Dog Food Storage

[Samantha J]

Holly eats James Wellbeloved Kibble and we now buy the large bags.

 

I want to know what people use to store their dry food food once opened. Our local Pets at home store has some storage tubs that are big enough. They are not very good quality though and wouldn't keep it air tight.

 

At the minute i roll it back up after filling a small plastic tub and tape it back up.

 

If anyone has any links to sites especially in the UK i would appreciate it.

 

 

Thanks

[OurBoys]

I don't know if it will work for you but we went to our local home improvement store and purchased one of those large outdoor garbage cans that has handles to clamp the lid on. (We had to find a way to keep the cat out of it! She has a bad habit of chewing a hole in bags to sample what's inside.)

[Samantha J]

I did think about that but i didn't think it would seal properly. I am under the impression once open any air will spoil the food. Much like once you pick any veg it looses it's goodness the more the air gets to it.

 

I have always brought the small bags but she gets through them quickly and the large one is a good saving plus easier to fetch one big bag than keep getting lots of small ones.

 

Anyway thanks if i don't come up with anything else i shall definately have a look for one of those. It is kept in the garage so the size would be ok.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

I bought a pet food storage bin from Walmart that has a rubber gasket and latch that keeps the food well. Maybe they ship to the UK? Or there's a UK equivalent?

[Liz P]

Dog food manufacturers say that food should NOT be dumped out of the bags into storage bins. (I had trouble with my food spoiling so I asked Natura (produce Evo) what to do). They said I should put the entire opened bag inside the bin, roll the top shut and seal the container. If I wasn't going to use all the food within 2 weeks I should consider freezing a portion of the bag. (Being grain free and very high in fat and protein, Evo spoils a lot faster than most foods.) When you dump the food into a bin the walls get coated in particles of food and grease, which promotes the growth of bacteria and reduces the amount of time it takes the food to become rancid.

 

I had tried several different brands of food with my dogs and was frustrated because after a few weeks on any one food they were getting diarrhea. After the Natura rep told me how to keep my food fresh I tried the various brands again and my dogs did great on them. It turns out they were getting sick because the food was spoiling, not because the foods were of poor quality, too high in fat or protein, not agreeing with my dogs' tummies, etc.

 

Back to the original question. Anything with a lid will work, but I use a plastic bin made for storing holiday decorations. It has snaps on the top that keep the lid on fairly tight, though not airtight. I can fit three 15 kg bags of food inside.

[OurBoys]

Thank you for sharing, Liz! How does it freeze? What's the texture like when you thaw it out?

[Allie Oop]

I also use a plastic storage bin, but it is a stackable type with a door on the front that seals with a gasket (I'll try to find the name). It was relatively cheap (about $12 U.S.) and if you roll the larger bag tight and use a clip on it, it fits quite well. (No room in MY freezer for dog food.)

[WyoBC]

I use a metel trash can and put the whole bag and everything in it. Then I just unroll the bag each time I open it. It keeps it safe and fresh. Plus I can keep treats in there too so I can throw some pieces in the bowl once in a while

[Samantha J]

Thanks all, you know i don't fancy tipping it in a bin now. I need something like you guys do that i can roll the bag down and store it in with a lid. I was thinking of emptying it in something but that has put me off that idea now.

I need a large container then that will take the big bag.

 

Never heard of freezing it either. It doesn't take her that long to get through it though so hopefully if i find a big enough container with lid, pop the bag in it it will stay fresh enough.

 

I did email James Wellbeloved but they don't make anything to store food in.

 

I must admit i would have thought our local pet store would have a much better selection than they do.

 

Thanks again

[Liz P]

Thank you for sharing, Liz! How does it freeze? What's the texture like when you thaw it out?

 

Right now with 4 dogs I don't need to freeze it but when I did I bought those gallon sized zip lock bags and filled each with food until I only had a week or two of food left in the original packaging. Once I ran out of the food in the bin I would start feeding the frozen kibble. I would scoop some into each bowl and leave the dish on the counter for 15 minutes or so until it thawed out. (I never thawed out the entire bag for fear that it would become soggy.) It was still crunchy and the dogs didn't notice the difference. Actually, I think maybe they liked it better because it tasted so fresh.

[Pat W.]

Since we have multiple cats we end up with a plethora of litter bins so I line them with plastic trash bags and pour the kibble into them. They seal nicely and I can color co-ordinate them Red lids for dogs, Blue lids for cats they stack easily and if I need to I can easily replace them

[juliepoudrier]

I used to dump the kibble into a plastic trash can, but stopped for a couple of reasons: (1) According to the folks at The Whole Dog Journal, the fat in the kibble can cause chemicals in the plastic to leach out into the food, and (2) if you have a problem with the food or there is a recall and you don't have the original bag, you have no way of checking lot numbers to be able to inform the manufacturer or to know if your bag of food is affected.

 

So I started leaving the kibble in the back, roll the top down tight, and put the bag in the trash can. With nine dogs, I go through a 40 pound bag in less than two weeks, so no need to worry about kibble sitting around too long or the trash can notbeing air tight, though I do roll the top of the bag tightly.

 

J.

[Samantha J]

So I started leaving the kibble in the back, roll the top down tight, and put the bag in the trash can. With nine dogs, I go through a 40 pound bag in less than two weeks, so no need to worry about kibble sitting around too long or the trash can notbeing air tight, though I do roll the top of the bag tightly.

 

J.

 

Thanks, yes that is what i am going to do, i will find some big clips to clip the rolled down bag and get a big bin with lid.

 

 

 

ETA - Woobies mum - i shall also have a look on the Walmart web site but we don't have them in the UK i don't think.

 

 

And thanks everyone for your answers

[Guest pax]

Stainless steel garbage can. I buy the 40 lb bags. With 5 dogs plus frequent visitors (Uncle Tony's dog, Paul's dog, my sister's stupid Great Dane) we go through it pretty fast. Also, it makes an unmistakble "come here" noise. If I ever have one not coming I just go out and bang the lid with a spoon. An old fashioned dinner gong.

 

I didn't have to buy it, we keep all the horse feed in the same kinds of bins. Rodent and water proof. (Not that I have a lot of rodents in my kitchen, but we can get them in the barn at some times of the year.)

[Dalesred]

This is probably no help at all as I don't buy it in huge quantity - but I decant kibble from the bag into those large catering-size metal containers with plastic lids that you get instant coffee in at the cash and carry. Two of those per medium sized bag - I haven't got round to bulk buying yet, as we don't really have the storage space - though I know it's a good saving!

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

Well, maybe I will stop pouring dog food into plastic containers. We go through it so fast that I'm not sure it really matters, though.

[Liz P]

Well, maybe I will stop pouring dog food into plastic containers. We go through it so fast that I'm not sure it really matters, though.

 

But you still have the residue from the old food all over the bin you are dumping the fresh food into.

[Samantha J]

But you still have the residue from the old food all over the bin you are dumping the fresh food into.

 

 

This is what i have been thinking since reading this thread, if i did tip the food in i would need to keep washing and drying out a big bin regularly. Use the bags in the bin and i won't need to.

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

After my bins are empty (all of two days from now), I will be getting larger bins to store entire bags in. You've twisted my arm even though I've never had an issue with diarrhea, etc, from keeping the food in smaller plastic tubs.

[jamesqf]

Any suggestions on bins that are also proof against raccoons, and at least discouraging

to bears? At present, I have to keep both dog & cat food in the house, rather than the

garage (which is usually cooler) because of the raccoons. Haven't had any bears try to

get inside yet, and I'd just as soon not encourage them :-)

[Guest pax]

Bungee cord the lids down and hang them from the rafters of the garage.

 

Then wrap electrified barb wire around the garage.

[Samantha J]

A Bear??

 

Eeeew i wouldn't like that. We don't have them wandering about outside here.

The only thing i have to really think about (haven't had any yet though) would be the odd little mouse.

 

Would the electric fence kill them though? Or is it like the ones we have here that give a low shock to keep cats etc away from fish ponds. Sorry to come across as dumb, never brought one myself i just know that you can get them.

 

I wouldn't want them to come in anywhere of course but i wouldn't want to kill them either.

[Dixie_Girl]

My dog food bag sits on the floor next to their feed bowls. They never mess with it. Even when Jackson and Skip were puppies. Even the foster dogs never have gotton into it. And all the dogs have free reign of the house. At all times. Since my shoulder replacement, I can't get the 40# bag out of the truck and wrestle it into the house. So, I just buy the 20# bag. It only lasts a week so, no danger of it spoiling!

[Guest pax]

I was kidding. Sorry. In my experience electric fence is a low pulsed shock, not enough to kill.

 

Bungee cords and hanging them from the rafters might work for the raccoons. If a bear is really determined I think the only thing to do is have Fish and Wildlife move the bear, but I think it would be an odd bear who would try persistently.

[BustopherJones]

Because both dogs are on a special kibble (Royal Canin Intestinal HE), we buy larger bags of food (35 lbs) from our vet to minimize cost. We bought a simple large rectangular covered storage container from a local discount store, and keep it inside the house in a designated location. We store the canned foods on top of this, which provides a reasonably airtight seal. Once opened, the food remains in the bag, with the top rolled over, inside the container. We have never had a problem with this.