Settle a pet food storage debate

Just agree with her then carry on buying the big packs. Even if she is in your house for the dog handover she only needsto see the 1Kg pack that is reflled from the big pack.

And I don't think kibble kept in an airtight container will go off for many months.

Assuming you both buy food seperately as and when required.

No, you're not. We used to buy the big sacks of kibble for our hound, kept it in a swing bin in the pantry. Lasted 5-6 weeks, never an issue. The only time our dog had the shits was when she sniffed out hedge chicken or other street snacks.

She is wrong.

We buy 15kg bags of dry food and just chuck the bag in a cupboard.

My dogs only  7.5kg though, so a 15kg pack is probably 12 months worth, (we mix it with the same brand wet food about 50/50 ratio).

Is 12 months too long for kibble if I buy a proper container/barrel?

I think the ex-mrs is worried it will get stale/damp or whatever, which is a valid concern, to be fair.

Considering all the other stuff dogs will eat if given an opportunity, this is a non-issue but in the interests of domestic harmony or something just follow advice ^^^ to buy mega bag and decant into smaller bag.

If a 15kg bag lasts a year how much are you actually saving. Is the saving worth the hassle? Any possibly it would be less than perfect 12 months after being bought and opened up a few times.

Freshness not an issue here. Two 21kg dogs go through even big bags long before they go stale.

Lots of over thinking here. If she is that precious about the dog, she better not look into what does into the food in the first place. 

Buy the big bag, chuck it in the swing bin in the garage and get on with life. 

On the cost side, have you looked to Amazon? You can sometimes save money via a subscription?

Edit: nevermind, it's Harringtons, not Wainwright..

We get the big bags - not sure of the size but I could believe 15kg. It lasts about a month (?) and doesn't appear to go off, at least our dog never complains(*).

Bigger problem is that the mice have worked out how to get to it, they also don't seem to object.

(*) Yes I know this is a low bar.

Thanks all, I'll push the bulk buy angle.

On the cost side, have you looked to Amazon? You can sometimes save money via a subscription?

I would but we are kind of stuck in the pets at home/pets for vets eco system as she has several cats, and the dog seems to do well on that food, plus we get discounts and stuff.

I'm not really minded to change the dogs 'staple' diet, it's more the ex-mrs won't entertain bulk buying, she'll throw a 6 pack of yoghurt in the bin if it's one day over the best before date.

But equally, If we buy a years worth of dry food, I'll need to buy a proper food safe drum or whatever, which will work out a lot cheaper in the long run anyway.

12kg bag lasts mine a month, I order 2 bags at a time. At getting on 90 quid a pop now.

Used to be under 60 quid and it was expensive then.

Before anyone asks, you should have smelled him before. He could fart and it would still be lingering at full stench half an hour later. They say money can't buy happiness but my nose disagrees.

Funy you say that.. Bhodis farts don't really stink, I mean they smell like farts but they don't linger.

Does it not say something about shelf life on the bag? I'm not generally bothered by best before or sell by dates, but 12 months seems a long time to keep it to me. Dry isn't the same as frozen or vacuum packed.

As above, mice are probably the biggest issue. Little gits will chew through most things and love kibble.

We buy 6kg sacks that last about 5/6 weeks too though.

My dog doesn't fart, or if she does she's stealthy about it and there no smell, unless she's sick. Canagan food, not cheap, but she's not cheap anyway and needs decent food to stay healthy.

We buy our dog big bags of AVA, it lasts him months (maybe 8-10) and never been an issue just left in the bag open.

However, once we were given a small bag of Wainwright's lamb. We never really used it other than for emergencies, hedgehogs etc. Stored in the same place, that did go mouldy after 12mths (visibly changed colour and went greeny).

If you’re only using 15kg a yr how much are you really saving? The bin will account for a few yrs savings on the small bags especially if you’re only buying half his food. 

https://www.kctdirect.co.uk/products/kct-airtight-containers-with-scoop-for-dry-pet-bird-fish-food

We have two similar to these, we buy three 15kg bags of dog food and fill them, and use this they run out.

The big tubs are stored under the stairs, out of the way. it has a scoop attached to the lids.

Never had any go 'off' or soggy yet

The people on here who are not posting pictures of your dogs? How do we know you really have a dog?

You'll just have to take my word, too much hassle otherwise.

The people on here who are not posting pictures of your dogs? How do we know you really have a dog?

you are more than welcome to come and check out my black bin contents

12kg kibble bags here that last her about 6 weeks no problem. I've fed her months old stuff found in random containers - does go a bit soft but seems fine and she's not fussy.

No tummy problems here, and she is a labrador who does supplement her diet with whatever she can find

Takes this one a while to munch through 15kg of food at 50/50 raw and kibble. 

If you have the dog 50/50 then why don't you buy food for when he/she is at your place and let the ex do the same. one less thing to hand over when the dog swaps humans too?

Am I the only one thinking that you should just give her the dog?

And yes I am a dog owner. Not a "pet parent" though.

she is a labrador who does supplement her diet with whatever she can find

A part of this sentence is redundant.

Ah yes, to answer your question OP, you are correct, and your ex is being precious.

I keep dog kibble in a plastic bin in the kitchen, each big bag lasts about 4-6 months probably.

Tetley is fine with that:

Our dog would much prefer that the 15kg sack be left open on the floor for her to help herself as she wants.

the ex-mrs won’t entertain bulk buying

She's not buying it. You've broke up and you're still being told what to do?

she’ll throw a 6 pack of yoghurt in the bin if it’s one day over the best before date.

She's an idiot. HTH.

Could you ask the manufacturer? Then you have something to point to when they answer that it's made of sawdust and abattoir floor scrapings and so will last practically forever 😁

Tetley is fine with that

You sure? Looks a bit skinny 😉

buy the big sacks of kibble for our hound, kept it in a swing bin in the pantry

This. It's kibble Desiccated protein and carbs. And ash.. Never been a problem and we buy 25kg sacks for our cocker spaniel who eats 200 g/day = 125 days or four and a half months at a time.

The savings are spent on lost balls and other toys.

as well as all the frozen, raw and smaller bags of dried we sell a lot of 12, 16 and 20kg bags of assorted dried foods. I know I had to open a delivery yesterday and restock the shelves.

If customers have a dry secure space they tend to leave itbin the sacks. Otherwise they buy swing top bins from us like the ones linked above.

I asked my Vet and the manufacturer of the dog food this very question. The concensus from both was once opened, around six weeks is the longest storeage time.

I buy 10k bags but with four hounds that's done way before six weeks. 

We've used a big bag that lasted a few months previously, but shes going through a stubborn/fussy stage at the moment so, we're tryuing different brands to she if she preferes any....

Hopefully will go back to big bags again when she decides on one!!

Sandy, 1 year old small labradoodle, 11kgs.

The people on here who are not posting pictures of your dogs? How do we know you really have a dog?

They like a beer to wash the kibble down.

You do what you want to save costs, and pop in an air-tight container if you need to - space is sometimes an issue (might need a sealed box if stored in a garage, for example). I buy 'crates' of cat food - doesn't go off as sealed, but the cost differential is massive. I have 3 months supply for four cats in my garage currently - storage is an issue, but enough space in the garage. By bulk buying, I get 50% extra food ! No brainer.

This is the first time it has crossed my mind. I tend to have two or three 12-15kg bags on the go at the same time, I tend to mix them up because my lab gets bored of the same food (unbelievably! first lab i've had like this)

So one bag might sit around for weeks maybe a few months before it's finished. He never seems to mind and, like someone else says, he'll eat all sorts of other crap, sometimes literally, so I'm not worried about it

I dont want to disagree, and I'm not really more just mentioning some 'food for thought' (see what I did there!). We've bred a whole enormous generation of dogs with allergies to things so I'd just say watch out for storage mites which can be a real 'thing' for some dogs. So make sure your big tub is somewhere cool, wash it out after each use and get it empty before filling again and make it airtight to really redcude the chances of that. Most people probably won't do this and dont care but having had a dog who ended up being allergic to oak trees (don't even get me started) amongst other things it's just good animal husbandry to be aware and keep on top of it. I have a big green tub which needs smacking to get the lid to seal and holds the 12kg for the month and is as fresh as the day it went in.

This container

If it saves so much money, can you buy a machine and hermetically seal the bulk into 1 kg bags that you open as required?

We hqve 2 15kg sealed storage bins , buy 2 15 kg bags at a time to save on postage.
We definitely couldn't leave an open bag anywhere- our 3 mutts would find a way to get to it !!!

https://itppackaging.com/product/60-litre-open-top-plastic-drum

Funnily enough I was just looking at those!

https://itppackaging.com/product/60-litre-open-top-plastic-drum/p >

His dry food is £45 for 15kg, or £9.44 for 2kg

So a fiver a kilo, or £3 per kilo assuming no special offers running. 

She’s not buying it. You’ve broke up and you’re still being told what to do?

We split all the bills... She normaly buys it all and gives me half of it (we split his time approx 50/50 between houses depending on our schedules.. I then give her half the money.

This is the beast in question

Is she already buying the big bags but charging you for half the smaller size when she brings "half" the kibble round? 😂

No dog, but I've stopped buying the big bags of cat food as there is a difference after a bag being open a few weeks , and the cat gets a bit sniffy with it

Hang on, just to be clear, based on some lazy fag packet maths the 2kg bags are going to cost you £25 ish a year more but you then split it in half with the ex? Less than £1.10 a month? And your looking at £35 barrels or equivalent to store the big bags worth in to save money? 

Have I completely missed something? 

Throwing a yogurt in the bin that is one day out of date is criminal. It literally keeps for weeks longer than the date... but I have to say for the small saving you're looking at I think storing all that little dogs food in a tub for a whole year isn't the best idea. It doesn't matter if it's air tight because air will get in every time you open it so it will become stale. Not likely to be harmful but inferior and may get rejected thereby costing you more.

I suppose, thinking about it I might just stay with the smaller bags on balance!

We're on Labrador #3 and have always bought 10-15kg bags of dry kibble.
The only problem we have ever had was that Lab #1 (Chocolate Lab, so what do you expect?) Could defeat the security of Fort Knox to get his head into the bag inside a swing bin, when he was left innatended for more than 30 seconds,  scoffing literally kilograms (as much as he could suck down his gullet).
(We now store it in a seperate razor-wire, alarmed and patrolled building).
No way will I buy 1kg bags if I can avoid it. One would only lasts 3 days for us anyway, and the price per KG is double.
(We use Akela Wholeprey these days).  We do now use 2 lock-n-lock boxes in the house, so only reopen the bag say once a week. but that's only for Lab #2 and 3 because of moving the 10kg or 13kg or 15kg food bag (as available) into the detached garage (inside another plastic box just to protect from mice).

and may get rejected thereby costing you more.

Cat, yes. Dog? No chance.

Akela Wholeprey

I loved her last album

I just buy 15kg bag (one lurcher) and keep the rest in one of those blue barrels but with a screw lid (£3 market place) keeps fine...

Cat, yes. Dog? No chance

Depends on dog breed. Lab no worries, Collie.....