1 month of Raw Feeding: Update!

So it has been one month since we started 100% raw feeding our 2 huskies.  Things have been going as well as we had hoped, but I wanted to give an update for all those that were interested after I posted my last blog entry about raw feeding.

Our grand total for raw feeding for this month was just over $50!!!  Our goal is to keep it under $75 each month so it will be less than what it was costing in dog food.  That $50 includes fresh meats, veggies, fruits, raw meaty bones, and rec bones.

We sort of changed up the feeding schedule for them slightly to cut back on time and prep.

AM-both dogs get a RMB (raw meaty bone) that is usually a chicken thigh, pork neck, or random pork, chicken or beef from the reduced price meat freezer.  This part costs about $1 a day or less.

PM- They get about 1.5 cups of food mixture which contains ground beef and a mixture of pureed veggies and fruits.   From what we were reading the puree really helps them digest it better and actually absorb the nutrients from the produce and makes it more worth feeding.

2-3x a week they get a rec bone which is usually a beef femur or a pork hock. (they consume the ENTIRE hock)

I go grocery shopping on Sundays while the girls are at AWANAS and get all the food for the week for them and the bill is anywhere from $10-$20 total for that week.  One week, my bill was actually only $3.24!!!!  (they ate alot of leftover veggies from stuff we were not going to use, and there were coupons on whole chickens making them practically free..um score.)  It takes about an hour so to prep it all puree, and seperate into 2 bowls. (one gets frozen and taken out on Wednesday nights for the 2nd half the week)

We might eventually switch to just 100% raw meat only when we can be somewhere that has a larger varieties of meat accessible to us.  Right now the commissary is the easiest, and they only carry the basics.  Meat is all the need and is the most basic, and least effort way to raw feed.  The veggies and fruits are more of a filler than anything, and cuts down on some costs some.  100% meat will probably cost a little bit more when we switch, but there would be absolutly no prep for the week.

As far as accidents..the first 2 weeks, there was no one poop or pee accident.  Since then I think we have had a total of about 4 poop accidents (2 in her kennel, 2 on the floor) and 1 pee accident.  Totally not near as bad as the everyday poops and 3x a day pee she was having on regular dog food.

Behavior:  They both (especially Holly) has calmed down a bit, but still very playful.  They are listening better and just seem happier (probably because they do not have tummy aches anymore!)

No more bad dog breath! For real...their breath has no smell at all..doesn't stink, doesn't smell good.

Teeth-seriously white and clean.  They both had some plaque on the back teeth, and that is all completely gone, and we have no brushed their teeth once since starting the raw diet.

Coats-Much softer and a little bit shinier. (This is usually the least dramatic change and takes the longest to notice)  But this time last year, Kota's winter coat was coming out in huge chunks..so far its coming out in smaller chunks or sparcely.

(Half puree-half chopped part way through the month, as you can see they get a lot of colors)

Holly 8 months (taken a couple weeks ago)

Kota 1.5 years (taken about 2 months ago)

We will for sure continue feeding them raw.  Traveling/PCSing with them will for sure be much more challenging for us, but I think we will be able to figure it all out.