my GSD at the local Chinese community. I find that I only spend $40 every two weeks feeding my 4 year old GSD. I buy the meat and freeze it. When I feed the dog the meat I mix it with cooked rice and vegetables.

I live in Ottawa but have family in Toronto so I commute to Toronto and through Kingston at least once a month. Thanks for the help!

Patty - Thanks, but I'm the lucky one

Alex.

I'm in Toronto, so I'm not much help, but I would try looking for wholesalers again...call them up, bargain with them. I get my chicken backs for $0.50/lb (ps. Michael, if that's cheaper than what you're paying, you can pm me for location!) and get veggies based on which is cheapest at the moment at no frills (usually under 99 cents for a week's worth). I end up paying about $60/month for Jenga, feeding him 3-4 lbs/day. That doesn't include the occasional purchase of supplements, though.