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I order 99% of the food I feed my dogs from a local raw food co-op. A raw food co-op is an organization that brings raw feeders together, helping us order ingredients, supplements, and other products as a group to keep costs low. By ordering in bulk, we can buy for less than retail, allowing pet owners to feed fresh food affordably. The following is my raw food co-op shopping list; I will not share brand names because not everyone can access the same brands. However, you will still learn what you can order through your co-op for your dogs.
Raw Food Co-Op Shopping List
My local co-op offers monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, and annual orders based on what they can acquire from local farms. I place monthly orders based on which orders are open and what my dogs need. The following are the items I order:
Raw Food Supplier A
This supplier offers chicken, beef, turkey, and pork. My dogs have eaten all of the proteins; I primarily purchase grass-fed beef with vegetables.
- Grass-fed beef with veggies: 85% lean ground product: 10% heart, 10% bone, 66% beef trim, 14% veggies (carrots, broccoli, green beans, spinach)
Raw Food Supplier B
This supplier offers the most variety, and getting lost in the price list is easy.
- case of whole ducks
- case of duck feet
- case of duck necks
- case of duck frames (summertime order)
- case of green-lipped mussels
- case of ground pork (trichinosis and other parasites are not an issue when feeding human-grade pork)
Raw Food Supplier C
What I order depends on my budget at the time this order opens. I may buy one of each or two cases of duck.
- Duck: ground duck, heart, liver, and bone
- Duck with Veggies: ground duck, duck heart, duck liver, and duck bone, fresh veggies (broccoli, cabbage, squash, parsley, carrots, sprouts, spinach, and kale)
- Guinea Hen: ground guinea hen, guinea hen heart, guinea hen liver and bone
- Turkey: ground turkey Necks, turkey heart, turkey liver and bone
- Turkey with Veggies: ground turkey necks, turkey heart, turkey Liver, and bone, fresh veggies (broccoli, cabbage, squash, parsley, carrots, sprouts, spinach, and kale)
Raw Food Supplier D
Buying organ meat can add up when buying each item individually, by the case. And it's not as easy to a wide variety of secreting organs, so I prefer to purchase an organ blend. I prefer grass-fed beef organs because the liver is rich in Vitamin D.
- grass-fed beef organ blend
Raw Food Supplier E
- whole quail (my favorite raw meaty bone)
Raw Food Supplier F
- ground pheasant
Raw Bones
There will be various orders throughout the year. I order these for bone broth.
- pork ribs
- beef riblets
- bison oxtails
- lamb necks
- lamb stock bones
Raw Food Meal Prep
I use a base mix when making dog food; it makes meal prep easier, and I can feed my dogs a nutritionally complete homemade raw diet without breaking the bank. I alternate between Dr. Harvey's Paradigm and Raw Vibrance; they are excellent dehydrated mixes with only a few differences.
- Paradigm – low glycemic; contains limited synthetic ingredients from trusted/quality sources.
- Raw Vibrance – no synthetic ingredients.
Below, I share a list of items I mix with each protein I order for my dogs:
- Ground Beef with Vegetables – base mix, oysters
- Ground Chicken – base mix, oysters
- Ground Pork – base mix, duck wings, organ blend, oysters
- Whole Duck (chop up and grind) – base mix, organ blend, oysters
- Ground Duck – base mix, oysters
- Ground Quail – base mix, oysters
I don't follow the instructions provided by Dr. Harvey's because my meal preps include organ meat and bone so I can use less of the base mix. I add the oysters for an extra boost of zinc; I add oysters to most of my meal preps, but not all. A certified canine nutritionist reviews my recipes, which are balanced for my dogs.
