Make really good friends with your butcher!
I refuse to pay any more than $.39/lb for backs, and believe me, if you give butchers an inch, they'll take a mile. Having said that prices really do vary by area.
Case in point:
My nieghbor two houses down shows Portuguese Water Dogs and also feeds raw. She will pay anything for her dogs, and doesn't usually question prices. I made the mistake of sharing the info on where I purchase my chicken from and she started going there too. I had had them talked down to $.39/lb (because, well, I'm just feeding them to my dogs, of course!
) and she went in and paid $.52/lb! :?
Sure enough, the next time I ordered backs by the case, they tried to charge me $.69/lb. I told them that I wasn't paying it, and that they could take the 40lbs of chicken back out of my car if that was what it costed, and they "lowered" it to $.49/lb.
Next time I'm ordering bulk through a co-op that is about 2 hours from me. I've switched my method of feeding anyway, and have gone pretty much to the "frankenprey" model. (A whole animal, organs and all if possible, cut into pieces and split across multiple meals.) If I order enough for 6 months (boneless skinless chicken breasts [$2.89/lb] for us and 3 cases of whole chickens [$.89/lb]; 2 for the dogs and 1 for us) it will be worth it.
If there is a co-op near you, try googling for it. Ours is in the form of a Yahoo Group. . . Your area may have something similar as well. If you haven't joined the Barfing Boxers list, I highly recommend doing so.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BARFingBoxers/
I do enjoy feeding this way, however, it is best to do much research before hand. I've switched two dogs now - my now 4 year old (she was switched at or around 1, I believe) and my puppy (she was switched at 4 months). IMO, cold turkey switches are best, but I do believe in a 24 hour fast and canned pumpkin for a day or so prior to introducing a meal of ground. Neither of these dogs had the runs, or any other form of "detox" during the switch. I don't believe that diarrhea is good nor normal during any food switch, and should be avoided if possible.
I do feed veggies, as both of my dogs do much better on them, although some believe vehemently that veggies are not needed. I do use fasts every once in a while, just because I believe that it's natures way of cleansing the body.
Their poops chalk right up and biodegrade right down into our grass within a few days, and the grass is appreciating the great fertilizer. They're not stinky at all, much smaller and compact. And they're hard, so their anal glands are expressed *outside* instead of inside and all over my walls, the way they were when I was feeding kibble. Gone are eye boogers. Gone is the stinky dog smell.
It keeps things interesting for me, it keeps things interesting for the dogs, and I can adjust it if I see fit. If one dog does poorly on any one ingredient, I can pinpoint exactly what it was and make alterations if need be. They're a lot happier chomping on their bones as well, and it's great to be able to watch them eat what is natural to them.
Just be careful when feeding whole bone. Make sure that all meals are supervised, especially in the beginning, as a dog that was raised on kibble will have to learn to chew his food prior to swallowing it. (Don't be alarmed if they crush it up with their teeth and then swallow it whole - this is how dogs eat. Just keep an eye out for signs of choking and intervein if need be.)
Good luck! If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to share what I've learned along the way!
