Dog food suppliers (raw)

krlyr

I find raw quite easy to do, but I do quite a lax method. I.e. dogs need about 1.5-2lb of meat a day each, so I defrost 1 or 2 2lb blocks and half them at each meal time. I'll do half their meals in Kongs (having slowly stocked up, I now have 4 days worth of Kongs so often on a Sunday I'll prepare them so I'm sorted for breakfasts for the week (I leave mine with a frozen Kong when I head off to work). But otherwise, I might ditch a block in favour of feeding a chicken carcass, RMB, etc. or just give a whole rabbit for the day's meal (token handful of treats/kibble in the evening to prevent the empty-stomach/morning-bile incident that we sometimes get). I order the right amount of meat, offal and bone for the month so I know that they'll get the balance they need over time - what I tend to do is when I get a delivery I'll stick one or two of each variety of meat into a carrierbag and they go in the freezer. Then I work through each carrierbag at a time - means I know I'm not repeating meats too often (as variety provides the range of nutrients they need) without having to keep tabs on it that closely.
It might be a bit awkward with a single or smaller dog(s) but there are suppliers who do smaller packs too - a friend used to share a delivery with me but now sources most of her food form Berriewood Wholesales, which is a bit pricier but more convenient for her with their 1lb packets (though Scott at TDFC has changed his pricelist to say units are 454g so maybe he offers 1lb packs now too - mine still come as 2lb though) for her as she just has the one dog.

scheming_gypsy

typical.. had to be the one i missed out! lol.

you can keep him! my NI is bad enough



I used to get the mince as it goes a lot further than you think. it's just that smell, especially when you get the red one!!

The lamb heads are good value if they eat them, but messy.. very messy as it's the full head split in half with nowt taken out. Same with the pigs head
the big bag of beef bones are cheap as well - £5 for 15k but mine won't eat them (little one can't as he's only got half a bottom jaw)

Chakani

We often meet a NI out on walks, he is a really spectacular dog, and just the right blend of dignified friendliness and a little bit of aloof disdain for idiot puppies. I wouldn't take him home though after he's been through the muddy woods with Pippin!!

lisawood78

We have changed food suppliers recently and now order from TPMS, good range of food and regular reliable deliveries.
We have used Landy and Berrie woods before also and no significant problems with either but TPMS seem cheaper to me and i'm happy with them now, good customer service.

fenwoman

krlyr wrote: »

The Dog Food Company may deliver to your area - he comes from Suffolk and does a route down around the M25 into Surrey. He can be a little difficult to get hold of, unfortunately - his one flaw really. But the food is well-priced, he's a lovely guy to deal with, reliable once you're established as a customer (generally always at the start of the week to say he's due down - he delivers on a 4 week schedule to me, I think he has some more regular routes too though) and the dogs love the food. He can get hold of some more unusual stuff too - the dogs had pigs trotters before Christmas, and he's got hold of some giant bones to keep them busy.
www.thedogfoodcompany.co.uk

Hear hear. I recommend them too. It's easiest to email the company with your order. They email you back to tell you when your delivery date is. The prices are fabulous. I buy minced chickens for my 40 cats, and minced tripe for the 25 dogs, plus hearts for the cats and big Oscar fish. I'm in North Cambridgeshire. I have everything in 2kg blocks as it's easier for me. I have an old plastic tile adhesive bucket with a lid and every night before bed, I take out what I need, put it in the bucket, put the lid on and that's it. It defrosts slowly and the tripe doesn't stink the house out lol.
After trying lots of companies over the decades, I have found this company to be very friendly and 100% reliable and the prices are excellent as is the quality of the meat.

fenwoman

sharloid wrote: »

Only the sprats were reduced (and only by about 10p) the stuff I mentioned is all under £2 a kilo so I buy it at normal price. Our Morrisons usually reduces stuff at about 8 but by then most of the bones etc will be gone so as long as you think they're a fair price I'd just go in the afternoon.

You PAY for bones?!?!?!?!?!:eek::rotfl:
start buying proper meat from a local butcher. You'll get better quality stuff, no horsemeat in the burgers or sausages, it'll be cheaper. And as a bonus, he'll let you have bones for nothing. I get a huge feed sack full of fresh bones from my local abattoir completely free and for nothing because I also buy my meat from the attached shop.

krlyr

fenwoman wrote: »

You PAY for bones?!?!?!?!?!:eek::rotfl:
start buying proper meat from a local butcher. You'll get better quality stuff, no horsemeat in the burgers or sausages, it'll be cheaper. And as a bonus, he'll let you have bones for nothing. I get a huge feed sack full of fresh bones from my local abattoir completely free and for nothing because I also buy my meat from the attached shop.

I think the cost of raw feeding can vary hugely depending on your resources. I have a friend only half an hour away but closer to London and she finds it near impossible to find butchers that actually prepare their own meats - generally it's bought in already filleted/prepped so no bones going spare. Whereas I have a lovely butcher near work (I'm hoping he's still there, haven't visited in a while!) who joints it all himself as they're part of a farm so is happy to give bones out (and I've spent hardly anything on actual meat with him), he just asks for a donation to the charity tin. Lately, for the convenience of not having to go elsewhere, I tend to just ask Scott for a few larger bones and I'll get whatever he can get hold of - sometimes a marrowbone, sometimes a spine/chest, sometimes pigs trotters - last time I got a whole pigs head (split in two)!

z.n

I use Anglia Meats. The food comes in little frozen blocks and I just defrost on windowsill (winter) or in cupboard (summer). Really easy and no fuss. I do supplement though with a little mixer biscuit (one handful), brewers yeast, the odd bone (free from local butcher), the odd egg etc plus leftover cooked veggies. I tried the full on raw from the butchers route but was too lazy to keep it up and worried I was giving the right amount of nutrition. It was also risky allowing the littering about of numerous bones/smelly stuff with kids and cats in the house. I get the Tradtional which doesnt seem to feature on their website any more but it is a minced meat and other bits block which includes tripe maize bone minced up chicken lamb liver veg and bran and my local pet store get it in for me. I have to be really careful with GSD as she has very sensitive tummy (think Battle of the Somme across the kitchen floor if she has a bad day) and this has proved the best compromise diet for her and family harmony. Age 8, people won't believe she isn't a puppy- she doesn't smell and has decent teeth. The dogs' weight is easy to manage as well-just by adding or taking away a few crumbs of biscuit. The best is Hollistic dog biscuit. I don't feed raw pork at all- too many worries about the human health implications of raw pork. I also like the antler chews-no idea if they are good nutritionally but the dogs love them. Please feel free to tell me if I am getting wrong!

z.n

Need to add- we have nuts as well (or stuns as we call them in a hopeless effort at code) and use them as treats- any kind apart from walnuts as we like those ourselves. The dogs love the sound of the nutcrackers!

sharloid

fenwoman wrote: »

You PAY for bones?!?!?!?!?!:eek::rotfl:
start buying proper meat from a local butcher. You'll get better quality stuff, no horsemeat in the burgers or sausages, it'll be cheaper. And as a bonus, he'll let you have bones for nothing. I get a huge feed sack full of fresh bones from my local abattoir completely free and for nothing because I also buy my meat from the attached shop.

I don't eat meat so don't use a butcher for myself. I've tried at several butchers around the city and none have free or cheap bones.

It's good for people who can find free stuff, and obviously makes raw a lot cheaper but for me it's not possible. If your supplier is in South Yorkshire then feel free to share the contact details. :P