[rosemaryninja]

A bit of background on my dogs' food story: One of my mother's friends owns her own local kibble brand, and gives our family a hefty discount because of their friendship. It's a pretty icky brand, based on the ingredients, but my mom insisted on both my dogs being on it because of how cheap it was. For ages I bugged her to let me switch brands to something more decent, but she refused. Finally, when Spunky started showing signs of grain allergies, she let me put Spunky on raw, but maintained Honey on the kibble.

A few days ago I finally persuaded her to let me switch kibble brands for Honey if I could find something more affordable. (No, we aren't destitute or anything...my mother is just a scrooge.) I decided on Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish.

Now, however, I'm wondering if I should switch Spunky too. I just got a new job and I am at the office eleven hours a day. This, compounded with walking my dogs for an hour, doing work at home and spending time with my family, leaves me almost no time to buy or package raw food. The kibble I chose will accommodate Spunky's allergies, and I don't necessarily think it will be bad for her.

I feel horrible about this because I've been raving about the raw diet for the last six months and how much difference it has made to Spunky's health. I just feel like I don't have the resources to provide my dog with the best anymore.

[MaxwellsMommy]

What I would do is use my day off to pack up the dog's raw food for the week... two weeks, three, a month, whatever.. that way time wouldn't be a burden... it'd be just as easy to grab a bag out of the freezer and plop it down in the bowl or ground as it would be to scoop it out of a bag and and into the bowl.

[rosemaryninja]

That's what I've been doing...buying raw food, packaging for maybe a week or two and then having a family member just plop it into her bowl at mealtime (I'm at work during mealtime). But it does take a lot of time to go out and get the food, and to weigh and package it. I don't have a place where I can get enough food for more than two weeks. Buying in bulk is not an option here.