Opinions on Nature's Variety

[chelle]

After doing online research, my boyfriend and I took a drive to "Dogs & Cats Rule" which is a store for pets - but more specifically Dogs & Cats.

While there, we spoke to a salesgirl that was the 'in house expert' on raw. She brought us back to the freezer case and started discussing the different types of 'frozen raw' foods that they carry. The one she kept going back to was Natures Variety, Instinct Raw (http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/). Anyhow, she said it was a 'complete' diet w/all the necessary vitamins, etc in it, and it works on a rotation so the dogs get all the correct proteins, etc. She told us she has her 3 dogs (I believe she said collies and german sheppards) on this and they love it!

I wanted to see what everyone's opinions were on this. We are still getting pricing, etc for raw meat from my bf's uncle (who's a butcher), so once we get that info we'll have a better idea what might be better in the long run. We are still in the research and math stage.

Any insight would be wonderfully accepted and appreciated.

[kayla baxter]

I would never consider it for a dane as the the price would be insane. I work at a pet store and even getting it at cost I was spending over $30 a week feeding it to three kittens... A dane can easily eat 4lbs a day, the chicken NV here is $33 for 6lbs. It will most definitely be cheaper to feed prey model and buy from a butcher. I just bought a $750 grinder to make my own cat food because I can get the meat for $1/lb.

[rahime]

I have used it as supplemental food for my Dane, but there's no way we could use it on a regular basis. I don't think it's a bad food, but IMO, even if it was much cheaper, I wouldn't use it daily because it is still a processed food, and I don't think as healthy as fresh raw meat and bones. If you decide to use it, I'd encourage you to mainly use it to supplement with meats that you can't get easily (rabbit, bison, duck might be candidates there).

[chelle]

I would never consider it for a dane as the the price would be insane. I work at a pet store and even getting it at cost I was spending over $30 a week feeding it to three kittens... A dane can easily eat 4lbs a day, the chicken NV here is $33 for 6lbs. It will most definitely be cheaper to feed prey model and buy from a butcher. I just bought a $750 grinder to make my own cat food because I can get the meat for $1/lb.

Thanks for that tip. We saw that they were a bit expensive but figured if we bought in bulk, that the pricing would be a little cheaper. HAH! We did the math and it would cost us $160/wk for the natures variety...oh heck no!!! That's more than my food bill and I go shopping every other week!!!!

I have used it as supplemental food for my Dane, but there's no way we could use it on a regular basis. I don't think it's a bad food, but IMO, even if it was much cheaper, I wouldn't use it daily because it is still a processed food, and I don't think as healthy as fresh raw meat and bones. If you decide to use it, I'd encourage you to mainly use it to supplement with meats that you can't get easily (rabbit, bison, duck might be candidates there).

We might use it as a supplimental food or something to provide care givers when we go away and Bruiser is staying at their home. Now, we just have to get the schedule down with what people feed when, and modify it for Bruiser....then it's on to getting a chest freezer, more food saver bags and the meat itself!!! It's slowly coming together, another couple weeks and we'll most likely be feeding raw.