Best raw food brand

[Rachel2832]

Hi! I have an almost 2 yr old female Labrador, she is fairly small for a lab, around 26kg. I started feeding her raw earlier this year and it’s worked great. I’ve been buying bulmers minced bone and meat and mixing it with their offal and tripe. However it is time consuming and smells awful and I don’t really want to do it anymore, despite it being the cheapest option, I have decided to use a branded one so I can just defrost, and give her the right amount. I’m using nutriment raw at the moment.. but they use a lot of plastic and I’m not sure how recyclable the containers are. I’d ideally like one with a more eco friendly container. Anyone know the best brands and which are on the cheaper end of the scale?

 

[JoanneF]

I don't know about packaging but have a look at www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

It is an independent dog food comparison website which scores all types of foods (dry, raw, wet) on a scale of 0 to 5. You can set filters for your dog's weight, age etc and choose to view only the foods scoring, say, 4 and above. Then you can show them listed according to daily feeding cost so you can see what gives you best value for money.

 

[JudyN]

Nature's Menu are good, and do both 'complete' nuggets and 'just meat'. With the 'just meat', you can buy packs with liver, tripe and so on mixed in so they'll get the benefit of the stinky stuff without the smell and messy mixing (though anything with tripe in is still going to be a bit whiffy). The packaging is film so not recyclable, but maybe less waste than non-recyclable trays.

I use Nurturing by Nature, and buy a variety of mixes, plus their 'blixed' veg : Nurturing By Nature BARF Diet Raw Natural Dog Cat Pet Food They sell in both clear (so recyclable) plastic trays (400g and 700g) and non-recyclable film (500g). I'd certainly recommend them.

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Was looking at Naturaw the other day, they use fully biodegradable tubs etc.

www.naturaw.co.uk/packaging

 

[JudyN]

Was looking at Naturaw the other day, they use fully biodegradable tubs etc.

Oh wow, I like the look of them. I'll have to price them up - trouble is, Jasper gets through nearly a kilo of meat a day I wonder if I could persuade my supplier to look into this packaging?

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Oh wow, I like the look of them. I'll have to price them up - trouble is, Jasper gets through nearly a kilo of meat a day I wonder if I could persuade my supplier to look into this packaging?

Yes. They do look/sound very promising. I was thinking about trying the starter box. Lol that is a lot of meat

They do a 'Box Meal :Beef with Chicken 15x500g' for £24.95. That's really good for what they're offering organic/British farm assured. I paid £9.90 for two 500g boxes of raw chicken mince and tripe

It's always worth asking if they can switch to a more Eco friendly packaging

 

[JudyN]

I paid £9.90 for two 500g boxes of raw chicken mince and tripe

Wha???? My supplier do 500g chicken & lamb tripe for £1.19... It might not match the quality of yours, but it's certainly 'good enough'. If I had a knee-high dog I'd be looking at organic, etc., but I object to spending more on Jasper's food than I do on mine

 

[Caro Perry]

I've just received the taster pack from Honey's. Harri has just got to grips with the free knucklebone ( his first bone!). He's still not eating much though so the food is still in the freezer! They tick my "ethical" meat production boxes and are lovely and helpful on the phone.

 

[excuseme]

"WolfTucker" make some lovely products; Call Mandy or Brian for some assistance, 01243 641983 or email; info@wolftucker.co.uk

Try "Landywoods".
Paelo ridge raw, Southampton.

Of course if the tripe is too smelly for you there is no need to use it! Such a shame though

 

[Flobo]

I use 'Natures Menu',free flow mince, around a fiver for a 2kg bag. I feed Jake this mixed with steamed veg, pots or brown rice. Fairly cheap to maintain and easy, just cook extras when I'm doing dinner! My avatar pic is him from last summer having just won 1st place in 'Best Conditioned Veteran' at the Pride Dog Show..

 

[Violet Turner]

Natures Menu is a great raw food brand but if you make home fresh its obviously much better

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Wha???? My supplier do 500g chicken & lamb tripe for £1.19... It might not match the quality of yours, but it's certainly 'good enough'. If I had a knee-high dog I'd be looking at organic, etc., but I object to spending more on Jasper's food than I do on mine

Of course. I love hearing about what other people feed.

To be honest I used to be vegan, then vegetarian but my friend broke me with kfc! I'm trying to get back to vegetarianism, but until then I like to think good quality meat that has been raised as ‘natural’ as possible is best.

I'm trying to feed as little beef as possible because it's so environmentally destructive, but I'm not going to tel people what they can and can't feed. We all have to do what we feel is best for us and our animals. Lol I've even got some vegan dog treats in the cupboard but Frankie just spat them out lol so that was that.

 

[JudyN]

I'm vegetarian too, but I chose to ignore the fact that M&S 'dirty fries' had bacon bits the other day because they were so darn good I do get free-range chicken when NbN has it, but I can only give J the mince - the free-range carcasses have denser bones which he doesn't digest well. I think it's fine to mix & match your ethics

 

[Caro Perry]

Also vegetarian but only because I hate the way we raise meat. I'm feeding Harri on the most ethically raised meat I can find.

 

[Flobo]

Yep I'm a vegetarian, was vegan for many years,but the temptation of chocolate got the better of me! I have a drawer in my freezer full of a variety of raw meat for my dog and ferrets and also mice for my snake hmmm....

 

[Saffronella]

Hi! I have an almost 2 yr old female Labrador, she is fairly small for a lab, around 26kg. I started feeding her raw earlier this year and it’s worked great. I’ve been buying bulmers minced bone and meat and mixing it with their offal and tripe. However it is time consuming and smells awful and I don’t really want to do it anymore, despite it being the cheapest option, I have decided to use a branded one so I can just defrost, and give her the right amount. I’m using nutriment raw at the moment.. but they use a lot of plastic and I’m not sure how recyclable the containers are. I’d ideally like one with a more eco friendly container. Anyone know the best brands and which are on the cheaper end of the scale?

Have a look at this website. They offer reasonably priced food and offer great customer service. I know a lot of people who use them and are thrilled with the food
Natural Dogs Direct - Frozen Raw Dog Food - Nationwide next day delivery

 

[Caro Perry]

Harri is still being very picky. He gobbled up a bowl of lamb and lamb tripe from the local pet shop the other day with great relish so I though eureka! Finally something he'll eat (I know it's probably not the best quality but I'm currently way beyond caring) I just bought 6 packs for the freezer and guess what? Yes he won't touch it.

My freezer is full of dog food he won't eat...

 

[Biker John]

We once had a Mini Daccy, she was always fussy over food. What we finally realised was that she 'got fed up' of the same thing. So we had a variety and gave her a different food each day. With that she ate reasonably, we were lucky in that we also had other, non fussy, dogs as well so their was nothing wasted.

 

[Aurora Pets]

If making it yourself was an option we have some raw feeding guides that give you all the information you need to start making yourself. Complete nutritional balance and you know what is going into the food

Raw Feeding

This isn't always an option but there are many brands of ready made raw on the market though