Suzies Doggie Delights

[tmricciuto]

So I found a raw bone coop here in az that is sourced through Suzies Doggie Delights and I perused her website and the food looks good to me and the price isn't really that bad. Right now I am paying right at $90/month for both pups because we go through about 2 bags a month. With their combined weight at 90 lbs I would be paying just under $100 based on her suggested menu, and I'm not sure how that would work if I swapped out tripe or bones/necks/feet.

It looks to come in bags that would be pretty easy to use and it's already mixed up, which makes it very appealing to me.

Will someone please tell me what I may be missing or if this is really a good looking deal? I did have a few questions for Susan so I reached out via email and am waiting to hear back from her. We have company this weekend so I assume I won't hear anything until early next week.

http://www.freshrawdogfood.com/

 

[Max's mom]

I'm not a raw feeder. I looked at those pictured meals...yuck! I'm sure the pups think it's great! I can barely handle the raw liver long enough to get it in the pan to cook for my boys' treats and I use an old rag to pull their one frozen bone from the freezer in the morning! I'm so glad people are able to stomach it to feed raw. Not for me!

 

[tmricciuto]

Right. I'm sure most raw feeders just give them the meat and it's not ground up. It didn't look too bad to me actually


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[AZ Boerboel]

We order direct from Suzy's every month here in AZ and have had great luck with them. We had an issue one time with big balls of chicken skin mixed in with the chicken backs and she made good on it with us. We've never had a quality issue with them and they are by far the best pricing I've found down here for feeding raw.

The things I order from them are large bulk parts and come frozen, bagged and boxed. I order chicken backs and necks, duck necks, and beef hearts in bulk, and also the green tripe and a few chicken organs that come in frozen bags.

Put the small bags in a bowl to thaw, they do leak and so do the tripe logs.
You will also get over being squeamish at all about raw parts by the 3rd or 4th order. Raw chicken used to gag me horribly to smell and now I can work with it no issues.

 

[tmricciuto]

Thanks for the info AZ Boerboel, I am actually a bit excited to potentially work with her because the cost of raw with her will be pretty much comparable to the kibble I'm purchasing now. Do you do any of the mixes at all or just the items you listed above? Do you feed all raw? Sorry trying to wrap my head around this. The thing I really like about Suzy's is that it seem so simple and I am more likely to follow through if it's simple.


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[angelbears]

Tripe looks to be a great price. Everything else looks okay. If you are willing to put in extra time and shop your local stores you could probably cut the price by about 25 to 30%, but it does take extra time but once you learn what you are doing it's a snap.

 

[tmricciuto]

Thanks Angelbears. I need to troll the raw food site to see really how to feed. I understand the % of adult weight but I don't understand how treats or tripe or necks/bones fit into that %. This is a bit confusing to begin with and maybe if I start with something like this for a few months then I could transition. I did find another coop but the pricing and how they shipped did t make sense to me. What can I say, I'm a work in progress.


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[angelbears]

I think Suzies would be a great place to start, the prices really aren't that bad. Much better than most places like that. Once you get comfortable you can try other ways to cut down your cost.

 

[AZ Boerboel]

Thanks for the info AZ Boerboel, I am actually a bit excited to potentially work with her because the cost of raw with her will be pretty much comparable to the kibble I'm purchasing now. Do you do any of the mixes at all or just the items you listed above? Do you feed all raw? Sorry trying to wrap my head around this. The thing I really like about Suzy's is that it seem so simple and I am more likely to follow through if it's simple.


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Yes, I feed 100% raw. I don't do any of the mixes, just bulk parts. I also order Lamb necks and other random things from her and supplement that with wild game like Deer, Elk, Rabbit, Quail and dove. I also feed Mackerel, sardines, Salmon, catfish and tuna when I have them.
I currently grind some of it up but only because I have a 13 year old pug with gummy teeth. If I only had my Boerboel I wouldn't grind anything.

Raw feeding can be as simple or as hard as you want it to be, for me it has become very easy except when we go on multi day hikes or camping trips. Just remember to mix things up so your dog gets a good variety. Going by weight when feeding is also kind of difficult since dogs vary so much so I just go by how my dog looks. I like to see just the back two ribs lightly. If I can't see them she gets a little less food or more exercise if she's been lazy. If she looks thin I up her food a little. I also don't feed a perfect ratio of everything every day and just balance it out through the week. You'll also become a poo detective, the poo will tell you if you need more bone or more meat in your feeding.

Your dog will also most likely have super loose stools until it adjusts to raw. Don't worry about it and just keep going. Things will correct themselves in 2-3 weeks usually if you have your ratios close to correct.

I haven't found anyplace cheaper on most of the items down here, at least over in the east valley. Occasionally we will see a managers special someplace that is a better deal but that's just us getting lucky occasionally.

 

[AZ Boerboel]

Also let any of your friends know that you will take freezer burned meat for your dogs. There's always a pack or two of wild game that gets passed my way because its a little too freeze dried.

 

[tmricciuto]

Thanks so much. I'm excited to do more research and talk to her. I'll keep you all posted.


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[Liz_M]

I'd probably buy the tripe and some of the basic organ mixes, prices aren't bad. The mixes with berries and what-not wouldn't interest me though. I also feed mostly whole parts and cases, mainly for cost-saving.

Amounts to feed depend on so many factors, just like kibble really. I never weigh anything but go by the dogs' overall condition.

 

[tmricciuto]

Thanks for the insight Liz_M. I will probably stay away from the fruit ones also but I like the thought of having the mix options to supplement the bones. And from what I could tell, it looked like some of the mixes had some organ meat in them.

I checked our account today and the interesting thing to me is that this will only cost me about $10 more a month then I'm spending on kibble if I go with the suggested packages. Once I understand it better I will probably do less of the mixes and supplement with the tripe and bones. I know the Sprout's up the street sells a lot of the bones/necks so I want to compare the prices and I'll go with whomever is less expensive on those.

Again I need to do some research on how much of what to feed, meaning if I give them bones or necks do I give them less food, before I get started but if this is as economical as kibble feeding and better for the pups then I might as well do it. Right now we go through a 28lb bag of kibble every two weeks and they are only 5 1\2 months old...that amount will only increase.

And I do want to thank you all for the support and guidance you are providing. I will take all the advice I can get.


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[AZ Boerboel]

I'll be perfectly honest as far as pricing goes. You're going to get a shock when your dogs are full grown as to how much they go through and what it costs compared to kibble if you have to buy all of your parts.
I don't compare price between raw and kibble because kibble will always be cheaper per lb. What I look at is the quality of what I feed raw and the effect it has had on my dogs and cat. The extra money is so worth it.

 

[dpenning]

I don't raw feed, nor do I have a cat so this is purely curiosity, are there many folks who raw feed cats? Out here they are all raw fed because they are farm cats so eat what they catch.

I'll be perfectly honest as far as pricing goes. You're going to get a shock when your dogs are full grown as to how much they go through and what it costs compared to kibble if you have to buy all of your parts.
I don't compare price between raw and kibble because kibble will always be cheaper per lb. What I look at is the quality of what I feed raw and the effect it has had on my dogs and cat. The extra money is so worth it.

 

[tmricciuto]

I'll be perfectly honest as far as pricing goes. You're going to get a shock when your dogs are full grown as to how much they go through and what it costs compared to kibble if you have to buy all of your parts.
I don't compare price between raw and kibble because kibble will always be cheaper per lb. What I look at is the quality of what I feed raw and the effect it has had on my dogs and cat. The extra money is so worth it.

Hopefully at this point I'll be making more money. Hahaha. I figure I'll be buying close to a bag a week when they are full grown so around $200-$250 a month. Also, I have mini mastiffs so hopefully it will be a little less. Also if I'm saving on vet bills then it's worth it because they have been sick and I've spent a fortune on vet bills so far. And if this helps with fewer teeth cleanings or less shedding then it's a success.

But thank you so much for the heads up.


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[angelbears]

Vet use to always try to talk me into doing dental cleanings on the dogs. Ever since going raw it has not been brought up, there is no longer a tarter build up, raw cleans the teeth. It is really hard to calculate just how much feeding raw has saved me in vet cost but I do believe the dogs are healthier and go to the vet a lot less.

Cane was 200 pounds and ate 3 pounds a day, not including treats, like chicken feet. My average cost is roughly 1.50 a pound. That comes up to about 4.50 a day. I buy most of my meats from the grocery store. I don't feed backs or necks. I found that chicken leg quarters were actually cheaper by the time you figured in the actual chunk/pure meat you would need to add with the bonier pieces to meet the 80/10/10 ratio.

Where I have found that I save a lot of money and drastically cut the cost of that 1.50 a pound I pay for the dogs is the deals I find for the skin people. While I was out checking for meat for the dogs I found boneless, skinless chicken breast for .88 cents a pound, brought home about 30 pounds for us. Most people don't even know those kind of deals are out there because people like me get there first thing in the morning and buy them out. They weren't out of date the store was sent more than what they figured they could sell or store.

I also learned where the dented can and reduced goods are and check that while I'm there. So, if you do it right and have the time to put into it, about 10 hours a week. Much less like now. My freezers are totally full. So, I can't go out. No where to put it.

I can say that with the savings from our skin family food bill, I basically feed the dogs for free. It's not for everyone but it can be done.

 

[tmricciuto]

Is there a reason you don't feed backs or necks? And you don't include the treats in the ratio? What about marrow bones?


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[angelbears]

I think that they are too bony, at least the ones I have been able to find. I can find leg quarters on average or .49 cents a pound. If you are going for the 80/10/10 model which a lot of people do and it is what I do. You would need to add meat chunks when you feed backs and necks. For me buying boneless meat is more expensive. So you may save a little money buying backs and necks, you lose money when you have to add boneless meat with it.

The 80/10/10 is 80% boneless meat, 10% bone, 10% organ meat with no more than 5% being liver.

I don't add treats in because I would go crazy trying to figure all that out. I make sure that their meals are balanced so that I don't have to worry too much about there treats. I don't feed marrow bones at all, they are teeth breakers. On occasion I give them a big bone and let them strip the meat off but once I hear teeth hitting bone I take them away.

 

[tmricciuto]

Thanks so much angelbears. I think someone posted their weeks worth of meals so I'm gonna go search for that and see if it helps me out. I am gonna stop giving them marrow bones and give them some Nicole now that I've sound them. I also have two femur bones to try out that have a lot of meat on them.

I talked to my husband and he's on board I just need to cost it out to let him know about what it'll cost. Hopefully Suzy's will get back to me early next week.


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