How much do I spend per month on fresh food like BARF for my dog?

BARF is an expense that varies quite a bit depending on where you buy it and what quality you go for, but speaking from direct experience with a medium-sized dog like a Labrador or similar, I'm looking at between 90 and 120 euros a month if I buy from decent suppliers. If you go to the butcher and find deals on offal and carcasses you naturally spend less, maybe 70-80, but if you want pre-portioned BARF with vegetables and supplements then you're easily looking at 150+ a month. The thing is, a lot of people think it's an economical solution but it actually ends up costing as much or more than quality commercial kibble, depending on what quality you want for yours.

How much does your dog eat per day roughly? The range other people mention is realistic, but one detail a lot of people don't factor in is that prices vary a ton seasonally too - in summer you find more deals on meat and fish, while in winter everything shoots up. If you buy from local suppliers or butcher shops that do BARF directly you save quite a bit compared to specialty stores, even 30-40% less!

It's not that it's as predictable an expense as it seems, because the final cost depends on quite a few factors that go beyond your dog's size. Sure, a large dog eats more than a small one, but the real variable is the type of suppliers you choose and especially where you live. If you buy from local breeders or specialized online shops, the price changes drastically compared to someone who goes through the supermarket or generic platforms.

A detail that I think is worth considering is the seasonality of prices and local availability. In summer you might find better quality and cheaper meat from butchers who have more selection, while in winter certain cuts are scarce and cost more. Then there's the people who prepare raw dog food at home by mixing meat, organs and vegetables, and in that case they spend less compared to those who buy the ready-made blocks from a specialized producer. The range that others mention is really realistic for most medium-sized dogs, but if you really want to understand your specific budget, track for a month what you actually buy and see where it adds up.

The expense isn't as straightforward as it seems, because BARF has a variability that goes beyond what the usual factors suggest. Sure, size matters, but what really changes is where you get it from: buying from a specialized online supplier has completely different prices compared to local shops, and then there's the question of which type of protein you choose. If one month you buy a lot of chicken it's one amount, the next month you switch to fish or beef and everything shifts.

In my specific case, I've always managed my dogs on a mixed diet and I know that when I try pure BARF with a medium-large dog, I'm looking at around 110-140 euros a month if I go with decent suppliers. But I've noticed that in summer I spend less because certain meats become more available, whereas in winter or when I'm looking for specific cuts (quality organ meats for micronutrients) the price goes up. What nobody considers is also the "waste factor": if you don't plan your orders carefully, you end up throwing away expired frozen stuff, which makes everything more expensive than what you initially calculated.

With an average-sized dog like mine, I'm spending around 100-110 euros a month, but what really surprises me is how much it matters where you buy it from: my local butcher gives me a decent price on the cheaper cuts, whereas if I ordered online with pre-portioned boxes I'd easily spend double 😅

With a medium-large dog you're looking at somewhere between 100 and 150 euros a month, maybe a bit more if you want premium cuts. But here's what nobody else has mentioned: it really pays off to get a direct order from your butcher or a wholesale supplier rather than buying from the usual online shops - you save a ton, like 20-30 euros a month, even if you have to organize your freezer space better.

Another thing that nobody thinks about: your dog might not actually need to eat only fresh meat. A lot of owners feel guilty and buy only expensive cuts, but mixing quality stuff with some cheaper offal (which is good for them anyway) and a few bones or natural scraps cuts down the monthly bill quite a bit without messing up their diet. It's worth shopping around at different places, because you can find decent deals on chicken breast or organ meat at more reasonable prices compared to what you see in specialty shops.

What people underestimate about BARF is that the price varies a lot depending on how you source it and especially which cuts of meat you choose. If you buy directly from a butcher or local suppliers, you spend way less compared to online delivery services that send pre-portioned kits. In my case, with two medium-sized dogs, I'm at around €110-130 a month when I buy from local sources, but if I used one of these specialty services I'd probably double my spending.

What nobody would mention though is that seasonality really makes a difference. In certain periods you find deals on less popular cuts of meat (lung, tripe, stuff you wouldn't use at your table) and the cost drops, while other times you pay double to get "better" pieces. Then there's the thing about meaty bones and scraps: if your butcher gives them to you free or charges almost nothing because he knows you use them for your dog, you save a ton on that part of the diet.

The range other people mentioned - €60-150 - is realistic, but your exact number depends a lot on how much your dog eats every day (not just size, but also metabolism and how active he is) and how much effort you're willing to put into sourcing it. People who spend less generally have a network of butchers or people they know who supply them, while people who spend more prefer the convenience.

Don't get fooled by the prices you see online - they're often inflated. What works best is contacting a local butcher or a breeder in your area directly: you'll pay way less compared to specialized delivery services, and often they themselves have top-quality scraps they sell for ridiculous prices. At that point your spending easily drops below 60-80 euros even for medium-to-large dogs, and the quality-to-price ratio becomes unbeatable.

The range they tell you is pretty much correct, but I think you're missing an important point: BARF isn't just about your dog's size, it's mostly about what kind of raw materials you choose. If you buy meat from a local butcher maybe it costs you less compared to those companies that sell pre-portioned and packaged kits. The price changes a lot depending on where you live, and then there's the thing with sales and bulk buying, which a lot of pet stores do during certain periods.

Another thing people underestimate is that BARF requires variety: meat, offal, bones and sometimes vegetables, so it's not like you're always buying the same thing. Some months you spend more because you're getting different cuts or because deals come and go. To me it seems more realistic to think that your spending will fluctuate quite a bit around that range rather than staying fixed.

Anyway to give you a more useful number, you'd need to know how much your dog weighs and how much he eats per day. A puppy doesn't have the same needs as an adult, and maybe you're trying to transition to BARF gradually? More details and you can work out the math more precisely.

Actually, the expense isn't as fixed as it seems because it varies quite a bit depending on where you shop and especially what you choose: there's a huge difference between the raw dog food from the shop downstairs and that from a specialized supplier. People who say 90-120 euros a month are probably buying from a decent place but not premium, whereas if you go with fancier suppliers the price goes up pretty easily. I'd say that aside from your dog's size, the quality you want to give them matters a lot too: if you get mediocre meat maybe you'll stay under 100, but if you're really looking for quality stuff with fresh organs and traceable sources, get ready to spend double.