This is worth a read;
I will get the scale out and weight a cup this evening and then look at how often my autoship is with Chewy to get you solid numbers (it may not be until this weekend when I can circle back on this).
then we can compare calories per cup and how much the 8 lb would feed. and compare ingredients too.
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Alright, I got the scale out last night and weighted the K9 Naturals Beef freeze dried food.
@Pico_Banana which Stella and Chewy kibble do you feed?
I get the 8lb bag of K9 Naturals Beef. I checked Chewy and I have it on autoship to arrive every 20 days, so once a month. And there is roughly a week overlap. Its roughly 25 days that a bag lasts me.
Buma my 7.5 year old, 100lbs Ridgeback. She is over weight and generally not active, may be 1.5 - 2 hours a day of her walking/running/playing
She gets 1.5 cups of K9 twice a day as well as 5 Primal nuggets (munchin’ why do you mix it? because I like the variety of fruits and veg in her diet and she is a big dog) both are all life stages/complete diets.
Three cups total and 10 Primal nuggets daily.
Help me with the math:
Each cup weighs 64 grams or 2.3 oz (I zero’ed out the scale)
64x3 = 192 grams daily for Buma
An 8 pound bag converts to 3628 grams. It is $233.00 with autoship.
Each cup is 237 kcal/cup according to K9 Naturals website.
237x3 = 711 calories per day of K9 Naturals for Buma and 10 primal nuggets (which I should weight out for the calorie equation) 144 kcal/oz per oz for the nuggets.
I can get 5 days worth of meals out of 1 bag of Primal nuggets and a bag on autoship is $33.00 I buy 4 at a time and get free ship. I also just realized that I am over nuggeting Buma and will be dropping that down to 6 nuggets daily.
Then add Lilly’s food and she is a 7month lab cross and is 60lbs
She gets 1 cup of K9 Naturals in each feeding and 1.5 cups of Zignature kibble. She should be getting between 1670-1700 cals per day for her age and weight.
So all and all, I feed my two dogs 2.5 cups of K9 Naturals a day and it lasts me 25 ish days.
The Zignature lasts well over a month and I get the biggest bag for $69.00
$33 x 4 = 132.00 for Primal nuggets
25lb pork $69.00 for the Zignature
8lb Raw $233.00 for K9 Naturals
$434.00 a month.
Lilly gets more kibble due to her rapid growing. She will be 100% raw by the time she turns 1 in July hopefully once her weight starts to level out. She poops so much more than Buma does, I know its the kibble.
And they both get the Lifeline Kelp.
As far as ingredients go, K9 Naturals and Primal are pretty freaking clean. Not a big fan of the peas, pea flour and chickpeas in Zignature, but the raw that Lilly gets helps balance that out.
K9 Natural:
Beef, Beef Liver, Beef Tripe, Beef Kidney, Beef Heart, Beef Blood, Eggs, Beef Spleen, Ground Beef Bone, Sunflower Oil, Flaxseed Flakes, Brown Kelp, New Zealand Green Mussel, Pumpkin, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Potassium Sulphate, Dried Kelp, Apples, Pears, Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Magnesium Oxide, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Beta-Carotene, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement.
Primal Beef:
Beef Hearts, Beef Livers, Ground Beef Bones, Organic Carrots, Organic Squash, Organic Kale, Organic Apples, Organic Broccoli, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Blueberries, Organic Cranberries, Organic Parsley, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Montmorillonite Clay, Fish Oil, Organic Rosemary Extract, Organic Quinoa, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Ground Alfalfa, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Dried Organic Kelp
Zignature Pork:
Pork, Pork Meal, Peas, Pea Flour, Chickpeas, Pork Fat, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Choline Chloride, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacinamide, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Potassium Chloride, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate), Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract, Dried Bacillus Coagulans Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Bifidum Fermentation Product
I rounded up all of the pricing to the nearest dollar.
Let me know if you want the Primal weight.
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Is this supposed to be 5cups a day? 1.5 per feeding for Buma X 2 feedings = 3 Cups/ day for Buma
+
1 cup per feeding for Lilly X 2 feedings = 2 cups/ day for Lilly
5cups per day would be 125 cups (at 25 days) per 8 lbs. Chewy says an 8lb bag contains 72 cups (which would make a 3cup/ day serving last 24 days - that’s $240ish every 3 weeks for one dog 
). Edited because my math didn’t math, sorry!
I looked at my order history and its roughly every 20/25 days that I get a bag.
I would recommend dry dog food while you’re trying to have your dog lose weight- you can look at the ingredient labels and see guaranteed calories, etc which makes it very easy to compare caloric intake across different brands/formulations and choose one that’s lower. You also get the benefit and peace of mind in knowing that your dog is getting a scientifically studied, research based, nutritionally whole and balanced diet. Brands like Purina One, Royal Canin, Hills. Raw, fresh, and homemade diets are usually not studied, and rarely balanced. If you do want to go the raw/fresh/homemade route, I recommend consulting a veterinary nutritionist and setting up a diet plan with them- they can help make sure it’s balanced and works for your dog. There’s also a website balanceit.com that can help you formulate a diet on your own if you can’t get to a nutritionist. Also echo the advice above to have some bloodwork done and screen for hypothyroidism, cushing’s, etc. Also, if your dog needs the volume, you can still give the same cup or cup and a half they get now, but do like half dry food and half plain fresh vegetables to bulk up the portion without upping calories. Carrots, green beans, whatever veggie your dog likes.
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Holy crap, that is expensive! I don’t spent that much on groceries for humans per month!
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Actually both K9 Naturals and Primal are AAFCO approved. Which means they are balanced, tested and contain essential nutrients.
@fordtraktor who are you directing your comment at, me? Where are you getting your groceries? My DH eats $150 a week worth of food and that does not count what I eat.
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I agree with @MunchingonHay and there are some really good raw companies that are approved, tested and are balanced, you just need to do a bit of research. Dog Food Advisor is also a great non biased website that breaks down many different dog foods (its so overwhelming as there are so many different kinds!!). I love that they break down and explain all of the ingredients in the food and explain why they give them the rating they do. They have now added some raw foods as well, which is great to see. https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ This not only breaks down ingredients, it show calories, carbs, fats and proteins levels as well. This can make your choice of food much easier for dieting and what may work best for you and your pup.
To say that raw foods are unbalanced is not true at all. There are even many kibble brands that are unbalanced and not AAFCO approved.
I feed Big Country Raw which is AAFCO and HACCP approved. Most dog foods are not and do not get HACCP approved/certification as its a human food grade and rating. They use human grade pasture raised or free range meats as well, which is an added bonus. Their facility is also built to CFIA ratings and is CFIA approved. Their recipes have the nutrient requirements suggested by NRC (Nutrient Requirement for Dogs). So they have American and Canadian standards, which is pretty much unheard of. To be honest, not many or any kibble foods have this kind of certification behind them.
I can feed my 115lb girl for just under $200/month with BCR, which is 60lb of 4 different proteins (chicken, beef, turkey and pork). I do add some extra things to her diet such as a probiotic, W3 Oil, kelp, joint supplements, and raw meaty bones a few times a week (non weight baring so she doesn’t fracture any teeth!). But I would be adding probiotics and joint supplements no matter what I feed her (and my last kibble fed dog got the same supplements as well as he was also a large breed dog). I am beyond pleased on how my dog looks and this diet has worked wonders for her. I can’t believe the difference on how she looks and acts, but this diet works for her.
I take her to a vet every spring for a fecal, bloodwork (4DX) and a check up. Any vaccines that maybe needed as well, but I don’t believe in over vaccination either - I did titer for DAP, which she was positive for, so she did not require her DAP this year. I do a pour on tick/flea (Advantix II) as her breed can have seizures and feed throughs have been proven to potentially cause them (my vet agreed upon this and me using Advantix). I also do a fecal in the fall as well as I don’t believe in deworming a dog with the same type of dewormer every month, which is usually in the feed through flea/tick meds- which of course I don’t give her (I kind of treat her like our horses - I don’t do a rotational deworming, I do fecals for them and deworm to whatever they may need). I do believe in resistance so I would rather do a fecal 2 x year and deworm for whatever type of worm she may have (she had always had clean fecals, so I’ve so far haven’t had to do anything so far, which does surprise me as she is a farm dog and eats all the horse, deer and rabbit poop she wants!). Her bloodwork every year has come back clean and all within range (I even opted to do a full wellness blood panel when she was 1 years old to make sure she didn’t have anything out of whack. They suggest this for older dogs, but the vet agreed that it was a good idea to check and see). I did have to get a urinalyses done on her last week and the vet said it was beyond perfect, so something must be going right. I just added this info as so many people think that those who feed raw don’t have their dogs see a vet, or do any “proper” care for them, which is NOT true. I love my vets and their knowledge, and I also like feeding raw and seeing what is going into my dog (fresh and clean as opposed to processed and cooked), but that’s just me.
I’m not here to argue what is the best food to feed, there are some great kibbles out there as well, but they are high in carbs and are not the best choice for weight loss BUT you have to feed the dog that is in front of you (and yes, I know a few dogs that did not do well on raw, so it can happen for sure). We all want to do what is best for our pups, and all have good intentions. Just do a bit of research and do what is best for your dog (which I’m sure you will!).
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Not really directed at anyone, just sticker shock! I have been following because my midsize dog is putting on weight.
Obviously no judgment, kudos to everyone taking good care of their pups. It’s just more expensive than I thought it would be. My dog prefers eating the barn cat food and whatever she can scrounge in the way of horse poop and God knows what. She’s half beagle, so I refer you to that thread. I am sure she would love raw, but balancing her diet isn’t a thing I have much control over!
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At least she is getting her requirement of fiber 
I know its a bit spendy to feed this way, in my past experience dealing with my Cushings dog 15+ yrs ago when treating it was weekly blood draws, pills, constent urine samples, then watching him slowly, yet rapidly decline I vowed to never put a dog through that again. I was handing over hundreds of dollars to the vet.
DH and I are DINKS and the dogs bring me joy. I think the above remark about feeding one dog is not right, I feed two large dogs on that and heck, my DH eats $150 in food a week !
And I agree with @DiamondJubilee, we are not trying to strong arm anyone into feeding this way; I just want to share my experiences and offer other options. Some raw/fresh is better than none.
Where are you getting your groceries? I split between Aldi, Giant and the Farmer’s Market and I am still spending more what I would like.
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@fordtraktor - I hear you! My girl lives on the farm with us and she just loves horse poop, as well as all the deer and rabbit poop she can find on our walks. She is a walking garbage can as well lol!
As for sticker shock, my in laws also feed BCR (literally just started yesterday as her dogs are severely overweight and she’s trying to get some weight off of them and wants to try raw. She was feeding them for the past few years Fat Dogs by Natural Balance and it was not working for them. She needs to take off 10lb off of one dog, which is a LOT of weight for a dog who should be around 18lb - she is almost 30lb) and they have 2 Cavaliers (should be about 18 - 20lb each) and it costs her $96/month to feed both of them, and its delivered to her door. So it doesnt have to be too spendy.
As an idea, raw (fresh, not dehydrated or freeze dried, those are fed at different amount - less)should be fed to about 2% of their ideal body weight. My in laws are starting to feed at their current weights and tapering down to the 2% of their ideal bw (which is about 18lb) so its not a huge shock and they aren’t too hungry to start with.
This is what I started doing and she’s losing weight but her energy is up and she seems satisfied. But then, she’s a Lab and would eat herself to death if given the choice.
When I mentioned Viva Raw as being an affordable food, I think I got it confused with All Provide, which is a bit cheaper.
Not available in all areas though. I thought they delivered but it’s Viva Raw that delivers.
Be careful of Stella & Chewy’s. They are on the current list of foods that dogs and cats are dying from, along with some Purina, Orijen, 4Health, Acana, Blue Buffalo, Hills, Instinct, Kirkland, Merrick, Pure Balance, Royal Canin and Taste of the Wild.
Do you have a link to this list?
I double checked my feeding amounts. I’m only going through a bag a week of the Stella & Chewy, not two bags like I had said. I looked at Big Country Raw and it looks much more affordable than most of the raw food. I might try that and do half raw, half kibble. They seem to have lost interest in their food anyway, so it’s not like $76 for 22 lbs means it’s any tastier for them. And trying to monitor intake of three greyhounds, one who needs to lose weight, one who needs to gain weight (she just won’t eat enough kibble and likes to graze),and one who feels she needs to eat one meal approximately every 36 hours or on demand, is exhausting. I would really like a food where they are so excited about it that everyone eats it whenever offered.
The balanceit website mentioned above literally sells what could be considered a ration balancer for dogs. It’s a great, extensive website.
I listened to a podcast the other day that featured the owner of I Feed Raw. I don’t use the company at all but it made me think again. My beloved little dog died mysteriously last summer at only 10 and now I’m rethinking what we’re feeding, again. My dad just got a half beef and asked if we wanted the “scraps” that were included at no extra cost. Other than the liver and oxtail, I’ll use that for the dogs. Our local grocery store also sells offal and organs in the freezer case.
I have five dogs, 4 of which are around 100 lbs so outsourcing the whole thing is out of the question financially but I’m going to figure out how to break that up with more “real food”. I just have a hard time with kibble, just doesn’t seem right to me. I hate processed food for myself and can’t reconcile feeding the dogs nothing but for their main diet. Ours do get a lot of real food but in a random way so far. About 30 years ago I worked for a ranch that had about six ranch dogs that survived entirely on table scraps. They put in long days and lived long lives. Not saying that is the total way to do it but there’s got to be a middle ground in there. I have a friend that raises Aussies and GP and she feeds entirely raw with absolutely no rhyme or reason. She has 11 dogs and they are all long lived and healthy as little horses. Things that make me go hmmm…
I am quoting myself. I made HUGE mistake. I measured .5 of a cup not a whole cup! I am a dingbat. That changes everything. Sorry everyone!! I forgot I use a .5 cup as my ‘scooper’ and when I weight it, I forgot it was a half.
But I still only get a bag every 20-25 days.
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Re: groceries, I am buying most of my produce and protein from an online Asian grocery, Weee! If you follow the sales, it has really great prices for truly excellent produce. I’ve never gotten anything less than perfect quality and it is much less expensive than my local grocery stores. I cook mostly from scratch and this keeps my food costs reasonable. It also means I can buy things we enjoy like seafood at reasonable prices. Locally those have skyrocketed.
I also stockpile things I use a lot, like San Marzano canned tomatoes, butter, etc., when they go on a deep sale.
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I’m continuing to look into raw for my pups. I found the two below options that are relatively cost efficient. No idea on experience with the products as I haven’t bought them yet.
At 3:24 she shows the same list I gave in my post. She also explains how she’s trying to find a lab to do testing on the samples she has received. Stores are throwing entire bags of food in dumpsters behind the stores, and people are going there, taking them and bringing them home for their pets. It seems that serious sickness/death can happen after only three meals. Scary.
Somewhere must be a list of specific types or varieties of food within the brands that are on the list; I haven’t searched for that.
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