Your dog deserves the best nutrition, and finding high-quality, affordable raw meat can be a challenge. Where do you start? My husband and I have the unique privilege of raising some of our own farm animals for food, which includes our pets. However, we rely on butchers to process our ducks, chickens, goats, and sheep. Beef is a significant component of most raw feeding programs, including ours. Although we don’t raise beef, we have access to a local farm that provides organic grass-fed beef and raw milk.
Farmers cannot slaughter their own animals, so they use custom processing services. This involves a butcher shop performing the slaughtering and cutting, with the farmer offering a quarter, half, or whole animal for sale. The customer pays the farmer based on the agreed price per pound of hanging weight, and the farmer then covers the butcher’s costs. This method often results in significantly lower costs compared to retail cuts, commercial frozen raw, or raw pet food brokers.
When it comes to feeding your dog a raw food diet, it’s important to include a variety of nutritious parts that many butchers may overlook. Tripe and gullet, for instance, are often disregarded but are both delicious and beneficial for raw-fed dogs. Make sure to inquire about these parts and be prepared to explain your needs, as butchers may not be accustomed to such requests.
DIY Butchering can be an option for those who wish to utilize every part of the animal. My husband and I often harvest parts that the butcher leaves behind, such as the tripe and other organs like the tongue, trachea, and gullet. Our farmer humanely processes the animals on-site to minimize stress. Meal planning is crucial for a smooth feeding routine. I prepare appropriately-sized packages of muscle meat, organ mix, and raw meaty bones for the freezer. I partially thaw larger pieces of muscle meat, such as heart or tongue, and cut them into one-ounce pieces. This makes them easier to cut and prevents them from sticking together when refrozen. Organs can also be partially thawed, cut into one-ounce pieces, or blended together, sometimes with added banana for prebiotic power. For my dogs’ breakfasts, I mix muscle meat pieces and organ blends, adding a small amount of pulverized vegetables, which can be homegrown or bought organic. I also ferment the vegetables in whey for a probiotic boost. It’s important to have each day’s meals thawed and ready in the refrigerator. Bones play a significant role in a dog’s raw food diet, divided into two categories: raw meaty bones (RMBs) and recreational bones. RMBs, such as neck bones, oxtails, or ribs, are softer and can be chewed up, swallowed, and digested by your dog. Recreational bones, on the other hand, are harder and larger, providing mental and physical stimulation without being digested. Marrow bones from the legs of ruminants, knee caps, pelvic bones, ribs, and hip joints are popular choices. Be cautious with aggressive chewers to avoid broken teeth. Supporting local farmers and butchers is essential in the face of big business and ready-made foods. Your dog deserves the best raw food, and by doing so, you contribute to the preservation of traditional food practices.Every town once had a butcher shop. However, local butchers are becoming scarce. So, purchasing meat through local farmers not only helps them thrive and support their families but also allows you (and your dog) as the end consumer to honor the existence of the whole animal. By using all ‘inedible’ bits. Moreover, the freshness and quality of the meat will benefit your dog’s health too!
