Fresh Dog Food: Is It Worth the Extra Cost?

One of the more significant expenses of dog ownership is your Best Friend’s diet. There are no shortages of choices out there! There are a myriad of choices in the dry pet food isle. All one needs to do is Google “Fresh Pet Food” and you will be buried under a bevy of fresh new pet food choices. People are adding fresh food to kibble, subscribing to dog-specific meal plans, utilizing raw diets, and purchasing tailor-made pet foods for their beloved pooches. Fresh dog food diets do cost more, are they worth it?

A kibble diet is still a mainstay for many American dogs. However, people are learning more about what their Best Friends thrive on. According to a study published by the University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College in Canada, 87% of dog owners and 68% of cat owners feed their pet some fresh food every day. Following are some advantages of fresh foods.

Disclaimer: This is purely for entertainment purposes and is from my own opinion and experiences. While I DO research my content, always consult your vet with new food options. This article is also not a recommendation for any pet food companies.

Big Oliver enjoying veggies, raw meat, fish, yogurt and pumpkin puree. We rotate meals fairly often with good results.

Costs of Popular Taylor-Made Fresh Diets

Groceries cost a lot! It seems like the price for everything is going up, except our wages. Feeding your dog a fresh diet IS going to cost more than a kibble diet.

I recently signed up for a quote from a popular dog food subscription service. The quote I received was $111.65/week for 2 dogs. Of course, this quote included a 20% off trial discount. If I were to commit to this plan, the cost would level out at $131.73 a week.

Another fresh food plan quoted me approximately $100/week for both dogs. These are pricey. They’re close to what I spend on weekly groceries for 2 people AND 2 dogs. BUT… the food is formulated and balanced by veterinarian nutritionists, and manufactured using best practices. It is delivered to your door each week. You can also rotate between different proteins. Finally, you can use the fresh foods as a supplement to kibble, bringing down the overall cost. If this is in your budget, go for it.

Do It Yourself Meals

This is where my roots began. I started cooking for my dogs when Franklin got sick. Since Birdie simply tolerated the kibble I fed them, but LOVED the homemade food, I kept at it for her. As a result, dog food prep became part of the weekly routine. I spend 1-3 hours each week prepping dog food. This includes food prep for the 14 other dogs who dine on Best Friends’ Kitchen’s recipe too!

If you’re going to make your own dog food, there are guidelines you must follow. You cannot throw some meat and veggies in a pot and “Call it good.”

Just Food For Dogs offers DIY recipes, instructions, and meal-mix supplements for each recipe. To begin, you buy ingredients, cook the food, add the supplement, and viola! your dog has a fresh food diet. The supplements cost about $20/container and makes close to 35 pounds of food.

Another option is dog cookbooks. These are my tried-and-true method, and where I have gleaned the most knowledge about vitamin and mineral blend additions. This is also the most work. Some of my favorites are Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats and Dr. Becker’s Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats. Both books have cooked and raw fresh food recipes.

Raw Diets

A new area that I am just wading into is a raw diet. My vet cautioned me against a raw diet. After much careful research, I had to try. Immediately, we saw amazing results when Oliver started eating some raw meat. This was a dog with horrible stomach problems, underweight no matter how much I fed him, shedding through the roof, and clear-the-room dog farts.

I found a raw turkey grind from a local farm. The price is very reasonable at $3/pound, but I cannot consistently get ahold of the product. Ordering raw food online costs around $5/pound and there are many companies that offer dog specific blends. A company called Raw Feeding Miami offers all kinds of exotic meats and parts. When purchasing raw meat online, you do have to take shipping into consideration.

Raw is not for everyone, and most definitely takes some research and dedication, as the vitamin and nutrient needs must be addressed or deficiencies WILL become an issue. Plus, much of the raw food includes bone, which can be scary to feed your dog, and you need to use caution when feeding with kibble. I could (and plan to) write several future posts just about raw feeding.

Kibble Additions

There are also lots of kibble additions for our hounds! It’s easy to add nutrient dense, whole foods to your dog’s kibble.

Another method if you’re not ready to fully commit to a homemade or fresh food diet is supplementing your dog’s kibble. This is where you learn about beneficial foods for your dogs, add them to the kibble and call it good. It’s a little more work, but where lots of people start out. The cost for kibble additions varies from $20-40/week depending on if you’re adding meat or not. Of course, I cannot emphasize enough that if your dog eats kibble, make sure it is very high quality. That will cost more too, but is well worth it in the long run.

Some of the standby grocery items in my pantry and freezer include canned salmon or sardines in water, green beans, pureed sweet potato, plain greek yogurt, farm fresh eggs, frozen blueberries, organic canned pumpkin, raw lean meats, and pureed chicken livers, gizzards, and hearts. You can omit the organs if it’s too much work.

This too is some work and more expensive than kibble, but you have a lot of control over what you feed your dog.

It’s Scary Changing Your Pet’s Food

Some dogs eat the same bagged food for their entire lives because of one stomach-upset issue with a new food. For many pet parents, it is scary changing your dog’s food or giving him something new! I came from this place when Franklin got sick. It was common knowledge that changing your dog’s food was NOT recommended. If you found something that worked and your dog liked it, you stuck to it.

That knowledge is being thrown out the window. Our dogs need variety. Eating the same dog food every day, over a lifetime can lead to nutritional deficiencies and health issues. Think of it like this; YOU can drink a complete and balanced shake that gives you all your nutrients every day. Would you want to? Eventually, after years of this, I would think that a human would start to develop issues, even if that shake was balanced. We need variety. Our dogs do too.

When you start your dog on a new food, introduce it slowly. Add a bit to his kibble, then add a bit more. Most dogs tolerate new food additions startlingly well, and will be super-stoked to have something new in their bowl! Make sure to remove some kibble to accout for the increased calorie load. THE WORST thing you can do to your pet is let him get overweight!

Yes! It’s Worth It

Your dog is your Best Friend. Feeding him a fresh, species appropriate diet IS worth it!

  • You May Extend Your Dog’s Life: First, there’s a very good chance you will extend his life. While we feel that it’s good for a dog to reach 10 years old, wouldn’t you be overjoyed to get your Best Friend to 13, 15? Many dogs who develop issues like cancer or life threatening illness do so at an older age. This is often because of nutritional imbalances from eating the same food over their lifetime.
  • You’ll save on vet bills! If you’ve owned an old dog, you know how expensive illness at the end of his life can get. Dogs who are fed a fresh, species appropriate diet have fewer alllergy and skin issues, fewer cruciate ligament injuries (Torn ACL), and are less likely to develop cancer in their older age.
  • Your Yard Will Be Cleaner: Finally, what no one talks about is how dogs fed a fresh, species appropriate diet have smaller, less frequent poops! Kibble, particularly low quality kibble, is made with lots of fillers and additions that your dog doesn’t absorb. It comes out as big, frequent, soft-serve poops. A dog fed a fresh diet absorbs more nutrients and poops less! Win!

While there is much to learn, and seemingly no end of resources and options, feeding your Best Friend a fresh, varied, appropriate diet is worth it. Depending on your budget, time, and willingness to put in the effort, you have many different options. Find what’s best for you, and get started today!

Questions, advice, or support needed? Feel free to reach out to me via email at support@bestfriends-kitchen.com or comment on this post and I’m happy to help!

Meet Pickles!

Ok, so Pickles isn’t really a dog. I couldn’t help myself! Who has a pig for a pet? Lots of people, including Pickle’s piggy parents, Jon and Jen. Pickles is a 4 year old Vietnamese Potbelly Pig. She eats piggy pellets and all the veggie scraps she can get ahold of. Her favorite “snackies” are Honey Nut Cheerios. Pickles has her own section of the house and loves to root around in the yard for treats. Living the good life, Pickles!

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