Dog food deteriorating

Cherry Blossom

I have a 1/4 bag of Lukullus left. It's turning into crumbs. Is it just because it's the end of the bag or could it be mites or the heat of the house? We got oil in after Christmas. Teddy won't eat much the last few days. I got it in August. Should I just throw it out? I ordered Purizon and am waiting for it to come. I wanted to mix the two together for a week or so. I probably won't get the Lukullus again but what should I do with this bit I have left?

VonVix

All the dry dog food I get seems to be all crumby at the bottom, I always reckoned it was because the bags do get bashed around in transit, especially from Zooplus lol.

Cherry Blossom

There was always a little bit in the bottom of the barking heads bags, but this is a lot, it's nearly like a fine powder. Maybe this bag got a more servere bashing than usual. It was just the fact that one of the dogs doesn't want it now made me think there was something else wrong with it.

Knine

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

There was always a little bit in the bottom of the barking heads bags, but this is a lot, it's nearly like a fine powder. Maybe this bag got a more servere bashing than usual. It was just the fact that one of the dogs doesn't want it now made me think there was something else wrong with it.

Sounds mad but smell it to see if it smells musty or gone off. My food is kept in the kitchen & the heating is always on. It never really turns to dust. I use storage bins & a 15kg only lasts about 3 weeks here

Cherry Blossom

Just checked, no odd smell off it but there's less in it than I thought. I have never had cold-pressed food before either so maybe it's perfectly fine. I'm on a diet this last 2 weeks so maybe Teddy is holding out for leftovers and there aren't any as my dinner is now 1/3 of the size :P. Poppy is eating the food as normal.

Eta: It's not in a bin as zooplus says not to store in an airtight container.

They have steamed fish and veg a few days a week anyway so if they don't want the dog food they can have that instead till the new stuff arrives.

Tranceypoo

Is this your first bag of it? I get Markus Muhler and there's always a fine powder at the bottom of the bag, I tend to pick the pellets out of it when I get to the bottom, it's one of the jobs I hate doing cos it's so tedious, but I've been buying it for about 2 years now and it's always been the same.

Cherry Blossom

Thanks Tranceypoo, yes it's the first bag I got. They aren't dying about it and I didn't realise there was poultry fat in it so I'm changing again.

peasant

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

I have a 1/4 bag of Lukullus left. ... I got it in August.

Did I read this correctly?
Bag open since August?

In case I did ... I'd certainly throw it out, crumbs or no crumbs

Cherry Blossom

Got it in August, open since mid-September. A large bag of food generally lasts me 4 months. Little dogs that eat a lot of home cooked meals. The bag is only opened at one corner and kept sealed with a clip. I opened it fully there a while ago to get a good look at it. Shelf life of the food is 8 months.

peasant

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Shelf life of the food is 8 months.

That's for the unopened bag, once it's open it should be consumed within a couple of weeks really ...you need to buy smaller bags.

In our house a 15 kg bag last less than two weeks ...but we got four doggies chipping away at it

Cherry Blossom

I see, I will have to have a look and see what's available locally.

Latatian

You can freeze it in smaller bags if you've got a big freezer, will stop it going off as quickly. If it's stored in a cool dark place in an airtight bin it will last longer too: it shouldn't be poured into this bin, the original bag should be put whole inside the bin, then the bag clipped closed with a peg or something, so you've two protections from the air entering.

Cherry Blossom

Thanks, I have bag ordered now so will just have to put a big chunk of this one in the freezer.

tk123

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Is this your first bag of it? I get Markus Muhler and there's always a fine powder at the bottom of the bag, I tend to pick the pellets out of it when I get to the bottom, it's one of the jobs I hate doing cos it's so tedious, but I've been buying it for about 2 years now and it's always been the same.

You should try a colander! My mum's tool for separating the Rice Krispies in the bottom of the bag from the dust (and stop somebody in our house from wasting the last 1/4 of every bag) lol!

VonVix

tk123 wrote: »

You should try a colander! My mum's tool for separating the Rice Krispies in the bottom of the bag from the dust (and stop somebody in our house from wasting the last 1/4 of every bag) lol!

Genius. Why haven't I ever thought of this. :eek:

the beer revolu

peasant wrote: »

That's for the unopened bag, once it's open it should be consumed within a couple of weeks really ...you need to buy smaller bags.

D

Is this just your opinion or is it the manufacturer's guidelines?
Does this apply to all dried food or specific brands?
I'm curious because we'd have a large bag of cat food open for months at a time (folded over and clipped) and don't observe any problem with it.

hardCopy

the beer revolu wrote: »

Is this just your opinion or is it the manufacturer's guidelines?
Does this apply to all dried food or specific brands?
I'm curious because we'd have a large bag of cat food open for months at a time (folded over and clipped) and don't observe any problem with it.

I can't imagine it's for all food.

Acana have a big logo on the front of the bag advertising the fact that the bag contains 72 days of feed for an average sized dog.

We're only on our third bag but we've never had more than a few crumbs at the end of a bag. Can't say I noticed crumbling before when we had Gain or MaxiZoo own brand.

tk123

Lukullus has a 7 month "life span" from date of manufacture according to zooplus. I wouldn't keep a bag for any longer than 6 months - i'd normally get a 1-2kg bag for training treats and bin it after 6 months if there's any left!

sillysmiles

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Is this your first bag of it? I get Markus Muhler and there's always a fine powder at the bottom of the bag, I tend to pick the pellets out of it when I get to the bottom, it's one of the jobs I hate doing cos it's so tedious, but I've been buying it for about 2 years now and it's always been the same.

Why wouldn't you just feed the powder too? All it is in the pellets broken down and settled to the bottom of the container.

Our last bag had lots if powder at the bottom. I reckon its because it is bashed to hell in shipping from zooplus. Mostly the boxes the bags come in are broken. Other than it is 30kg I suspect the courier use it for football.

Springwell

I switched from Lukullus to Markus Muhle because we seem to get less powder. I add hot water to their feeds anyway so the powder doesn't really worry me.

Tranceypoo

sillysmiles wrote:

Why wouldn't you just feed the powder too? All it is in the pellets broken down and settled to the bottom of the container.

I don't know actually!

peasant

the beer revolu wrote: »

Is this just your opinion or is it the manufacturer's guidelines?

It is my totally unscientific gut feeling supported by a "field study" on four dogs.

Once found quarter of a bag that had been opened about 6 weeks earlier, folded over, taped shut and then forgotten in a corner.
The food didn't smell off or look or feel bad, in fact it didn't smell at all and the dogs all left their bowls half full and walked off in disgust.:D