Does anyone here feed their animals RAW food??? (Wasilla: live, stores)

[DreamChasers8]

Hey guys and gals . I was wondering how many other people out here in Alaska feed their dogs and cats raw meat and bones? Also where do you get them from? We have been getting ours from the local grocery stores and I just feel like I can do better for them. I know they treat the pork with a sodium nitrate solution to help it stay fresher longer, but dogs don't do so great with that much salt. I can't seem to find many butchers here in Wasilla. Does anyone know of some good quality raw meat and bones for dogs here in the Mat-Su? Would love some info...thanks

[Nephler]

We feed our dogs just kibble with a fresh bone once in a great while.
Have you checked out these places? Not sure what they have that you may be looking for. We've gotten good stuff from Mat Valley Meats for our selves though.

Pioneer Meats

Mike's Quality Meats

Mat-Valley Meats : Gourmet Meat, Sausage & Seafood

[DreamChasers8]

I actually just got a flyer today in the mail from Mike's Quality Meats. I will have to call Pioneer Meats and Mat Valley Meats, tho I thought Mat-Valley just processed meats. Maybe I'm wrong!

[Nephler]

Yeah, the only reason I know of Mike's is by the flyer I got. We picked up a really nice prime rib roast from Mat-Valley. They have some nice looking stuff.

[akck]

We feed raw bones to our dogs. We just can't bring ourselves to feed them raw meat. We get the soup bones from one of the local grocery stores. We do freeze them, hopefully killing some of the bacteria before they get them.

[DreamChasers8]

It's ok, it takes a while to make the switch, but at least you are feeding the bones. And the bacteria doesn't bother the dogs, they were built for it, same as a wolf. I won't preach, but it's something you should look into, there is a ton of info out there about it.

[mongazid]

good for you dreamy, Your dogs are lucky.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Well, not in Alaska, DRAT, but, here in N.C. I have been feeding our German Shepherd Dogs the bones and scraps from my Deer hunting for years. They really look forward to Deer Season, they get excited when I put my rifle into the back of the truck. This year I only got 4, but, it is keeping them quite happy, gnawing. Eventually, all of it, head, lower leg portions, hooves, spine, hide - evaporates, or just dissappears under the tooth. They also get the occassional extra goodie, a raccoon, opossum or fox that comes into the yard looking for a snack, becomes one.

[DreamChasers8]

Originally Posted by mongazid

good for you dreamy, Your dogs are lucky.

Thank you very much!

[RayinAK]

I see a problem with raw food when it comes from wild game such as moose, caribou, and others. So when I kill a moose, we always cook any meat or bones before we let our dog have it.

When I cut the meat into steaks, roasts, stew meat, etc., I also take a portion of it and wrap it for our dog. When my wife and I cook this and other mats for "Abbie" (the dog), we boil it in plenty of water, add some extra virgin olive oil, and a little garlic. Yes, the dog has been quite spoiled by us, and while she eats some of her dog food she also eats the same foods we eat