Freezing Dry Dog Food

[harley]

Just wondering if anyone here freezes store bought dry dog food?

If you have, do you just store it in the original bag? Any other thoughts on this?

Thanks

[Danois]

Why freeze it??

[VizslaMomma]

We store it in a food standard 40litr drum with screw lid.

The new puppy is the worst counter surfer of any of the vizslas.

I don't reckon that even the gorgeous Stan could get this lid off to munch the contents.

[harley]

I just bought some dry food at a very good price but probably won't use it all before the use by date

How long after an expiry date would you use it?

Edited May 4, 2014 by harley

[sandgrubber]

I just bought some dry food at a very good price but probably won't use it all before the use by date

How long after an expiry date would you use it?

The rule of thumb in biology is a doubling of decay rates for each 10C. Reality is much more complicated, of course. But bottom line is that rates of decomposition depend on temperature. If you leave it at outdoor temperatures in the summer, especially if it's humid, it may not be so nice by the use by date. You may go well beyond the use by date at winter temperatures, or with indoor storage under a good air con.

[Boronia]

Freezing (for at least four days) will kill any weevil eggs that may (and probably are) there, so at least it will preserve the kibble from being munched by the little critters

[PuddleDuck]

It's fine to freeze it, then defrost as needed. I am usually happy to feed stuff 3-6 months past expiry :)

[raffikki]

I was told that freezing dry dog food was not really a good idea as it affects the vitamins etc in it?

I found this page that discusses the pros & cons :)

Freezing Dry Dog Food

[harley]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

Raffikki, thanks for the link it was interesting reading.

[Scottsmum]

I have not read the link but if I was going to freeze dry I would open the bag up, expel as much air, seal it with masking tape, double bag it and wrap it up tight. Seal that with masking tape too.

[Nekhbet]

freezing and freeze drying are two different things. Freeze drying means you decrease the pressure to pull the water out in low temps.

Air is your enemy more then temperature. You're better off getting a vacuum sealer and bagging it up with that as oxygen makes the fats go rancid. Just store it somewhere like under the bed where the temp is fairly cool comparably. You can go 6 months past used by if you have to if stored properly.

[Ivory & Beau]

Buy smaller bags, more often. That is what I tend to do but I do go through dry food pretty well with four big dogs.