K9 Raw Diet :: Feeding on a Budget

Feeding on a Budget
With the changes in today's economy, it's more important than ever to make sure that we're maximising the impact of every dollar we spend. We at K9 Raw Diet can assure you that there's a way to feed your dog or cat an extremely healthy diet that fits right into your individual budget.

At the end of the day, time will pass and our economy will get better. At K9 Raw Diet, we believe that one of the best investments we can make is preventative healthcare for our pets and that begins with what we put into the food bowl. Failing to continue to pay attention to what we're feeding our pets ultimately translates into longer term symptoms (and/or disease) and, hence, also translates into higher veterinary bills. By feeding a sound diet, your pets are going to be healthier and, consequently, you'll be saving money in vet bills longer term.


Setting your criteria
The first thing that needs to be done is to set your criteria. Have a long hard think about what you feel are the most important factors when it comes to feeding your dog or cat. Is it important that the food is human grade? Must the food only be raw? How important is it that food is hormone free, antibiotic free and naturally fed? Will you only feed humanely raised meats? Are some types of commercial meats acceptable? What about grains? Is any type of grain acceptable in the diet?

Here at K9 Raw Diet, our criteria consists of hormone free, antibiotic free and naturally fed meats which is almost exclusively raw (with notable exceptions consisting of emergency food as well as our cooked leftovers). Think about your own criteria and then stick to it.


Restructuring the diet
When severe budgetary concerns come into play, sometimes it's a necessity to restructure the diet. Taking into consideration your personal criteria and considering what types of food you normally purchase for your dog or cat, write down all the items that you normally purchase for your pet. It's time to trim the fat!

If you are feeding a diet that consists of raw meat, bones, organs and other goodies, remember that it is vital to maintain variety of proteins in the diet. It is not healthy to feed only chicken or only chicken and turkey. Dogs and cats both need variety in every raw food diet. However, this does not mean that it's a necessity to feed exotic and more expensive foods on a regular basis.

Where you trim the fat in a raw food diet is going to depend upon your personal criteria for feeding. We recommend that you compile a list of available foods and next to each item, write down the price of that item per pound. Think about variety, reflect upon the relative cost of each food and determine what you really can afford to feed. K9 Raw Diet offers a wide variety of proteins to suit every need and we promote the Primal Rewards Program whereby a $5 discount is given for every 10 eligible Primal products purchased (2 lb chubs or 4 lb bags).

Compiling your list and taking into consideration the Primal Rewards Program (if applicable to you) will provide you with a starting basis upon where you can begin reworking your raw food diet. K9 Raw Diet has all our prices listed on the website to make life a little easier for you in this regard. Once you have your list, begin considering adding in food from home in order to: 1) stretch your raw food and make it last a little longer and 2) increase variety in the diet even more. We here at K9 Raw Diet do feed our human leftovers and believe that no food should go to waste. Remember, nearly all of your human leftover food is absolutely suitable for the dogs and the only real exceptions would be items such as onions, sugary foods, macadamia nuts and potentially grapes and raisins. Just about anything you would have leftover from a meal is going to be just fine to add to your pet's bowl. If you are doubt or have any questions, email us and we are happy to help.

If you normally feed whole raw bones, choose bones that suit your needs. Does your dog really need venison necks or will chicken backs be suitable? What about feeding turkey necks a couple times a week and foregoing the pork necks? If your criteria allows it, how about purchasing whole chickens from CostCo? All poultry in the United States is hormone free, including commercial grade chicken. CostCo chicken is not antibiotic free nor is it naturally fed, but if you do need to restructure the diet with regard to bones, commercial grade chicken isn't horrible for the short term. There is a huge difference between feeding commercial grade red meat and natural hormone free, antibiotic free and naturally fed red meat but not so when it comes to poultry. Red meats are much older, comparatively, at slaughter which means residues are much higher. For your pet, it's a much better deal to save your money by using commercial chicken and investing in red meat that's entirely natural.

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If you need to restructure the diet to include some commercial foods...

If you need to restructure the diet to include grain...



Food substitutions

Sample meal plans

Assessing supplements

Money saving treats and Chews

Special offers to help you even more (fixed specials, bulk sized frozen food)



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