Category: Pets

If pets had their way, they’d raid the bags containing their kibble and help themselves to an all-day feast, every day. This is hardly a desirable scenario, as it leads to obesity and digestive upset, so take care to store food where pets can’t get at it while you’re not looking.

Dogs, by the way, are not the only ones guilty of raiding bags of kibble; hungry cats have also been known to apply their claws and teeth to almost-full bags – even those heavy-duty foil models! – and help themselves to heaps of between-meal snacks.

Most pet-food storage containers are made of plastic, which is porous (so their contents are not safe from bacteria) and easily gnawed open by a large, determined dog.

Pet-supply stores sell large clips to “reseal” opened bags of kibble – but these do nothing to prevent the contents from growing stale, or permitting the entry of hungry insects.

Happily, there are much better, more sanitary ways to store large bags of opened kibble.
If there’s room in your refrigerator, stick the opened bag of kibble in there. Or, decant the contents of the bag into glass food-storage jars. These are widely available at kitchen-supply stores and online, and they come in a variety of sizes and shapes, from round to square. Some have threaded metal lids, others close with a rubber washer that securely closes with a metal clamp.

If you’d like double protection – refrigeration plus a glass jar – investigate refrigerator glassware, widely available in nesting sets, complete with convenient plastic lids. Just don’t subject glass that isn’t made for refrigerator storage to your fridge’s chilly atmosphere, or it will crack and break, and you’ll have wasted all that kibble.

In the fridge or out, glass jars keep pets and bugs away from the food, and they look quite decorative just sitting there on your kitchen counter or shelf. The good habit of transferring kibble from the bag to the jar could even inspire you to be better about putting away flour, sugar, and other bagged food items!

Dog owners often leave their pets alone at home for several hours during the day while they go off to work. In some instances, a dog owner could be called out of town unexpectedly and not have someone available to check on their beloved pet. One way to make sure a pet is well fed during the day is to use a dog food feeder. The automatic dog feeders are available in several different styles and can hold enough food for several feedings. The programmable feeder allows pet owners to select the amount of food to be dispersed for a feeding as well as the scheduled time or times for the feeding.

The large capacity pet feeders can hold up to 45 cups of dry dog food to feed a dog for as long as 99 days. The number of days the feeder can provide food will depend on how often the food is dispensed. The high tech design of the automatic feeders for dogs includes built-in sensors to detect when the feeding dish is full so the system will not release more food than what it is programmed to disperse. Some of the advanced models also come with recording devices so owners can record short messages to their pets to comfort them while they are away.

The automatic dog feeders are constructed of durable materials. The containers are designed to be shatterproof and the bases are created to be sturdy and stable. This means even the largest breed of dog will not be able to knock over the feeder and break it. The lid on the container or hopper also comes with a secure locking system to prevent dogs from tearing it off. The more advanced models also come with alarms to alert pet owners of the need to add more food.

The ability to use a food dispenser for a dog, takes the worry out of going away from home for short periods of time. This device is good to use for pets who are too shy to come out around strangers or for those who are too protective of their surroundings. In addition to the large capacity feeders there are also several small capacity styles designed to provide up to four meals. Some smaller sized dog food feeders can dispense both wet and dry food, which can be useful when dogs prefer eating only wet food.