Dogs might be very smart. They, however, do not have a reputation for knowing the difference between fresh food and stale food. They feed on whatever is given to them. This, therefore, puts the responsibility of ensuring that your dog has access to only fresh meals on you.
It is one thing to have something nutritious for your dog to feed on and another thing for your dog to truly get all the nutrients in its meals. The truth is if your dog food is not stored properly, it will lose some of its nutrients and this way your dog will not be able to have access to all the nutrients that it should enjoy from its meals. Apart from losing some of its nutritional value, when your dog food is not properly stored, it could get spoilt and make your dog develop an ailment.
There are various ways to store dog food to make sure it stays healthy. Read on to find out.
Storing Dry Dog Food
When bought, dry dog food is known to come with a date which describes how long they can stay good. This date is usually accurate until the bag of food gets open. As soon as the bag is open and exposed to the air, the date which shows when the food expires becomes inaccurate. So, to ensure that you do not feed your dog with spoilt food, you have to feed your dog with food from one sack just for one month. After the dog sack stays open for over a month, its content might not be safe for your dog anymore. This is so because as soon as a dog, food is open, it becomes exposed to air, high temperatures, and moisture. To ensure that your dog food stays good for as long as possible, certain things should be done. They are:
Ensure the Bag is sealed
When the bag housing your dog food is sealed, it significantly reduces the amount of air which gets into the dog food. Although on its air can damage your dog food, the presence of bacteria in air can get dog food contaminated.
Your Dog Food Container Should be Clean
No one loves to store food in a dirty container. In the same way, it will be wrong to store dog food in a container that is not clean. A lot of dog owners make the mistake of putting in more dog food in the container (see this container resource) they use in storing dog food as soon as the food in the container starts running low. This might seem smart, but it is a bad idea as you should wash the container for storing dog food before refilling. This way, rancid oil does not make its way into fresh food.
Canned Food Storage
When canned, dog food can last for months and sometimes years. However, as soon as it is opened, it can only last for 24 hours. To maintain its freshness and make it last longer, already opened, canned food should be stored in a refrigerator.