Looking for meat, quality unimportant

You see, I have begun feeding my stomach-trouble dog raw (to get him off that awful stuff they call prescription dog "food" - it's about 90% corn!) and he's been doing a lot better. You don't need to know the details, but suffice it to say I'd like to keep on feeding him this way.

However, it's a bit pricey. Most rawfeeeders I've talked with average $1/lb or so for most meats. Clearly I am shopping in the wrong places, because I think $2/lb is a good deal (that from Strack & Van Til). Long story short, where can I find a real neighborhood butcher, one who might be willing to supply me with the less popular animal parts? And/or a source of cheapish pre-packaged meats? Quality is not a huge concern as he is a dog after all. He eats poop.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:You see, I have begun feeding my stomach-trouble dog raw (to get him off that awful stuff they call prescription dog "food" - it's about 90% corn!) and he's been doing a lot better. You don't need to know the details, but suffice it to say I'd like to keep on feeding him this way.

However, it's a bit pricey. Most rawfeeeders I've talked with average $1/lb or so for most meats. Clearly I am shopping in the wrong places, because I think $2/lb is a good deal (that from Strack & Van Til). Long story short, where can I find a real neighborhood butcher, one who might be willing to supply me with the less popular animal parts? And/or a source of cheapish pre-packaged meats? Quality is not a huge concern as he is a dog after all. He eats poop.

Have you tried actual raw food for dogs? We get ours at Doggystyle on Division. The thing is that you need to make sure about qc when it comes to dog food- bad ground meat can have bone and all sorts of nasty parasites that can hurt your pup

It works out to be a bit pricier that way (read: a LOT). And of course there really isn't a convenient place for me to pick it up, much easier to get plain meat that is available at grocery stores.

Suzy-

I do raw for my dog (the results are amazing - no stomach troubles, no skin problems, rare instances of medication, no tumors). I recommend assembling the raw food yourself as opposed to buying it "pre-mixed" from a supplier, as I think that defeats the purpose of having control over the ingredients, especially if you know your dog is having health problems. Keep in mind that this diet is supposed to mimic the food they hunt in the wild.

I buy my meat at Peoria Packing (on Lake in between Halsted & Ogden) or Costco. The ground turkey at Peoria is about $1.69/lb and the ground beef at about $1.89/lb. I've also bought at Chicago Meat Market (3021 N. Cicero) for a comparative price. Are you feeding raw meaty bones? If so, I still think Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is not a bad deal given the representations of quality (no antibiotics, etc.), assuming you're buying the chicken wings or legs.

Having said that, you can buy turkey necks, turkey wings, chicken legs or wings at Peoria for a good price. I find this diet a good way to get rid of produce in my fridge (assuming you grind up the produce in the food processor). I also have recycled the giblets that come from a whole chicken that I intend to roast for myself in their food (as opposed to throwing them out). (That's pretty much as offal as I get.)

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I'm pretty experienced with this issue.

what a bizarre thread title...
I was surprised to see freshly made dogfood at Carnival Foods.

I am always on the lookout for beef knuckle bones (the whole, big, cartilage-encased joint, not cut up in pieces, and not marrow bones) for my dog. I ask for them regularly at grocery store meat counters, with only occasional success. I'm starting to wonder if I need to go to Peoria Packing to look for them. Anyone have any other suggestions for where to find knuckle bones?

WAAAAY out of your area, but if you are heading north, Meisfield's in Sheboygan. Call ahead of time.
Also bring a cooler for a variety of brats.

Also - call a local wild game processor. Many hunters that bring in meats to be dressed only want certain cuts.

Thanks, exvaxman; I'll make a note of that for my next Wisconsin road trip.

Not sure how to go about finding wild game processors in my area, but I'll do some research.

Also -
http://neesvigs.com/index.php?page=Only ... on-HISTORY

Yeah, they did something with Larry (whose wife is from wisconsin), but these folks are awesome, easy to deal with, and have terriffic "cooler sales". If they can't help, they should know someone who can. I have made "interesting" requests to them, and they came through. If you have a freezer and a few coolers, a quick trip to them with a prior call might save you a lot.

As an FYI - ONLY place that I have found that sells duck fat in bulk - great for fries.

Katie wrote:I am always on the lookout for beef knuckle bones (the whole, big, cartilage-encased joint, not cut up in pieces, and not marrow bones) for my dog. I ask for them regularly at grocery store meat counters, with only occasional success. I'm starting to wonder if I need to go to Peoria Packing to look for them. Anyone have any other suggestions for where to find knuckle bones?

Peoria does have them, but with some shin bone attached. Butcher & Larder has them too. Also, since you're up north, for game processing try Grainery Meat in Antioch. (Edited to add that I just talked to Joan at Grainery. She says that everyone takes everything now. They used to have to pay to have bones and fat taken away, but now hunters take everything.)

Katie wrote:I am always on the lookout for beef knuckle bones (the whole, big, cartilage-encased joint, not cut up in pieces, and not marrow bones) for my dog. I ask for them regularly at grocery store meat counters, with only occasional success. I'm starting to wonder if I need to go to Peoria Packing to look for them. Anyone have any other suggestions for where to find knuckle bones?

Fairplay. Cermak and Western. They almost always have them. If you don't see them in the display cases, ask the guys at the Mexican butcher counter.

Family Farms ( a coop) sells beef for pets at 2.65/lb. They have delivery points every two weeks at various locations around Chicago.
https://sites.google.com/site/familyfarmscoop/home

We did raw food for our cats and dog for the last few years. The dog (who we lost a year ago to age-related issues) did great with it. We mostly used chicken from Costco (mostly thighs) and Fresh Farms (mostly leg quarters), along with other bits that came on sale.

We have recently come across freeze-dried raw food for the cats. It is a fantastic alternative for times we haven't remembered to take the chicken out of the freezer, and I think it has some good additions to it. It's very easy to use, and while it's expensive and we will never move to using it 100% of the time, it's been awesome as a supplemental product. We are using Stella and Chewy's, but there are a few others out there too. They haven't hit the pet food aisles yet, but you will see more of it soon, I predict!

There's a fellow who will deliver it for you, along with a few other raw food alternatives: Backyard Chicken Run.

Good luck! Raw is definitely the way to go for pets... I wish I'd started mine on it years ago, but it's cleared up SO many skin/dietary issues for all our animals. I think it gave our poor old dog an extra few good years with us, and those years were almost certainly much more comfortable because of his raw diet.

theskinnyduck wrote:Family Farms ( a coop) sells beef for pets at 2.65/lb. They have delivery points every two weeks at various locations around Chicago.
https://sites.google.com/site/familyfarmscoop/home

Isn't $2.65 heading in the wrong direction from the OP's $2/lb current cost.

SuzyCreamcheese how much does your dog weigh? How many pounds are you feeding/day?

We've fed raw since our girl was 8 weeks old and I prefer human-grade raw. Before MIL took over food purchasing & primary feeding responsibilities about 5 years ago, I only purchased imports from NZ or the "organic/no-antibiotics from WTF Market or TJ's but now my MIL purchases from Dominick's.

If you have a freezer and show up 1st thing on Sunday mornings, they always have clearance human-grade meat, lamb, poultry, beef & pork.

Our wonder eats a lot of short ribs & lamb shanks but then it's MIL who does the purchasing & most of the feeding these days. I used to serve fish once/per week and organ meat, gizzards, livers, etc. at least 2 x/week & that kept the cost down a lot.

Our dog is about 50# & eats 1 lb/raw apx./each day. We keep her lean & hungry & most folks think she's a puppy instead of on the brink of 8 yo.

Good Luck!