Clarke's Health Matters More
This isn’t an article we ever thought we’d have to write, but when it comes to your furry family’s health, we’ll always choose transparency over silence. Sometimes that means making tough decisions but it always means making the right decision, we feel when you hear Clarke's story, you'll agree we've made the correct decision.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve made the decision to discontinue carrying Big Country Raw at House of Paws. We know this may come as a surprise, and we want to share exactly why we made this choice, because it’s about far more than one brand. It’s about our pets, their health, and the standards we refuse to compromise on.
Clarke’s Story: What Confirmed Our Decision
Meet Clarke, one of our furry little customers who you see at the top of this thread. When Clarke first came to us, he was struggling with painful, red, inflamed skin while eating kibble. Within just one month of switching to one of our high-quality raw diets, his transformation was incredible. His skin healed, the redness disappeared, and he finally found relief.
Recently, Clarke’s mom decided to try Raw Pack, a new “raw” food she found at Costco. Like so many pet parents today, she was simply trying to stretch her budget and when you see an 18lb box of raw food for $49.99, it’s easy to think, “What a deal!”
Unfortunately, less than three weeks after eating the Costco raw food, Clarke’s skin flared up again. The same red, itchy, irritated skin that had taken a month to heal came roaring back even worse than before. The only thing that changed was Clarke's diet. Clarke's mom did everything she could to provide Clarke with relief, but the inflamed, irritated and oozing skin wouldn't heal. She popped in to pick up Clarke's regular food and she shared Clarke's story with us in hopes that it may help other furry guys. We're sharing Clarke's story with his mom's permission.
Within just four days of switching back to his previous quality raw food, Clarke’s skin started improving again...fast. The oozing had stopped, the inflammation started to decrease and Clarke wasn't incessantly scratching his sore, itchy skin. He was on the mend! Clarke is five years old, he was a healthy little adult furry guy living his best life! In less than three weeks of eating the Costco raw food, he was miserable and so was his family as they felt helpless while he suffered.
We’ve included Clarke’s photos so you can see exactly what we saw: before raw, after one month on a quality raw food, and after less than three weeks on the new Costco brand.
The Connection You Need to Know
Here’s where this gets important, the new Costco brand, Raw Pack, is actually manufactured by Big Country Raw.
Yes, the same company whose products have been trusted and sold through independent pet stores for years is now producing a cheaper version of their food for one of the largest retailers in the world. But it's not their original recipes, not even close and we'll explain exactly how you can determine that. That's going to be confusing to a lot of pet parents, when they see Raw Pack at Costco, Google who makes it and see it's made by Big Country Raw, they'll likely presume it's the same quality as BCR, but unfortunately, it's no where near the quality of food BCR made and pets are paying with their health while Raw Pack is purchased under the belief that is the same quality pet parents saw with BCR.
Big Country Raw's decision, and the quality of the food that followed, landing in Costco's freezers, forced us to take a closer look at what’s really going on because it's painfully obvious, Raw Pack is not what we think it is.
What’s Really in a $2.77/lb Raw Food?
Let’s start with the price. Nothing we’ve ever purchased from Big Country Raw (or any other premium raw brand) has come close to $2.77 per pound and we pay a wholesale price! Every single product we've ever purchased from BCR is at minimum just over $5 per pound, some proteins are up to almost $10 per pound.
So it’s fair to ask, what kind of ingredients can possibly go into a raw food at that price point? Not only do we have to consider the ingredients, there are manufacturing costs, equipment costs, packaging costs and shipping costs. But the easiest way to look at this, from a quality perspective is, can you buy a pound of chicken for yourself at $2.77? If the answer is no, which we know it is, since at the time of writing this, chicken is averaging almost $11/lb for us, what is actually in the Costco raw food?
While we can’t speak for their exact formulation, our experience in the industry suggests that the only way to get costs that low is by using ingredients that don’t meet the same standards as their regular line. These may include what the industry calls “grinds” leftover bits and scraps not typically used in premium recipes because they are by-products of the raw food sector.
When the quality of ingredients goes down, the difference shows up where it matters most, in our pets’ health. Clarke’s reaction made that painfully clear.
“Adult Maintenance”...A Concerning Label
Another red flag for us was the formulation itself.
The new Costco food is labeled as Adult Maintenance, a term that might sound harmless, but actually means it’s not formulated for all life stages. This is printed on the box and BCR thinks it's evidently clear for pet parents, but you know as well as we do, most folks don't read "the fine print" no matter how big it is. This is extremely concerning due to the fact that if we think about a momma wolf, doing her hunting and gathering, she doesn't bring home something different for the babies then she does for what her and dad will eat. So that begs the question, what is "adult maintenance"?
Every complete and balanced raw diet we’ve ever carried has been designed for "all life stages", meaning it provides the right nutrients for puppies, adults, and seniors alike. So, what’s missing from this “Adult Maintenance” food? It has to be something essential, or they wouldn't even bother wasting the ink to put it on the box.
That’s the part that worries us. Because when essential nutrients are left out, dogs pay the price. Clarke’s experience tells us that something vital is missing and his skin was the first to show it. Clarke is five years old. He's an adult dog, so what is this food made of and what is it missing that caused such an extreme reaction?
The Real Cost of a “Deal”
We completely understand that in today’s economy, everyone is trying to save where they can. We’re all looking for ways to hold onto our pennies and when we see a deal, we jump on it.
But when it comes to pet food, the old saying has never been more true:
"You get what you pay for."
Costco doesn’t have trained nutritionists on staff. They can’t answer your questions about formulation, ingredients, or safe transitions. So when a pet parent unknowingly picks up a food that’s missing key nutrients, who’s there to help them? The Costco employee working in the clothing department isn't going to run over and ask if you're feeding the food to your puppy. They're not going to discuss feeding guidelines, proper handling techniques, storage or service recommendations. They're going to usher you to the till where you pay, walk out the door and you're on your own for figuring out raw food for your dog.
That’s why this partnership between a once-trusted raw brand and a global retailer concerned us so deeply. The cost of “cheap” food is often paid by the pets who eat it.
More importantly, if you've ever discussed raw feeding with your vet, there's a good chance they've warned you of the "dangers of raw feeding", if Clarke's mom had visited her vet, she likely would have heard something along the lines of "I told you so". The move BCR has made to partner with Costco and provide a subpar, adult maintenance only food, not only does damage to their brand, it does damage to the raw food segment of the pet food industry. When dogs get sick from eating the food, like poor Clarke did, it will confirm everything conventional vets have been saying for years. This type of reaction is exactly what traditional vets fear happens with raw food and a move like this, strictly for profits, will give these vets all the proof they need to continue pushing ultra-processed food and hold on to their beliefs that "raw food is dangerous."
BCR may profit from partnering with Costco, but at what cost? How many animals will have to suffer to make their profits worth it in the end? We refuse to sit quietly and support a brand who would rather put their profits above the health of our pets.
Why We’re Making This Change
Clarke’s story was the final confirmation we needed to know we were making the right choice.
We can’t in good conscience stand behind a company that puts profit and market share above pets’ wellbeing. Big Country Raw’s decision to supply Costco with a cheaper, lower-quality formula goes against everything House of Paws stands for, and everything we’ve built our reputation on.
So, we’re parting ways with BCR to continue doing what we do best: offering only high-quality, biologically appropriate, and nutritionally sound foods for your furry family. We're not alone in this either. Many retailers across Canada are also discontinuing BCR and we support them. It means they are looking out for your pet and they are protecting the integrity of quality raw foods that positively impact our pet's health.
And while we can’t share details just yet, our freezers will soon be filled with something truly exceptional. As always, we’re doing our full research and testing before bringing it in, because we’ll never carry anything we wouldn’t confidently feed our own pets.
At House of Paws, our mission has never changed: to empower pet parents and extend the lives of pets through nutrition. Clarke’s story is proof that what’s in the bowl matters and we’ll always fight to make sure what goes into your pet's bowl is the best of the best!
Thank you for trusting us to help you make informed choices for your pets. Together, we’ll keep raising the standard for what pet food should be.