I am sorry - no advice but you have made me feel blessed to be in the U.S. as I pay less than $1.00 for all my meats. I hope someone in your area can give you some suggestions. I wouldn't be able to feed raw or even it seems "good" kibble in you area.

 

Yeah. I'm glad I've done the research. We WILL have a dog...it may just be a smaller dog who doesn't eat so much so that we can actually afford to feed ourselves!!!
We've just signed a lease for an apartment starting in July and we're budgeting almost $800/mo for 2 people to eat. I seriously hope that we're over-budgeting this, but so far after being here a month, it doesn't seem that way. All food items (even bread) you're lucky to get for $3-4/loaf. Back home, we could get bread for $1.89 NOT on sale, and steak was roughly $6/lb, not $15...

 

No wholesalers that you can buy from in bulk?

 

Not that I've found. The closest thing is going straight to the rancher here, and they charge an arm and a leg for it.
The community I live in is about 5,000 people strong, and it's at the very southern tip of Nova Scotia...isolated from any big city. Halifax, the nearest what I would call "city" is nearly 4 hours away. It just doesn't feel like raw has really gotten here yet. I called around some vets and one basically told me they wouldn't treat any dog I owned that was fed such a poor diet as raw. *rolls eyes*

 

What size dog will you look at getting?

 

One that eats like a bird...

We're trying to stay below 50 lbs, since that's the limit on the lease we're signing.

 

Any particular breeds you favor?

 

Yes and no. I usually can't find a dog I don't like specifically based on breed. I'm really not keen on itty bitty dogs, chihuahuas and the like. I'm scared I'd break them.
I'd consider a Wheaten terrier, or a Mini Schnauzer. Even a smaller herding dog (aussie, collie) would be fine. I just like the more "robust" dogs. Too bad they're all WAY over the food bill I'm able to afford for them.

 

What do you plan on doing with the dog? That will help narrow down the breeds that would be ideal for your situation...

 

Hiking/trail walking will likely be a big part of his/her exercise, as well as lots of obedience work and fun tricks. There isn't really any training facility, so we'll have to travel for that, and I thought that swimming would be fun until I went to the beach a couple of times and realized the Atlantic ocean never warms up enough for ME to get in it. Anyway, it will mainly be my companion dog.

 

Just so you know my sheltie is 15 1/2 inches at the shoulder and 20 pounds and eats 6-8 ounces per day. My collie girls weigh about 55 pounds and get 1 pound 4 ounces per day and my boy weighs 80 pounds and gets 1 3/4 pounds per day. Just wanted to give you an estimate. They are easy keepers though.

 

What Province? (Or if you're willing, City?). I'm going through the same starters problem here in Ottawa. I have a couple of decent leads though, which I'm happy to share. Nothing close to US prices, but affordable and I think I can do it for less than good kibble. Also I work with local rescues which I would LOVE to share if you're looking at adopting!

 

I'm in Nova Scotia, in a town (not even a city!) called Yarmouth. I've found the Canada and the US differ greatly when it comes to consumerism. Even simple things like coupons...forget it, if you're in Canada. 50c on a product that costs $14.99? Really?!
Maybe with all the inflation/deflation of the American dollar compared to the Canadian dollar prices will go down...one can only hope.

OH, AND, 15% sales tax here?! What the crap?!?!
I'm just sort of feeling like Alice in Wonderland...jump down the rabbit hole and enter a whole new world of crazy...

 

I might be able to recommend some good breeders too, if you have a breed preference. Always better to go to a breeder by referral

 

I'm in Ontario with 3 dogs being raw fed (2 - 25 pound pugs and 1 100 lbs mix breed). I figure I feed all for about $100 more or less. Its more expensive when you start up because you don't have the contacts. On lists such as these, and when meeting other people who raw feed, you start to build up a list of suppliers. Sometimes I'll buy raw meat in the stores, beef heart at sobeys; wings at walmart etc. but generally I have made contacts with people who sell at reasonable prices. Such as box of turkey necks for $14 (usually about 20 in a box); another supplier for beef muscle meat course ground 20 lbs for $20 etc. It can be done - you just need to make contacts. Where in Ontario are you? I'm outside of Peterborough. ttfn

 

I wish I were in Ontario right about now! (In laws, but that's a whole nother story ) But seriously, I was talking to a guy from Toronto who just moved here (he owns a place called Nature's Pets, which is where I'd be getting my kibble from) and he has a Newfoundland that he was feeding raw (about 3.5-4 lbs per day) and he was getting it super cheap. Since he's moved here, he's had to stop raw completely because he just can't afford the prices here. :\
It seems like the further west you go in Canada, the cheaper (some) things are...specifically food.

 

That's what I'm finding for startup too. If I'm stuck I get it at Costco (my recommendation if you can't find a supplier). But I'm slowly starting to find some people to buy from.

Nortknee. You can do a bit of kibble and raw, as long as it's separate meals 6-8 hours apart. That might be your happy medium.

However - I've found costco to not be terrible, and I've contacted local butchers (small towns are best for that, so you have an advantage there) and a couple of suppliers. Right now I'm working on a pack of whole chickens. Feeding those full time for my senior 75lb-er would be about $70 per month. As I said, not great but not out of the question. Since you don't have the dog yet, I'd try going slightly smaller in dog size to afford the food. You can get some smaller dogs that are still "dogs" - think shiba inu, basenji, french bulldog, keeshond, welsh corgi, wheaten.. the list goes on. Or a good ol' small-medium rescue mutt!

 

I wish we had a Costco; ha!
We have Sobey's, Atlantic Superstore, and a local meat market. Walmart isn't a superstore. There's no chain restaraunts. It's different, that's for sure.

Yeah, we're in talks of another dog breed. We were set on a lab, but we seriously just can't swing it financially to feed a dog that big...not when feeding ourselves will cost at least $600/mo. SO doesn't want a foo-foo dog (and I don't either, really...we hike at least once a week, half a day or more, and walk at least an hour and a half in the evenings..I don't want a little dog that can't keep up), but we also don't want a dog that can't tolerate kids or cold weather. We would go with a rescue, but we REALLY want the "puppy" experience, and I'd like to find a breeder who feeds quality kibble, if not raw...those are few and far between for ANY breed.

 

A Border Collie would fit the size limit and be really awesome for a hiking and obedience training buddy. I love BC's.

My sled dog mutt (Sibe/GSD best I can figure) is really thrifty with food. You could easily find a rescue one within your size limit, I see them all the time in the shelters here in Idaho. She eats 0.75-1lb a day and is right at 50lbs.

 

A Border Collie would fit the size limit and be really awesome for a hiking and obedience training buddy. I love BC's.

SO would jump on having a BC, I think...it was his first dog, and while he gets teary-eyed about it, he always seems to smile when he talks about her. My main issue with a BC is having no idea how much energy they truly have and if I could keep up with it. Yes, we're active, but we aren't runners (blown knees from soccer for me, and he's flat-footed) so, that's out...how do BC people keep their dogs happy? Especially while at work?

Obedience is a must for me, I personally love seeing the light turn on for an animal, and you're only as limited as your creativity is when it comes to a BC.
Herding is something else I think would be fun, since it's natural for them. Seriously though, what do you guys do with your BCs?

 

I vote Australian Cattle Dog. The best dog in the world!!!!! (I'm not biased, really I'm not, its a fact!).
Mol eats just under a 1lb a day, she's round 40lbs.
Or, an ACD/BC cross. Or a Kelpie.
If I were allowed to have 3 dogs, I'd have these.

 

Hey I just had an epiphany for your issue about budgeting meats, mark hunting times on your calendar and start putting flyers up in small markets, and stuff like that saying that you'd like the organs and stuff, i just did that with a small market up the street and found out that he's slaughtering 14 pigs this fall and were welcome to anything they don't want. If you know of anybody that hunts, i know I had LOTS of moose when i lived up in QC for 2 years! :lol:

 

THIS!

I'm sorry prices are so outrageous up there. I wouldn't be able to afford it with my 3. We feed about 4.5 lbs per day.

Craigslist, freecycle, and placing your own ads can be a live saver. I know a lot of people who are able to feed their dogs for nearly free because they in popular hunting areas and know how to work the system. Also utilize sales as often as possible. Gather sale ads from the stores near you and shop for the best prices each week.

Best of luck!!

 

I have a sheltie and he is most definitely a dog.. he is 14" at the shoulder and weighs around 17lb.. very active. Your prices are higher than mine (I'm in Calgary, Alberta).. I can get whole chickens on sale for around $1.50/lb, pork roasts for $0.90/lb and beef for $2/lb. I get quail free from a friend but pay a lot for lamb. Fish is decently cheap. Living in NS maybe you could get cheap fish? I'd think you can make 50% of your diet fish.. 50% red meat... feel free to correct me, though! Maybe you can get free/cheap fish scraps. I don't go to any suppliers.. just the grocery store since my dogs weigh 17lb and the pup is only about 1.5lb.

 

I second this! I have a sheltie who also is 14" and she weighs about 19 lbs. She's a fabulous dog and is def. all dog. She will walk, hike, jog, run do it all and I always poop out before she does. She won't go in the water, though. I also have sheltie/poodle (I think poodle) mixes, two of them, who weight 14/15lbs. I feed them all for $30 a month. I do buy in bulk and get three months at a time. Before I bought in bulk, I spent about $50 a month and that was going through grocery stores. So I fed three dogs, combining weight of 48lbs for fairly cheap. Granted I live in the states. Try to find odd pieces like beef heart and random things like that. I found out that Asian markets were a really good place to get cheap, random food. I fed a lot of heart when I bought from the store and it was all under $2 a lb. Good luck!!!

 

I think you are right about food prices being cheaper in the west. For two people (and two dogs) we spend about $450/month, and we don't watch what we spend.. so we do get more expensive meats etc for ourselves.

 

I have a 14 month old JRT and they truly are a big dog in a small package, she will go on hikes with us, she loves camping and exploring and is not afraid of anything (much to my worry most of the time) yet she is small enough to take everywhere and be able to afford to feed raw, meat here in Wales is rather pricey too, I buy mine from the supermarket, the butchers are even more expensive. I spend about £15 a month on food for her. She is about 10" tall and weighs 14lb

 

JRT's are awesome, but a little too scrappy for us, I think.
SO is rather soft-hearted and would probably be a carpet rug for any JRT!

 

lol yes they are quite scrappy

 

Do you guys like to Bike? if you were to get a BC it would be a great outlet running beside a bike, i know it isn't great until 18 months but until that point there are AWESOME ways of keeping a dogs mind and body active without wearing yourself out. Hikes are great, flirt poles, fetch, TRAINING is fantastic energy drain for a dog, hide and seek. I know winters up there are less than appealing to go out in all the time but knee deep snow would be a fantastic workout for a dog!! get him a jacket, and booties, i'm sure it'd be spent after an hour goofing around outside in it!

 

Yeah, I thought of this last night as I was trying to go to sleep...and then remembered this summer weather we have atm only lasts for about 2 months!
It's rainy here. Pretty much all the time. We might get 2 days of sun, 3 of rain in a week. As the year progresses, it becomes more like 4 of range, 1 sun, and eventually the winter is just grey and dull...so whatever breed we get has to be able to withstand being wet, and I'll need to learn to suck it up in the cold!
Biking would be great during the summer, but once the weather starts to turn, I don't know how safe it would be to go out on icy sidewalks...And yeah, knee deep snow would be an AWESOME workout for the both of us!
Thankfully, BCs are smart enough that it takes alot of training to wear a dog out. I found my sisters airedale that I used to train get mentally exhausted after about 15-20 minutes of work. Much to my dismay. My concern isn't the mental so much as the physical.

Oh! And I asked SO if we know any hunters that would be willing to give us the carcasses and all that. He said absolutely. We have a friend who hunts rabbit regularly, there's also deer hunters that the family knows, and SO is a lobster fisherman (not sure if that's safe to eat, but we know people who sell mackerel/haddock pretty cheaply), so thanks for pointing us in that direction.

 

Awesome that you're getting so many replies about amazing smaller dogs! (And I agree wholeheartedly about all of them)

I might suggest putting up a new post asking what small/medium "real dog" breeds (maybe reword so as not to offend anyone) people have and how much they feed, to get some great breed ideas and real experiences. That is unless your heart is already set on a BC, which is also fantastic

I might refer back to this thread for my "next" dog. (if I can find it in 10+ years). I want to travel a lot so I'll need a carryon sized dog that's still tough. Right now I have a tough as nails chihuahua/terrier mix who fits the bill perfectly, except that she's petrified of strangers and bites fingers. Suits me fine, but she might not do well travelling.. guess we'll see in a couple of years!

Great posts people!

 

Wonderful idea. And no, I'm not 100% set on a BC, just wanted some info on how much people feed/day. I do find that "herding dogs" are about as small as I prefer to get. And I don't know that you can find a "smarter" dog than a herding dog...it's just a matter of how much physical exercise it needs...HEY, maybe it might be beneficial to me to get more exercise, who knows?
I'm certainly feeling a bit better about how expensive meat is here with the opportunity to get it straight from hunters, but the start up may still suck. We'll see.
What do you do that you've gotta travel here and there?

 

If you want a BC smart dog but are a bit unsure about exercise, I still think a sheltie would be great.. or even a corgi. They are both very active dogs.. my sheltie can keep up with 4-5 hours of hiking no problem, but when I had the stomach flu and didn't walk him for three days he wasn't too bad either. He only eats around 200-225g of food per day!

 

I'm apprehensive of a sheltie. They are REALLY small... :\ However, I love the standard rough collies. They've got awesome personalities (I've met a couple, always so dignified), and the size is perfect, but only on the smaller end. If we ended up getting a male, who wasn't quite as small as we thought, and it turns into a an 80-85 lb dog, we're in trouble. I guess I just can't into "small" or "carry-on" size dogs. I prefer the medium to biggies.

 

I think overall shelties are more active than collies. I have definitely seen shelties run into the 35lb range.. there is a huge variance in their size.

They are much bigger than chihuahuas..

What about a female Australian shepherd?

 

From my understanding, they're significantly more "chill" than BCs...which isn't a bad thing, especially considering there are kids (not ours) around on a regular basis. I'm just hoping they're spunky enough to catch onto training quickly.
I totally get what you're saying about size variance. I've seen shelties at the dog park who rival in size with small terriers (who weren't pups...just not well bred, imo)... :\ Makes you do a double take.

 

If you like terriers, then perhaps a border terrier? They are active, easy to train, easy to motivate... But, they are not as crazy as a JRT. They are definately terriers though.

 

My dad and his fiance have 5 little dogs, a chihuahua, a yorkie, 2 yorkie mixes and an old lady dachshund, they don't really enjoy the outdoors, to be fair though that is probably because of the way they have been raised, they are nasty little things too (been babied all their lives).... my dads fiance didn't like lucky going near her dogs thinking that she'd hurt them, always calling lucky a typical nasty, rough JRT, to be honest although she can be a handful and a little strong willed at times she is a very well behaved dog, in fact one of the yorkie mixes actually snapped at lucky's face and caught her lip, lucky could have retaliated but she didn't, she is too soft, think she must just have a different temperement to a lot of JRT's

 

I dont know if I missed it, and I dont know if you have one, but I would also see if you can find a Co-Op in your area and also start on the hunt(post on craigslist, etc) NOW for meat deals...better to have 40lbs stocked away in your freezer NOW then not have any when you DO get your dog!:wink: :biggrin1:

 

Hey hey, not all small dogs are fruo-fruo. Plenty of breeds that aren't. For example I looove how the breed standard for Paps says: "elegant toy dog with a fine boned structure. He is light and dainty". Yet they excel at things like agility, and they can definitely go on for hours. They only look dainty IMO, little athletes in disguise, with their coats and all.


Wow, with those prices I can't imagine being able to feed raw, there has to be some other sources to find your meats.