[PRR]

Has anyone noticed problems when giving food older than 2 months to their dogs?

I called Purina and one other dog food company, and both gave the same time frame for consuming their food out of an open bag-- from 6 to 8 weeks. Evidently the fat in the food starts turning rancid at this time (from what I've read). I know in the past, I’ve bought the largest bag possible for feeding my Jack Russell, and I’m pretty sure the larger bags extended beyond this time frame.

Have people here fed their dogs from large bags of food beyond that two month window in the past? What health issues might occur?

 

[LeoRose]

Some dogs do fine with eating food that has been open and exposed to air for longer than the recommended times. Other dogs will have an adverse reaction to food that has only been open for a couple of weeks. That said, if a food has a distinct "off" small, you shouldn't feed it, regardless of how long it's been open.

I prefer to only get bags of kibble that will be eaten on the recommended time. With three dogs that each eat one to two cups daily (so five cups of food per day), a 30 pound bag is my current best option. If I was only feeding one smaller dog, then I'd get smaller bags.

 

[Lillith]

I don't go far beyond that window, but yes, I'm almost always finishing up a bag at about 9-10 weeks open. I actually empty my food out of the bag and into an airtight container which might help, but I've also read you shouldn't empty if from the bag...but I do it anyway because keeping it in the bag and then putting it in a container was inconvenient and didn't fit in the spot I wanted it to fit.

As LeoRose said, if it smells off, don't feed it.

 

[PRR]

My issue is that I just opened up a 30-40 lb bag of Canidae ALS when I realized that not only was my dog avoiding the food, but she vomited up a meal of 100% Canidae (I am NOT saying it is junk--at all, just that it doesn't sit well with my dog), so I have a jack russell that is happily gobbling down meals of 100% canidae ALS--but there is no way she will consume the entire bag any time soon.

FWIW, Lillith, when reading up on this, the only problem with taking it out of the original bag, was that fat from the kibble would leach onto the container, meaning that you'd have to wash it off every so often. If not, then that fat would turn rancid, and affect the next batch of kibble you poured in.

 

[Toedtoes]

My preference is to buy a size that lasts 1 to 1-1/2 months. That seems to work well. I can shop just once a month and not have to buy extra bags and find a place to store them. I've never had a problem with the food going bad - depending on the arthritis in my neck, I either transfer it to another container or feed straight from the bag. And none of my dogs have had issues.

If you are concerned that your jack russell won't finish the bag in time, transfer what she can eat and donate the balance to a local rescue.

 

[PRR]

Good idea. I just called a local shelter--the one I got both of my dogs from--and they'll take whatever I don't want to give my jack Russell. So I'll take over the last 20-25 pounds of this.

If you are concerned that your jack russell won't finish the bag in time, transfer what she can eat and donate the balance to a local rescue.

 

[LeoRose]

Due to storage issues, I always transfer both dog and cat kibble to airtight containers (Vittles Vaults for dog food, and an Iris container for the cat food) because getting to where the unopened bags are kept means moving a bunch of items in my pantry, and keeping the opened bags there just isn't practical. Washing the containers after every few bags isn't that big a deal, IMO.

 

[K9luv]

I used to buy the big bag of dry food for my two small breed dogs, but they ate it up in 2.5 months. Still I was advised the same thing as you, actually they told me a month. I also used to store it in a plastic airtight container, but stopped and just keep it in the OG bag now. I buy enough to last my pup 3 weeks (4.4lbs bag). I still have to find a good spot to store the bags of food because I use good quality kibble for treats too. I worry about vitamins like C and E depleating as well as fats going rancid. But that is more a longterm thing I would think, not one bag of food.

Good that you figured something out, I'm sure the local rescue (and rescues!) will be thankful for it.