Mary Allen
Choosing the right food for your dog is often not easy, because of course, every owner wants to serve his darling only the best. For this reason, many dog owners use Royal Canin dry food, which ends up in the dog’s bowl either as the sole food or in combination with wet food and supplementary food and is rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Proper storage is essential so that the dry food can be kept over a long period of time and meets your dog’s needs. We will tell you how you can best store the dry food and what you need for this.
Note the shelf life of dry food
Dry food also has a best-before date, which should not be exceeded if possible. After the date has passed, the manufacturer cannot guarantee that the food will continue to be fresh and digestible for your dog.
It is important to find out about the preservatives in the feed. Natural preservatives, such as the important vitamin E, break down faster than artificial substances, which include BHT and BHA. Natural dry food products perish faster than others. In contrast to wet food, dry food has a shorter shelf life of one year on average, which is really sufficient since it is usually used to feed the dog every day. After the shelf life has expired, you should dispose of the food, because it is clear that you are responsible for your dog and should not make any compromises when it comes to food. Since the food is not stored in the bag, it helps to remember the best-before date, for example, by writing it down on a piece of paper to attach to the food storage.
The optimal storage of Royal Canin dry food
Many factors play an important role in the correct storage of dry dog food. So not only the container of the feed is important, but also the environment, which we will go into more detail about later.
Type of storage
Proper storage of Royal Canin dry food should not be underestimated to ensure that the food tastes good the next time it is fed, stays nice and crunchy, and does not lose its vitamins and nutrients. However, since the dry food is bought in larger quantities, this is of course enough for several feedings. In order to secure it as best as possible, the food should be taken directly from the bag and then refilled. This also applies when the packaging is in modern and resealable bags because these often do not protect the dog food sufficiently either. It is important to store the feed airtight and, if possible, in an opaque feed box. It is important that the food storage box can be completely closed so that insects or rodents cannot get to the food. For example, insects would lay eggs, which would be eaten by the dogs, which would quickly give the animals worms.
You should pay attention to this when buying a feed box:
- The box should have a sufficient filling volume;
- The box should be able to be closed tightly;
- The box should be opaque;
- The box should be water-repellent so that no moisture gets inside;
- The box should be heat resistant.
The right place to store feed
In addition to the right feed box, the right place to store the feed must also be selected. If possible, this should be nice and cool with temperatures between 11 and 30 degrees, also dark and free from too much moisture, so that rooms that tend to get damp are eliminated. All of these external influences have a negative impact on the feed, changing not only the taste but also the consistency. Furthermore, vitamins and nutrients can be completely destroyed so that your dog’s needs can no longer be met, which of course in the worst case affects your friend’s health.
The storage location should have these properties:
- Temperatures between 11 and 30 degrees;
- dark;
- no moisture or mold.
What causes the external influences on dry food?
To keep your dog fit and healthy, you should always make sure that you choose high-quality and nutritious dry food. Storage is particularly important so that the feed not only tastes good in the future but also retains the important minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients. External influences can damage the feed itself in a very short time.
Moisture promotes the formation of mold and takes away the crunchy consistency of the dry food. For this reason, it is important that the food is not stored in damp rooms, such as the basement or the laundry room. Dry rooms should therefore be preferred here and the storage box must also repel moisture so that products made of wood or fabric are not required.
Oxygen and heat over 30 degrees can destroy the vitamins and nutrients. In addition, these influences can cause the process of oxidation, which can be dangerous for your darling and quickly end in food poisoning. For this reason, the food should be stored as cool and airtight as possible. However, the temperatures should not be too cold either and should be above 10 degrees if possible. Although the cold does not destroy the nutrients and vitamins, it has a negative effect on the taste.
The effects of external influences on dry food at a glance:
| environmental influences | effects |
| humidity | – forms mold – changes the consistency of the food – food is no longer crunchy |
| Heat above 30 degrees | – destroys vitamins – destroys nutrients – can start the process of oxidation – can cause food poisoning |
| oxygen | – changes the consistency – destroys the vitamins in the feed – destroys the nutrients in the feed |
| light | – destroys vitamins – destroys nutrients |
| Cold below 10 degrees | – changes the consistency – changes the taste |