LOL! first close your eyes, take a deeep breath... now let it out... repeat... open your eyes and here you are, surrounded by folks who have been where you are, know what it feels like, took the plunge and have never looked back since
now we're here to help you
I checked out the
http://www.mountaindogfood.com/ website and their products are actually quite good (no grains or fillers), and the prices seem surprisingly affordable when you buy in bulk. I make my own ground raw mix (i posted a pictorial in this sub-forum, not sure if you saw it?...) and it comes to $0.52/lbs, but most raw feeders are happy if the average cost of the diet is $1/lbs or less.
So. First, your dog is 5 years old? how much does he weigh, what has he eaten the past few years, any allergies you know of? Mind you, some dogs are allergic to cooked meats but the raw form gives them no problems, so I guess this will be a trial-and-error process
Second, i encourage you to read
http://rawfed.com/myths/ to get better acquainted with raw feeding in general... once you know where it comes from, it's easy to draw a path to where it's going.
Third, it's ok to start with commercial raw mixes and then move over to whole pieces from the butcher and suppliers, OR yes you can switch "cold turkey" (first fast your furkid for 24 hours) by just handing over a nice juicy raw chicken leg (i recommend to remove most of the fat at first, since you don't know yet how your dog's tummy will react and fat can give cannon-butt). Some dogs have NO problems with the switch, others take a few days, others a few weeks. It always helps to give a wide-spectrum digestive enzyme at first to ease the transition, you need to get that "lazy kibble tummy" some power to digest real food, finally
i'm sure you have so many questions... fire away! and congratulations on wanting to feed your little wolf in dog's clothing the best diet possible, one Mother Nature built him for. I guarantee you will see major improvements from nose to tail in a few short weeks! other forum members here will no doubt share their experiences and observations with you
