[Suburban Gal]

FYI…

My local Kriser’s gave me free samples (2 OZ bags) of Earthbound Holistic dry food (Lamb, Bison and Herring) and they came with $3 off coupons on the bag. The coupons are good on 5 LB or larger bags of dog food and have no expiration date.

Kriser’s are a chain of privately owned pet stores in CO, CA, TX and IL.

You can learn more about Kriser’s by going to http://www.krisers.com.

[Naturella]

Akari – I feel you!

Hater and Molly’s Mom – she’s a beaut! And lol, nope! I MAY get away with a bag if it came completely free, and I know that $16 for 25lbs is LIKE free, I still fear the chastising look of the hubs as I try to squish bags upon bags of food in the cabinet under the sink, which is just about overflowing already… Sigh… But I don’t know what to do, good deals just call my name like crazy… But really, after this trip, I am not buying anything until it is the end of the year. And I pray there are no insane deals like the ones above, or the one I got on Nutrisca one time – $5 for 4lbs of food – I think it was just being introduced on Petflow, so I grabbed it – how could I bypass THAT? So I should probably block those websites for a while, huh? 😀

Anyway… I do pay close attention to expiration dates, no worries, and the foods get lined up and, if necessary, adjusted so that Bruno doesn’t have to eat expired food!

[Akari_32]

Stock up! Thats what I’m gunna do. I can get the small bags of SN Source for the cat for $5 lol He seems to like it and does good on it mixed with his canned and some water, so I’m gunna buy some more as long as I can. They last forever, just check the expiration dates to make sure you get one that’ll last until you’re going to use it. Spend now, save later 😉

Aleks, you totally need to do that!! OMG you’re so lucky! I wonder if my not-so-local PetLand is doing that….? You know how long it lasts till?

[Akari_32]

It’s here!!! I have about 60 pounds of food to go through yet before I can try the dogs on this (provided the expiration date is that far off. I should check that…. lol), but I’m super excited 😀 The bag isn’t as big as I thought it would be, though LOL I was imagining like one of those beastly bags of like Ol’ Roy or something. Nope! It’s not any bigger than a 30 pound bag of food (but it sure does weigh more!!) lol

The dogs are both eating lamb right now, so they’ll be getting a good rotation going lol Well, technically Haley is still on chicken (Wellness CORE), but she’s got just enough left that I can add in the Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Lamb and Rice under it, and then she’ll be on lamb. They’re basically just going back and forth between chicken and lamb right now, though I did nab 15 pounds of salmon Pet Botanics last weekend. I do have plans to try them on either the bison Pure Balance, or the bison (or maybe fish??) Nutrisource next. I guess it just depends on how much money I have in the dog food fund when their food gets low. I just spent it all ($30) on 30 pounds of Pet Botanics dog food, 50 pounds of cat liter, and a few cans of cat food and a bag of cat treats (let me just say, the Blue Buffalo cat treats: kitty crack! LOL). Not bad, though! Woulda cost me close to $150 other wise, so I’d say I did good lol Wasn’t expecting to spend my dog food fund so soon (just replaced it after all that cat food I bought!), but the dogs gotta eat and I got a SUPER awesome deal on that Pet Botanics, and I hate having less than two months worth of food put away.

[Jon P]

After I found a new feed store that carries Victor I went there to get a bag and found the expiration date on the bottom back side of the bag.

I seriously doubt I can convince my local feed store to carry Victor since they sell that Total Canine junk so well that people are buying it like crazy. The price for Total Canine is not that much from Victor, just more per bag. But I will keep on trying.

[theBCnut]

Oh, that reminded me that I wanted to point out that samples almost never have expiration dates on them.

[DogFoodie]

I definitely would’ve been annoyed at that too, Jon. I hardly ever carry any cash and put everything on one particular credit card. At the end of the month, I have one bill to pay. I would’ve also driven there assuming they’d take a credit card. Maybe some smaller feed and hardware stores that sell Victor don’t ~ I could see that being the case.

41 miles isn’t bad, I drive almost that far to work. I’m glad you found someplace that will work for you. In the meantime, keep working on that local feed store near you!

Oh, and did you find the expiration date on the bag?

Edit: Doh! You don’t have any on hand right now, do you? Nevermind!

[DogFoodie]

I recall the Victor dates were fairly hard to find. I just looked at a bag I have on hand and found the expiration date below the label on the back of the bag. It’s all the way down at the bottom of the bag if it were empty and laid out flat.

I started a spreadsheet sort by best by date when I started accumulating a lot of kibble in order to make sure I used up what I had on hand while it was still at its freshest.

[Jon P]

I’ve been paying about $30 for 30lbs. Victor depending on the variety I pick which is why I want Victor dog food as it is high quality food for much less than other brands.

I ordered two 24lb. bags of Canidae Grain Free pureELEMENTS All Life Stage Dry Dog Food delivered for $73. So far all of the dogs are enjoying this food. I may just drive the 50 miles each way to the feed store and get several bags.

They are supposed to be building a Costco near me so I may look into their Kirkland brand.

How long is the dog food good for before going bad? I was unable to find an expiration date on the Victor bags.

[losul]

I hate peeling garlic, so the other day i bought a 3 pound bag of peeled cloves from Sam’s club for only 6 bucks. There’s no way I can use all of it in 6 weeks-the expiration date, so i was wondering if I can freeze most of it and still retain all the beneficial properties. Anyone know?

[Akari_32]

Well, apparently, I’m a genius and didn’t read past the 04/20 on the expiration date, because the year on the $1 off coupons were 2011 LOL They weren’t mean about it, though. Besides, its not my fault they even took them the first two times lol They should have looked at the expiration date, too! Oh well, I’ll get more that aren’t expired eventually XD

It is hard to feed canned food with out fish in it! Even the chicken, and other “non-fish” flavors have fish! Thats why I sat on Friskies website and went through every single flavor, and picked only ones with no fish. The first list wasn’t very long, maybe only 3-4 other flavors. I couldn’t believe how many had fish of some form.

Named anything is hard to find in Purina– you can’t expect much of them LOL I would like to see named products, don’t get me wrong, but when you’re buying 52 cans of cat food for $16, you can’t ask for much :p

My list got as far as those three, right now. I’m doing my homework early, so on Tuesday, when I’m in between classes for an hour and half, I will add more. I’m going for less than 2% carbs using this calculator (http://www.scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html ), but I wont go over 2.5% if I can help it. It seem so t work pretty good for dry food, too.

I did see that, Jake. I have Wellness, and other brands as well, though, so it should be ok. He seems to still be having some problems, and today is the last day of his medicine, but he’s much better, even still. Maybe it’ll help him…? We still have to go back to the vet and get him fixed and whatnot anyways.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Aleksandra:
I have to admit I think finding good food for my pets has past the hobby stage and has become an addiction! I just recently wiped out the 50% off shelf at one of the pet food stores I frequent. They actually had large cans each of Tiki Dog Succulent Chic for 70 cents, Precise Holistic for 77 cents, Spots Halo Stews for 80 cents and some other name brand varieties I can’t even remember (all with long expiration dates). I think I have enough canned dog food for the next year! They had decided not to carry those flavors anymore and luckily I got to the store the day they put them on the 50% off rack. I felt like I had bags of gold when I left the store; I need to get a hobby.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Alexsandra:
I am glad your friends dog is doing well. I completely get being on a pet food budget. I shop with coupons and look for sales online and in pet stores/Wal-Mart/grocery stores. As I wrote, I bought that bag of kibble that was close to the expiration date (and would consider doing it again) but maybe I wouldn’t have even thought about buying it if I didn’t have a budget to worry about.

At least you know the business practices of the one boutique and can shop with caution or not give them your business at all. You gave your friend great advice as far as watching out for the health of her beloved friend!

You have an adorable fella! I have a soft spot for JRT’s full bred or part. And he has a very loving family to boot, lucky guy!

[Naturella]

Hey, guys! No, the expired food is 66lbs (two bags at 33lbs each), the rest is still good, she just stocked up. It is even less now since she has been feeding it for over 2 weeks.

She bought Simply Nourish online. The Victor Ultra Pro (still good for a while) and the 2 expired Great Life were bought at Store A. Victor Beef and Brown Rice and two Evanger’s were bought at Store B. For those who live in the Kennesaw, GA area: Store A is “The Good Dog Co.” that sold the expired food. Store B is “Top Dogs” that sells expirING food but lets you know what you’re getting yourself into and if you can feed it all by the expiration date, one can make the educated decision to buy it or not. Store A didn’t give my friend that option.

So far her lab has been adoring the Great Life, and she has now been mixing the 2 bags and feeding that so that she can get rid of them quicker. He lab kills 30lbs in about a month (more or less), so she shouldn’t be on this food too much longer… The lab is doing good for now, and I told her to monitor her, and if she notices even a slight change in her stool or behavior toward the food, to just toss it. Store A wouldn’t take it back since they said “it is still good 6-8 months after expiration”. So yeah… At least she has good quality and good (by expiration) food to get her lab back on when the Great Life is over.

I will also relay to her what you guys recommend. I don’t want her dog to get sick, so maybe she will decide to just toss the food anyway and continue with the others in the stash…

Betsy, special thanks for the links! I will check them out myself and send them to my friend also!

P.S. I had hoped that pet boutiques would be more honest about kibble quality and not just try to push it on people when it’s all expired and what not…

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by Naturella.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Aleksandra:
I have to cast my vote with C4c and Betsy. I agree it is very risky to feed food that is possibly two years old. I can say I have bought a small bag of kibble I had been wanting to try that was on sale because the expiration date was two months away and the store wanted to clear it out. But, I only bought it knowing I was going to use it right away and I would be feeding it before it had expired. Food for thought…

[DogFoodie]

I would definitely take it back also. If it were one small bag that I’d get rid of quickly, I might go ahead and feed it (assuming that it looked and smelled OK and my dogs gave it their ultimate approval), but you’re talking about 171 pounds of food here!

There is a way to calculate the manufacture date based on the expiration date and the estimated shelf life of the product. So, for those that have a shelf life of 18 months that are three months past their expiration date, you’re talking about food that was manufactured close to two years ago! Even sealed, in the bag, fats can go rancid when something is that old. What if it wasn’t stored properly at the store, that can decrease even the 18 month shelf life.

I started accumulating a little too much kibble, so I made a spreadsheet of everything I had on hand ordered by expiration date so that it can be used well prior to then. I’m sorry that I’ve accumulated what I have because it should be the goal to buy and use the freshest food possible.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_12/features/Fats-Chance_20658-1.html

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/17_2/features/five-common-mistakes-buying-feeding-dry-food_20910-1.html

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/7_10/features/Dog-Food-Expiring_15658-1.html

[crazy4cats]

I’m sorry, but I’ll have to disagree. I would take the food back. I always check expiration dates when buying food. Of course, they will tell you it’s still good so they can get rid of it. I think kibble is already risky enough to feed as is without being expired. I really hope the food is OK if your friend goes ahead and feeds it.

[Naturella]

Absolutely! And good job on learning something new yourself! 🙂

And, not to beat a dead horse, but I also keep learning new things, even when I am convinced I already know the truth.
So my friend (my success story, the one I got to switch from Shep to 3.5-5-star foods) and I recently discovered two pet boutiques, both literally 3 min from my house each, on the same street as my apartment complex! I was in heaven. Let alone the great foods they sell, they also have the awesome natural chews I like, and much more. Anywho, my friend bought 90lbs of food from Store A and maybe 50 from Store B. Well, 2 of the bags of food from Store A were on sale, which is why she bought them. We did not think to look at the expiration dates, and 2 weeks later, lo and behold, she finds out that one expired in January, and the other in February. She was pretty upset that she was sold expired food without knowing it, when Store B’s sale items are on sale with an extra sticker with the expiration date of the food right on top of the bag. She was saying that Store A has now lost her business and what not, and today I happened to be right next to Store A, and went inside to let them know how my friend was feeling because of what they had done. To my surprise, they were fully aware that they were selling expired food, and said that expired dry kibble is still good 6-8 months after the expiration date. Well, I was surprised, so I swung by Store B to ask them as well. After receiving a confirmation there, I reassured my friend that her dog will be fine (she bought the two Great Life 33-lb bags on sale for her yellow lab, along with Victor Ultra Professional 30lbs (And Victor Brown Rice and Beef 40lbs. And Simply Nourish 30lbs. And Evanger’s 5lbs to mix in. We are food nutties.). So she is much relieved, as am I, because now we know that expired food, while maybe not ideal, is still good for a little while longer. 🙂 Go figure, but I’m glad I swung by the store to tell them of the “incident” and learn something, that was also confirmed elsewhere. 🙂

Sidenote – Store A’s treats and chews are cheaper, so I will shop there for them, but Store B has more foods on sale at better prices too, and FREE SAMPLES! So I am totally in heaven! 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Yes, Mom2Cavs, that is what I dislike about ordering online also. I like to check the bags for tears and expiration dates before I purchase. It’s so difficult to return food online if there is a problem. You most likely just have to “eat” the costs. Plus, it’s nice to support our local pet stores if possible. I have gotten some expired or close to expired supplements when ordering from Amazon. But, so far, I’ve had great luck ordering dog food from Amazon, Wag and Petco. I am going to be trying rocketpetz in the next week.

[Rabbinator]

Why are there some bags of dog food that have the air removed and others that don’t? I know Solid Gold does this on purpose, but some of the Horizon Legacy/Pulsar/Amicus bags come completely devoid of air (and are therefore a solid brick of dog food until you open the bag) while others come with air in them and more flexible. The expiration date on both are the same for the batch.

Are the ‘shrink-wrapped” bags fresher, or better in any way to your knowledge? I often have my customers ask me about this.

I know Horizon uses a special UV-proof type of material for their bags. I have not noticed any other brand besides Horizon that has both shrink-wrapped and non-shrink-wrapped bags in each batch.

[crazy4cats]

Well, I got my first order from Wag today. And just like several have said, it came in a huge box with lots of those air pillow things stuffed in with it. The dogs loved the packing and the cats loved the box. The bag of food was in perfect shape and the expiration date good. So hopefully the food works out. They certainly liked how it smelled. Oh yes, and it came in two days just like promised.

[Naturella]

Hello, all, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!

Just wanted to pitch in with my happiness and joy of a Christmas “gift”!

This month I was so happy to collect my local Petland’s coupons from the trash that people did not want – I got over 20 I am sure. They have $11.99-off a bag of Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension and also $10-off $25-and-over purchase store-wide. The thing is, they expire in February. So, I just gave them as gifts to my friends with pooches, hoping that they would switch them from the lower-quality food they feed to the 4-star Vets Choice and Earthborn Holistic.

Speaking of, I kept 3 of the coupons for myself so I will be getting 14-lb bags each of Earthborn Holistic’s Primitive Natural, Coastal Catch, and Plains Feast, and 4-lb bags each of the Vets Choice Original, Lamb and Rice, and Grain Free. This way Bruno will be set for all of 2014, should the expiration dates on the bags permit! I am so excited! 🙂

Happy Holidays!

[Akari_32]

I always look for bags nearing their expiration date when couponing. Even torn bags. PetSmart gives me 20% off torn bags if I just ask.

[lilyh]

I am the one that said Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy no longer has corn gluten IF the bag you buy has an expiration or use by date of November 2014 or later. This is coming from talking directly to the company that makes it. Even if it still lists corn gluten on the bag, the company legally has 6 months after changing the ingredients to update the bag.

My 16 week old English Setter puppy is on Nutrisource after having very soft stools with Wellness Core Puppy. She has done well on it but I plan to do a rotational diet and I think my next food will be Dr. Tim’s.

[lilyh]

Murphysmom, my English Setter puppy had loose stools on Wellness Core Puppy also. I mixed in pumpkin, yogurt, prebiotics to no effect. I really wanted to love Wellness Core but it just didn’t work for Annie. We ended up switching her to Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy. It is not grain-free (chicken & rice, the packaging still says corn gluten but it has actually been removed and any bag with an expiration date after Nov 2014 does not have it in it. The manufacturer legally has 6 months to update the packaging). Anyway, it is cheaper than Wellness and she is doing well on it in terms of stool consistency. Lots of other options out there, but just wanted to share with you what worked for us.

[Akari_32]

The reason I ask about the Centrum brand is because at work we have a whole bunch of them on the clearence rack because they are getting close to their expiration dates. I’ve also got some expired ones in the cabinet I’ve used a few times to make fish food. It’s those packet things you add to water or whatever.

Apple cider vinegar… Sounds yucky LOL

[lilyh]

Regarding Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy, the trainer I work with told me that it was now corn free. The packaging still lists corn gluten so I called the company and they said that they HAVE REMOVED the corn/corn gluten, they just legally have 6 months for the packaging to be updated to reflect the change.

So, according to them, any package of Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy with and expiration date labeled November 2014 or later does not have the corn gluten. It is not a grain-free food as it does contain rice, but this is the next food I am planning on giving my English Setter, Annie. It is on HoundDogMom’s approved large breed puppy food list.

[InkedMarie]

Betsy,
First, I have to say how glad I am you’re my friend. I loved that post! Second, regarding Halo. Sandy suggested that to me for Boone’s ears and I need to get some, thanks for the reminder. Third, regarding the kibble you’re hoarding. Ask on your fb for pet supply selling groups. We have them here in NH and I’m sure you have some there. Take pictures of the bags, with the expiration dates and post them, explaining why you’re selling it. If you bought any local, ask if they will take it back.
On to Darwins. Are you going to keep Mr. Money Pit on it? If you will use close to 100 pounds a month, you get the better discount from them. You also get one if you order 40 pounds or more. I didn’t know if you knew that.

[losul]

Hy Cyndi!

By now you have maybe already looked it up. I don’t see any serious problem with what you did. In fact I sometimes do the same with small quantitities to be used fairly quickly. Sometimes it’s just not very feasible to do any other way. I guess I mostly just used the opportunity to plug Steve’s book again, lol. While I don’t consider it to be the absolute gospel, I do think he gives a solid foundation to start, so I highly reccomend to folks thinking about starting a raw and/or fresh diet, balancing foods, and/or improving a dogs processed food diet with minimum effort, along with other good tips and advice, and interesting tidbits like gross inaccuracies of professional laboratory analysis testing.

The only thing he hypothesizes about about mixing in vegetables with ground meats before freezing, is that it can further degrade nutrients in the meats and shortens the shelf life because of additional ice crystal formation further damaging the cell walls and making even more exposed to oxidizing agents. It could be a consideration if prepping and freezing for longer periods, or for commercial raw foods that already contain veggies. He says to insist on knowing the production date and then determine yourself the quality shelf life, not just on some of the manufacturers proclaimed 12 month expiration date.

Other things about frozen storage;

for frozen at constant 0 degress, ground meats and whole poultry giblets, USDA only determines to be considered quality that they are used in 3 to 4 months. Whole meats, roasts, poultry, etc., up to 1 year.

Once frozen, and especially ground meats and fish, or especially those with delicate polyunsturated fats, oxidation, degradation, enzyme activity, etc continues, albeit at a slower pace. Ice crystals also grow steadily, increasing damage to cell walls.

I’ve tried to get one friend interested in feeding her (health problems)dogs better, and I had left the book for her to read. She will still have nothing to do with raw, but I thought I had some of it sinking in until visiting recently I saw she again had a large bag of kibble standing wide open in her too warm laundry room. I scolded her carefully(again), closed the bag and brought it in, went and got my book and insisted She read right then and there the section on kibble storage.

I’m convinced that many of todays illnesses are caused by rancidity, nutrient degradation, molds and mycotoxins, and infestatations, from kibble stored too long or under inadequate conditions, especially with the move away from toxic, but more effective, chemical preservatives, and the move towards more delicate fats, and presumably much less toxic, but also much less efficient natural preservatives. I currently feed only about 25% kibble, majority raw, and the rest canned. Probably in the near future I will go to 100% or near, home prepped raw.

[rustyhorse]

My 7 year old lab/pointer has had atopic dermatitis for most of her life. I did several food trials with no change. The last food I used was Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch Grain-free. The vet sent blood to Idexx lab for testing and she tested super high for storage mites. She did well on the Earthborn and I can’t image it contained mites, but how else would she ingest them? Vet recommended I either make homemade food, use canned wet food or purchase fresh kibble and keep it in the freezer.
I would prefer to keep her on kibble, but how can I be sure there are no mites in the food when I buy it? There is an expiration date, but nothing tells when the food was made.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

• This topic was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by rustyhorse.

[Mom2Cavs]

Hi, Ron! It is so exciting for you and your new doggie friend to have found each other. As for food recommendations, I would suggest starting with this site and looking at the 4-5 star foods. If you find one (or a few, to rotate with) that you would like to try with your dog then I would see if you can get them locally. Some of us also order foods we can’t get locally from online stores (many have free shipping). I like to buy locally because I like to look at the expiration dates myself before I buy them, but I have bought online, too. Also check out any local feed stores that might be in your area. Tractor Supply has a wonderful, inexpensive house brand, for instance. Also, Costco has some foods people love. Some of the brands I will recommend are (in no particular oder):
Merrick, 4Health grain free, Nature’s Variety, Fromm, Earthborn, Wellness, Holistic Select, Acana, Nutrisource. These are just a few, there are many more. I hope this helps some. I’m sure HDM, InkedMarie, Pattyvaughn, etc. will also have some good suggestions. 🙂

[bobinsf]

User
Dogs

Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 1

Plato treat and MOLD
I hate that my fist post is so negative.
I purchased Plato’s chicken pet treats last week. I opened it and found many of the pieces covered in mold. I call Pluto in California and spoke with Garth. He told me to email him a picture and I did. 3 days later I have not heard back from him.
I did give my dog a piece or two before noticing many of the pieces did have mold. He did get sick. Only positive thing is he is young, and I am sure no long term harm was done. I am sure more harm would have been done if my dog was older, or sick.

From googleing I know others have found mold on Plato’s treats. All I am looking for is for them to inform their customers, or just call me back. The package said it had a 4/2014 expiration date.