Why raw feeding will save you money

Why raw feeding will save you money

As many of us become increasingly conscious consumers, there is more and more thought that goes into all the choices we make when caring for our families, regardless of whether they have two legs or four. Choosing the right pet food is easily the biggest decision you will make for the long-term welfare of your pet.

In a perfect world we would all eat organic food, buy bamboo loo roll in bulk, and wear sustainable fashion from ethical makers. In reality, organic produce is often less convenient, fast fashion follows sought after trends, and not all of us have the space to store months and months’ worth of toilet paper. And these choices all have one other thing in common: they often cost more.

Fresh pet food is an investment in your pet’s health:

There is a perception that fresh pet food falls into this “would be nice” category, and of course we acknowledge this is true for some people. However, buying real pet food, made with wholefood (instead of processed food), raw feeding will SAVE you money over their lifetime. It’s also not as hard on the hip pocket as some will have you believe.

It can be tempting to dismiss the abstract idea of long-term savings due to reduced veterinary costs over the life of your raw fed dog, so let’s dig into it a bit deeper.

Puppy eating raw meal

Itches, infections, growths and cancer affect so many dogs:

According to the veterinary journal Today’s Veterinary Practice, in 2018 the top ten ailments that dogs visit the vet for are:
1. Skin conditions (22% of all insurance claims)
2. Stomach issues
3. Ear infections
4. Eye conditions
5. Pain
6. Growths
7. Urinary tract infections
8. Allergies
9. Cruciate ligament tears and surgery
10. Cancer

In 2019, digestive issues overtook skin issues with 26% of claims, and cancer moved from number 10 up to number 7. That stomach issues are accounting for more than one quarter of all vet visits should be a MAJOR red flag, when the health of the gut is so inextricably linked to overall health.

Dog laying down with cone on head

 

Scientific evidence is increasingly pointing towards the importance of gut health:

Gut health directly informs our ability to fight infections and disease because at least 70% of our immune cells live in our gut, and it is where we absorb the nutrients from our food. Without a healthy gut it is very, very difficult to remain healthy and disease free, so it’s pretty unsurprising that as stomach problems take the lead, in just one year we see cancer move up 3 places.

No matter which way you look at it, diet can be a major contributing factor for at least seven of these ailments, including the top three, and obesity is a risk factor for at least two more, with processed pet food contributing significantly to high rates of obesity in pets today – more than 40% of Australian dogs are overweight or obese.

These conditions are often preventable (not always – even raw fed dogs fall ill occasionally!) and can lead to high care bills that quickly outstrip any savings made on cheaper food. Unwell dogs simply need to visit the vet more.

Vet conducting ear inspection

Are you spending a fortune on vet bills?

Many dogs are repeatedly prescribed expensive medications for ongoing problems, without ever identifying the underlying issue.

With a consult usually starting at around $100, urinalysis will run you anywhere from $40-150 if pathology is required, bloodwork is the same again.

Skin issues in dogs are common and costly:

A simple course of antibiotics can put you out as much as $50, as can antihistamines for dogs with skin conditions and allergies. Monthly steroid or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory injections or tablets will usually cost at least $100 plus consultation fees every 4 weeks.

All these medications can have a devastating effect on the gut, creating a vicious cycle of illness that is difficult to break out of.

Vet holding needing in right hand, dog in left hand

“My experience with commercial canned and dry pet foods, is that they are a prime cause of periodontal disease in all dogs and cats.”

Dr Tom Lonsdale D.V.M, ‘Raw Meaty Bones’

Dental care is a relatively recent addition to the veterinary industry. Yet regular teeth cleaning is now commonplace and recommended every 6-12 months, in large part due to the popularity of processed foods. It will cost at least $500 for a basic clean plus anaesthesia. Of course, this very quickly increases to many thousands if sedation or extractions are required. Anaesthesia also brings with it other significant risks and should be used only when absolutely essential.

By 3 years of age, most dogs will have oral hygiene issues and gum disease issues, which can be prevented with a raw diet and meaty bones.

Quick tip: bone shaped kibble does not clean your dog’s teeth any better than an Anzac biscuit will clean yours.

The veterinary industry and pet insurance is booming:

It’s estimated that Australians spend $2.6 billion per year on veterinary expenses, with 84% of dogs visiting the vet each year, up from 79% in 2016. This is undoubtedly behind the growing popularity of pet insurance, with many people spending around $100 a month to insure their animal against ongoing vet bills. And while pet insurance may solve the financial issue for pet owners, it doesn’t solve the issue of increasingly unwell pets.

When did we become scared of real, fresh food?

A fresh diet provides dental health benefits for pearly whites, results in natural anal glad expression, is hydrating for renal and UTI support, delivers a steady stream of highly bioavailable nutrients, gut loving probiotics and disease fighting antioxidants, and is the key to resolving skin and digestive conditions for many dogs. So, while it may feel like a gamble to outlay a bit more on food now for big savings later, it’s hard to deny the cold hard reality of how food influences the health of our pets, and the frequency of their need for veterinary care.

Bowl of fresh raw food and bowl of kibble

At the end of the day, all any of us wants is for our pets to live long and happy lives, free from illness or discomfort. In the same way that we make investments in our own health by eating fresh fruits and veggies and avoiding processed sugary foods, we can invest in the health of our pets’ health by selecting a fresh diet that ultimately allows our bank balance to keep thriving along with them.

So exactly how big are these short-term savings?

Not that big, actually. We crunched some numbers on a popular “premium” dog food and worked out what it would cost to feed a typical 10-kilogram dog using their adult dry food, compared to The Butcher’s Dog. We took the price of a 3kg bag from a big pet retailer and used the feeding guides provided by both companies. This what we got:

cost comparison chart

 

Surprised? Don’t be. These products aren’t just a risk factor for lifelong health problems and increased veterinary spend, they’re also notoriously bad value for money. If you end up needing a specialised “veterinary” variety to combat health issues that may or may not be triggered by the poor-quality food to begin with, you are looking at $4 per day (plus all your vet bills). These are popular high-end brands and they are still full of imported waste products, wheat, corn, rice, soy and chemicals instead of actual nutrition.

You deserve better than that for your hard-earned money, and so does your pet. We’ll resist the urge to make a coffee analogy and simply point out that for less than 50 cents a day you could feed them a completely human grade, species-appropriate, whole food diet that will genuinely support their health, longevity and quality of life.

REFERENCES

    • We calculated the premium dry food cost using a 10kg dog consuming 180g per day. At $52 for a 3kg bag, and 16.66 days of food in a bag, the daily cost to feed a 10-kilo dog is $3.12 https://www.petbarn.com.au/science-diet-canine-adult-dog-food?sku=132848
    • We calculated the “veterinary” dry food cost using a 10kg dog consuming 152g per day. At $52 for a 2kg bag, and 13.16 days of food in a bag, the daily cost to feed a 10-kilo dog is $3.95 https://www.petbarn.com.au/royal-canin-veterinary-diet-2kg
    • Purchasing a larger bag of kibble will reduce costs, but increases the likelihood of mould and fat rancidity, and their associated health problems.
    • We calculated The Butcher’s Dog cost using a 10kg dog consuming 250g per day. At $133.90 for the 7.5kg Carnivore Box, and 30 days of food in the box, the daily cost to feed a 10-kilo dog is $4.46

 

Kibble – reading the labels, what REALLY goes in it?

Kibble – reading labels, what really goes in it?

In fact, given that you’re probably not an “expert” on pet food, as I suppose I sort of am, this may well have happened to you many times. The fact that it does still happen to me every now and then is testament to just how easy it is to be led down the garden path by canny processed pet food producers, experts of marketing spin.

So, while I do still occasionally, albeit briefly, fall for their marketing sorcery, I have learned a good few tricks along the way to work out what you’re reading, from very basic pointers, to the level of semi-professional label reader. And through doing this, as well as by asking companies lots of questions, by reading Australian Standards from cover to cover, and by heavily researching the topic to the point that it’s actually a bit embarrassing how much I know about processed pet food, I feel quite well placed to explain a few things about it.

Dog food container

Check the ingredients on the pack:

Some kibbles do not even list or name the specific protein they use. Processed dog food is almost always centred around a main animal protein, and we’re led to believe it is brimming with juicy chicken breasts and shiny salmon fillets, as per the glossy photos on the bag, but the reality is quite different.

Although you absolutely should expect to see meat as the first ingredient in any dog food product, there is a little more to it than that. If a company does not name the specific protein they use, this is a big, big red flag. If a business cannot even tell you what animal the meat comes from, there is no possible way they can tell you anything resembling genuine transparency around the supply chain this meat came from, prior to ending up in their food.

There is also a big difference between “meat” and “meat meal.” One is 75% water, the other is basically devoid of any moisture. So while the idea of “meat meal” might horrify you (more on that in a minute), it is almost guaranteed that a food that lists meat meal at the front of their ingredients list actually contains a lot more animal protein than one that lists “meat” in its whole form. This is because ingredients lists are required to be listed by weight, meaning an ingredient that is 75% water is going be far heavier than an ingredient with no water, despite the fact that this water is all removed during the cooking process. Tricky.

female dog owner with dog reading dog food packaging & it's label

What the heck is meat meal?

Meat meal is a shelf stable meat powder that is made from rendering meat and bones not fit for human consumption. It is the same process that is used to separate tallow for making things like soap, whereby the fat and water is split from the meat using very high temperatures. According to their own website, The Rendering Association considers themselves to be a recycling service, above all else, and they acknowledge that plastic ear tags are not removed from heads of livestock before they are rendered to be turned into pet food.

Ingredient splitting is a trick:

Sometimes we see both meat AND meat meal, and this is because of a little thing called ingredient splitting. The function of ingredient splitting is to give the illusion of more protein. In the case of splitting say, chicken, into a fresh version and a dry version, the result is that now it appears twice and, to the untrained eye, looks to be much higher in chicken content (perhaps twice as much) than it really is. When actually it is just water weight and no additional chicken.

The reverse is true of less desirable ingredients like, for example, legumes. Splitting in this context enables low nutritional ‘fillers’ to appear smaller in weight to the so-called core protein. Often we will see as many as four or five different beans and peas, the nutritional value and function of which are incredibly similar, at least in this context. The reason for this is that each serve of the 5 different beans weighs significantly less than the sum total, and also less than the meat ingredient in number one position.

Dog with blackboard that has dog bone illustration of 2 + 2 = 4

How much ‘meat’ is really in there?

We aren’t meant to know! More than likely, if you see multiple very similar ingredients they have been selected strategically so that meat is the first ingredient. You may also see the same ingredient in a few different forms. This is common of things like peas, which may appear as “peas,” as well as things like pea protein and pea flour. All peas. Lotsa peas.

According to the Australian Renderers Association, as well as pet food industry insiders I’ve personally spoken to, it is typical for kibble to contain around 20% meat meal or less, and high end ones cap out at around 30%. This is partly due to the high bone content of meat meal, as well as other things like cost and the functional necessity for starches to tie the ingredients together.

What about all those carbs?

It’s not at all unusual for a dry pet food to be more than half carbohydrate based ingredients, like grains and legumes, which is necessary to form the biscuit dough. This is incredibly high, keeping in mind that dogs and cats have no mandated carbohydrate requirement at all.

image of different types of grains

The problem with starchy carbs is they quickly break down into simple sugars that enter the bloodstream, spiking blood sugar levels. This triggers the pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that tells our cells to absorb the blood glucose for energy. Because this all happens very quickly with highly processed and high GI carbs, dogs can feel hungry more quickly, while also storing excess glucose as fat and over time risking diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Yeast infections and cancer both love sugar too, so the danger here speaks for itself.

What about all the so-called ‘superfoods’ and ‘vitamins’?

Aside from some additional fats (all the fat is removed from the meat meal, remember), kibbles contain artificial flavours (because there is no natural taste, and to make it smell nicer to us), and minuscule amounts of ‘superfoods’ (which sound amazing in the advertising), and a vitamin and mineral premix.

Is it complete and balanced?

Where vitamins or superfood quantities are so small, they don’t even register as a percentage. As a guide, if they are below salt on the packaging, this means less than 1%.

human hand releasing pinch of salt

These vitamins and minerals are usually cheap oxides, sulphates and other inorganic synthetics, rather than actual nutrients as they appear in nature, or even high quality isolates. The bioavailability of these is questionable, but studies have shown they are poorly utilised compared to higher quality synthetics, let alone nutrients in actual food. These synthetic nutrient supplements are essential to meet the required nutrient levels in the standards set out by the powers that be, because the repeated high heat treatment that processed food undergoes degrades any actual nutrients so severely they are largely absent. Importantly, it also enables manufacturers to use the term, ‘Complete and Balanced’…

Once all of these ingredients are mixed into a dough, it is then pushed through an extruder, which uses heat and forms the biscuit shapes. It is then cooked, and often cooked again, before being sprayed with flavours.

The end result is a product that can sit on the shelf for years before your dog eats it. There is no requirement to state a date of production, only a batch ID that is meaningless to consumers, and a used by date. Due to the self regulated nature of the Australian pet food industry, as well as the seriously relaxed guidelines in the Australian Standard that governs the marketing of its products, the label on a bag of food can be designed in a way that conceals much of what we’ve just discussed.

But the packaging looks great!

Bags often contain images of foods so premium we might eat them ourselves, emblazoned with a featured animal protein name, and sometimes even a bold claim of as much as 70 or 80% meat. When the reality is that this number includes a ‘rehydration factor’ of x4…remembering they can call meat meal ‘meat’.

pet food packaging
These marketing tactics are governed by the voluntary Australian Standard for the Manufacture and Marketing of Pet Food (AS5812), and it acknowledges that dry pet foods are “typically cereal based.” Despite this, the standard permits food to be named after a meat protein while only containing as little as 5% of the named protein, and it doesn’t actually have to even be the main meat protein if the word “with” comes beforehand. If you’ve noticed the recent trend of referring to a food as being with REAL beef, this is why. The “real” is a distraction from the “with” – because really, what other sort of beef would it be?? This standard also states that “justification of content claims, when using dehydrated ingredients, shall be calculated on a reconstituted basis using a recognised conversion factor.” In layman’s terms, what this means is that a claim such as “contains 70% meat,” will have had a rehydration factor of x4 applied to any dry meat ingredients, meaning that in fact it contains only 17.5% of a highly processed and heat treated scrap meat powder. It is totally permitted, arguably encouraged or even mandatory, for them to multiply this portion by 4 and advertise a hypothetical rehydrated percentage, even though it never actually existed in this food.

This would be sort of ok with me if everything was calculated using rehydration factors and we were comparing apples with apples. But they’re not.
bowl of raw food and bowl of kibble

And that brings us to the nutrient panel. You’d be forgiven for looking at the nutrient panel on a bag of kibble and thinking “26% protein! Amazing.” But what we need to remember here is that this percentage refers to the finished, dry product, so it is a very concentrated figure on account of all the water having been removed – as opposed to the claim on the front, which has had all the water added back in using “rehydration factors”. These companies pick and choose how they will inflate figures in the way that best suits them and makes their product look better, and as a result risk totally deceiving consumers. Best of both worlds, eh?
Because it is not normal for food to be completely dry, these nutrient panel values are not really comparable to what we are used to seeing. As a result, they often seem high, while actually being very low. While a fresh meat product might advertise a seemingly meagre 15% protein, the dry matter equivalent of this (ie. the percentage of protein once all water is removed) may be as high as 50%. Almost double the actual protein content of the processed food. Another thing to note is that there is no requirement to list a carbohydrate percentage, so most pet food brands choose not to, and many will decline to tell you if you ask (which I did, many times).
There is much more I could say on this topic, but the key point to takeaway is that these foods are almost always labelled and marketed in a way that intentionally has pet owners in a tail spin trying to navigate them, when ultimately the vast majority are extremely similar.

In summary:

The lack of transparency in the processed pet food industry is something I find deeply problematic, and is compounded by a complete lack of mandatory regulations. A few things are certain though; these foods are all made from ingredients that are totally unsuitable for dogs, they are all heavily processed and repeatedly exposed to high temperatures, they are all supplemented with synthetic vitamins and minerals in order to show they contain ‘adequate nutrition’, and they are all permitted to sit on a shelf for as long as 18 months before being fed to your pet.

No amount of labelling gymnastics will change these facts, and this is really all you need to know.

(In this article I refer to “processed pet food,” “dry dog food” and “kibble”, by which I mean the typical, biscuit based dog food that we find at the supermarket.)
Butcher's Dog food on platter