Has anyone swapped back from feeding raw to feeding kibble?

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I have been a raw food fan for my dogs for quite a few years now - they all look fabulous on it, are very healthy, and eat their food within about 30 seconds of it being put down! Minimal waste, easy to feed etc....

Unfortunately I have 4 medium dogs who eat approx £150 of raw food every month. I have just worked out that if I fed Skinners Duck and Rice it would cost me approximately £50 per month. Since I have just split from my OH and every penny is important, I now have a real dilemma......

I have tried sourcing raw more cheaply but to be honest the cheapest place I could find was a local abattoir/butchers and even from there it was costing me a lot - it is a simple fact that 4 dogs eat a lot :D

I know I'll get abuse about this (this IS AAD after all, it has a reputation to keep up :D ) but any comments would be received with interest, if you can keep them constructive (even if critical) then that would be great :)
 
Well have never tried raw - life is just too short, IMO - but my dogs are all on Skinners duck and rice, or sometimes salmon and rice, and all look good. HTH!
 
Havea look online - you might be able to get a grain free food somewhere like zooplus for a similar price to Skinners. Skinners isn't a bad option though, lots of dogs do well on it.
 
I don't know how much you are paying per Kg but there are suppliers that charge around 60-80p a kilo for raw, 40p kg for mince, does that vary much to what you are paying at the moment?
 
cant comment on changing but i feed my 2 on skinners D&R.i pay between £24 and £26 for a sack.
i kept a note of the last bag and it lasted 6 weeks !!!

big one is 41kg he has 3 handfuls in the morning and a cup of dry at night with 2/3 of a wet tin
smally is 18kg and has 2 handfuls morning and 1/3 tin and half a cup dry at night
2 or 3 times a week the tin food is replaced with a tin of sardines which they love.
i use frolic for training treats and they get any ooman left overs (of which there are not many lol)
 
Like you Levrier I am thinking of changing back to D & R from raw. I currently feed a split over raw and d & r over the week (not on same days) having fed nearly all raw but there is still a big difference in cost. I pay around £22 for Skinners and 70p a tube for raw, with 2 GSDs that work out at 1.40 a day for raw. I feed by eye with kibble so couldn't tell you exactly how much a day it costs but it is certainly a lot less than £1.40. If I am honest with myself I don't think my dogs condition has changed at all from being on all kibble, through all raw to the current regime.
 
We stopped raw last year. I live in a one bed flat and it just stank all summer. Also we run and bikejor a lot now and Dylan was needing 1.8kg roughly a day. I Just didn't have the storage. For something I found easy for a good few years it all became difficult.

Dylan is now on CSJ CP30 and Xtra. If I move and get a bigger place again I will prob go back to raw and do raw with Xtra as it really helped his weight.

Teal gets their complete Tripe.

Still feed regular bones, heart and fish though.
 
Lévrier;13154741 said:
Thanks Clodagh, although it did take me quite a while to work out the HTH bit :)
Click to expand...

Blame teenage children!

Am interested to see that RAW is not always the answer for everyone. Raw evangelists are definately like the barefoot horse brigade - never mention the negatives.
 
Before joining this forum I had never heard of raw feeding and after reading many posts remained unconvinced.
I feed Skinners salmon and rice and have for many years, I do add tasty things to it some days. My dogs have good coats good teeth and plenty of energy.
 
When I got my last 2 rescue dogs (Springer Spaniels) they were both on Raw. A 3 year old and a 7 month old. Looking at the cost of Raw I felt that I would swap them onto Dry. In the past I have always used Gilpa Super Valu mix for my working dogs so over a couple of weeks they were both swapped over to this. The older dog onto the Super mix and the pup onto the Junior. They have mixed veg 3-4 times a week. Now the pup is 11 months he too is on the Super Mix.

They are both very healthy and have plenty of energy. My vet has commented on how good their coats and teeth are too. I find this food supplies them with the required levels and allows them to be able to do a full day on the shoot what ever the weather.
 
Yes I did, for the same reasons.

I have nine dogs and I needed to cut back on costs a bit, so they are back to Skinners - disappointed.com
 
My last lurcher was o raw for a while and it really suited her but I like to go away ad take the dog with me and raw was just not practical, my new lurcher started on skinners with me but it did not suit her, she is now on Millies wolfheart which is grain and chicken free-she looks really good although she still needs some weight gain, the communication and advise from the company is great ad the prices are good too.
 
Thanks very very much for such helpful replies all, I was expecting to be met with a chorus of "you shouldn't have dogs if you can't afford to feed them properly" :D sorry I underestimated AAD folk in this way!

I think your replies have convinced me that my hounds won't expire on the spot if I change them back to kibble - I'll definitely investigate the options you have suggested for alternative raw suppliers and alternative grain free kibble, so thanks again I really appreciate your help :) :)
 
I definitely think raw is the best way to feed and he does look so much better on it but I went back onto dry for logistical reasons as it really isn't handy for training or travelling so JWB it is.
He still gets bits and bobs from the supermarket when it's on offer and things like fish and eggs for condition.
 
You shouldn't have dogs if you can't afford to feed them properly!

Is that better? ;)

According to some of the raw evangelists unless you're pouring coconut oil/turmeric concoctions/diatomaceous earth etc. into the dog you're not doing it properly anyway, never mind the crazy homeopathic anti-vaccination subset (*eyeroll*) so who cares what anyone else thinks, feed what is appropriate for you and your dogs. We'd only judge you for feeding Bakers. :p
 
Tried raw with my Cocker and she just wouldn't eat a wide enough variety. We still have days when she has raw as a by product of my cooking but wouldn't bother to go back to it fulltime.
Zooplus is fab for sourcing wet and dry foods with a good range of alternatives and they deliver it for free so win-win to me :)
 
I'm another Millies Wolfheart fan, pricey compared to some kibbles but all traceable quality ingredients and excellent customer service.

Autarky Salmon and rice is a good budget alternative, not sold as allergy food but performs well.
 
i have been recommended millies wolfheart- not sure how much cheaper it actually works out then raw though (looked into it over a year ago and have feeling it was not actually that much less per day as my dog eats lots!)
I sometimes get tempted to switch back to kibble just for the ease. but my boy is so sensitive skinned, and still gets flare up in season changes, but it way way better since he switched to raw.
out of all the kibbles i tried skinners sensitive was the one he could most cope with
 
If you are switching back, I would go for the best quality kibble that you can afford. Skinners is ok, but there are definitely better quality dried foods.
 
Where do you all source your Millie's Wolfheart from please? I've looked online and there appear to only be about 4 stockists in England?
 
I spend a fortune on free range "kibble" for mine. They also like to eat poo...They seem to be fit and healthy. ;)
 
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