How to Keep Food Fresh

[Milopup]

Hi,

Quick question for those of you who feed dry food to your pups - how do you keep it fresh if you buy a large bag? I have always bought small 5 pound bags of Canidae, but just did some calculation (after a year!) and realized that it is 50% cheaper if you buy the large 40 pound bags. What size bags do y'all buy and how do you keep the food fresh once the bag is opened?

[toomanypaws]

My cairn girls are on Canidae dry. I buy the 20 lb bag and pour some into a tupperware container that I keep in the pet cabinet and store the rest in a refridgerator in our garage.

[Apollo8it]

Milopup, that is a good question and toomanypaws, your reply is what I have been thinking about with our impending move to Florida. Here in Michigan I keep Apollo's food in the bag it comes in, in a rubbermaid tote. The refrigeration sounds like a good idea.

[Milopup]

Thanks - any suggestions besides refrigeration? Alas, we don't have room in our 'frig for 40 pounds of dog food, and I don't think we will buy another refrigerator.

[Eliz222]

We have ours in a closed container in our kitchen. We also buy the 40 pound bag and keep the extra's in the garage. We pour it in a garbage can that is lined with a plastic trash bag. So far we haven't had any bugs or rodent problems. I didn't put the bag in the garbage can right away, the last time I bought a bag, and I caught Scout eating some food from a hole she made! Little dickens!

[Milopup]

Sounds like what happened to Bosco's former dog trainer - her 3 dogs are fed Canidae and somehow got into the big 40 pound bag in the garage. When she found out all she saw was the ripped up bag! Needless to say they didnt need to eat for a couple of days - see it even happens to the best dog trainers.

So do y'all think separating the 40pound bag into several plastic containers will do the trick without needing refrigeration? So much trouble, no wonder it is 50% cheaper to buy the big bags, none of us want to deal with the hassle.

[kayharley]

From what I've read, the bags that the 20lb food comes in are lined to keep the ingredients fresh...that is as long as after it's opened it's sealed.

[Milopup]

Thanks Sandy - hope the same goes for the 40 pounds. (BTW, still trying to figure out photos - want to post one of the pup on his fave froggy pillow, thanks to aunt sandy!)

[CallisMom]

Milopup

Someone once sent us a giant tin of popcorn for christmas - we pour the food in that. They do sell different sized containers for storing food in - it is kind of pricey but may pay off in the long run. You may even be able to find a large container with a lid at a home depot type place!

[bubba]

I have never seen canidea in anything but the 20 lb bags and that is what we buy. I have two containers and half goes into each one. It takes the two dogs about a month and a half to go thru it all, and I have never noticed it being stale. I do have a small metal garbage can we used to store the huge bags of food in for our long gone dogs, but these two are spoiled and don't get that brand. Metal containers will make it mouse proof, but mice can even chew thru that thick plastic the containers are made out of if given enough time....I learned that when we lived in base housing in California years ago!

pat.

[Milopup]

Yup they do have 40 pound bags, and it ends up saving quite a lot if you buy that size ($30 for 40 pounds versus $7 for 5 pound bag and $24 for 20 pound bag). But I don't want to buy a huge bag that will last 6 months, then have it go bad before we get a chance to finish it.

[Greg]

Yup they do have 40 pound bags, and it ends up saving quite a lot if you buy that size ($30 for 40 pounds versus $7 for 5 pound bag and $24 for 20 pound bag).  But I don't want to buy a huge bag that will last 6 months, then have it go bad before we get a chance to finish it.

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I couldnt find Canidae locally so I bought it on Amazon.com . It was $44 shipped for the 40# bag. As far as storing, I put about 5# in a big tin and then seal the bag real well and put it in a Rubbermaid tub. I thought about the big 5 gal buckets with lids that you can buy at Home Depot, but since we will have 2 to feed in a few days I belive the tote will be adiquit.

[Carolinasmom]

I often buy the 40# bag of Nutro. I keep some in a smaller tupperware-type container and the rest stays in the bag. I just try to get as much air out of it as possible, roll the top down and store it in our coat closet. We have an evaporative cooler we run in the summer which puts a lot of humidity in the air and I don't notice that it affects the food, (but then I don't eat it!) Carolina has never "complained".

[Toto times 2]

We just load the food into a closed container and it seems to keep just fine. I have a big plastic pail that I use. I do the same for the cats and the boys are more focussed on the cat pail than their own.

[bradl]

When we fed kibble we used a 7-gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal lid. I can't recall where we got it, but it looks suspiciously like the round Vittles Vault. Now we use it like Fort Knox to store bully sticks. If you google on "gamma seal" you can find kits to convert virtually any 12" diameter bucket into a easy to use storage bin.