K9 Preparedness Guide, FAQ & Link Thread

[cinco]

From research on the web, I've found that dry dog food will not store well due to the high oil and fat content. This tends to cause the food to go rancid even if stored in mylar with O2 absorbers. Seems to me that mylar/absorbers would be better than manufacturer packaging - but won't substantially extend the shelf life.

I'm trying to find any study/etc. that might have actual information regarding a trial of storing dry dog food via mylar & O2 absorbers.

In absence of significant proof that mylar/absorbers will significantly extend shelf life, I plan on storing enough food for 12 months in advance (I'm not at home (and will verify later) that the shelf life on the fresh stuff I just bought was about 18 months). I will then rotate in fresh food to keep the stash within the manufacturer's printed shelf life.

Thus, if the above is accurate I/we can only count on 12 months (or whatever "safe" shelf life) of stored dry food for our dogs. This is also why I put back their own stash of rice, beans, etc.

Any thoughts?

Edited to 12 months storage due to info noted below regarding toxins... (post 43)

[Vic303]

Many dogs will eat rancid, rotten roadkill, and crap out of a cat box... If your dry chow gets a little old, they will eat it when they get hungry enough.

[cinco]

Many dogs will eat rancid, rotten roadkill, and crap out of a cat box... If your dry chow gets a little old, they will eat it when they get hungry enough.

Yep, mine still eat da' poo every once in a while . However, I'm not gonna willingly expose them to toxins if I can avoid it.

From here: http://naturalpaw.wordpress.com/2007...r-dogs-health/

[I]

How You Store Dry Dog Food Will Affect Your Dog’s Health.

Keeping an open bag of dry dog food for weeks in your kitchen or garage will cause changes in the food that may lead to serious health problems. Learn how to properly store dry dog foods to help your dogs and cats live longer.

Would you keep a loaf of bread open in your kitchen for 39 days?

We hope not. That’s how long the typical opened bag of dog food lasts. Lengthy storage time and poor storage conditions lead to nutrient degradation, oxidation of fats, and infestation by molds, mites and other food spoilers. One in three dogs dies of cancer. We think improper storage at home is a major contributing factor.

Dry dog foods usually have a one-year “shelf life.” That means the food is “good” for up to one year after the manufacturing date. Many dry foods stamp a “best if used by” date on the package. This applies only to unopened bags.

High-quality dog food companies use bags that provide protection from oxygen and moisture. If the bag is intact, not enough oxygen and moisture can migrate into the food in one year to cause significant oxidation or microbial growth problems. Though problems can occur between the manufacture of food and the customer opening the bag, it’s what happens after the bag is opened that we are most concerned with in this article.

What happens after you open the bag of dog food?
As soon as you open a bag of food, oxygen, moisture, light, mold spores, storage mites, and other potential spoilers enter the bag.

Oxidation of fats
Oxidized fats may cause cancer and contribute to many chronic health problems in humans. The same is true for dogs.

Dog food companies use antioxidants (sometimes vitamin E and other natural sources) to forestall oxidation. Every time the bag is opened, oxygen enters. Eventually the antioxidants are all oxidized (used up) and some of the fats are damaged, starting with the more fragile omega –3 fatty acids.

Degradation of all micronutrients

Vitamins particularly susceptible to oxidation and damage due to long term room temperature storage include vitamin A, thiamin, most forms of folate, some forms of vitamin B6 (pyridoxal),vitamin C, and pantothenic acid. The nutrition in the food at the bottom of a bag left open 39 days will be considerably less than the nutrition in the top of the bag. Fresh is best.

Molds and mycotoxins

Storing open bags of dry dog food for 39 days in warm, humid areas (most kitchens) promotes the growth of molds. Some of the waste products of these molds (mycotoxins) are increasingly being implicated as long-term causes of cancer and other health problems in humans, poultry, pigs and other animals. Dogs are particularly susceptible to these toxins[i].

When dry dog foods absorb moisture from the surrounding air, the antimicrobials used by most manufacturers to delay mold growth can be overwhelmed[ii], and mold can grow. The molds that consume dry pet foods include the Aspergillus flavus mold, which produces Aflatoxin B1, the most potent naturally occurring carcinogenic substance known[iii].

You can’t see low levels of mold, and most dogs can’t taste it.[iv] While many dogs have died shortly after eating mycotoxin-contaminated foods[v], mycotoxins kill most dogs slowly by suppressing the immune system and creating long-term health problems in all organs of the body[vi].

Infestation.
Bugs, storage mites, mice, and other unpleasant invaders thrive on dry dog food. Recent research has shown that allergic dogs are frequently allergic to the carcasses of storage mites, which may infest grains, especially those grains used in low cost dry dog foods. So, daily, allergic dogs ingest a substance to which their immune system reacts negatively.

Keep food fresh!

1. Keep food in its original bag, even if you use a container. Plastics can leach vitamin C out of the food. The components of the plastics themselves may leach into the food. Rancid fat, which lodges in the pores of plastics that are not food-grade, will contaminate new batches of food.
2. Buy small, fresh bags of food; only enough to last 7 days. Look for manufacturing or “best if used by” dates on the bag. If you don’t see one, or can’t understand the code, write the manufacturer and ask where it is or how to interpret their codes.
3. Keep food dry. If the food looks moist, throw it away.
4. Keep larger bags in the freezer. This is the only way we think large quantities of food may be kept safely.
5. If the food has off color, throw it away.
6. If the food smells rancid or like paint, throw the food away.
7. If your dog says no, do not force her to eat.
8. Don’t buy bags that are torn.

Follow these simple recommendations to radically reduce the deadly toxins your dog or cat encounters.


Bingham, Phillips, and Bauer. “Potential for dietary protection against the effects of aflatoxins in animals” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 222, No. 5. March 1, 2003. 593.
[ii]The data we’ve seen from manufacturers of antimicrobials shows that after four days at above 12% moisture mold growth starts.

[iii] From Science News, Vol 155, No 4, January 23, 1999 p 63.
[iv] Hughes, Graham & Grieb “Overt Signs of Toxicity to Dogs and Cats of Dietary Deoxynivalenol”, Journal of Animal Sciences, 1999. 77: 699-700.

[v] Chafee and Himes, “Aflatoxicosis in Dogs,” American Journal of Veterinary Research, Vol 30, No 10, October 1969, p 1748.
[vi] Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa, USA Mycotoxins: Risks in Plant, Animal, and Human Systems January 2003 32.

copyright Steve Brown and Beth Taylor
See Spot Live Longer

[Moose-Knuckle]

Good info there cinco, I'll have to remember to revisit this thread when I get a dog again.

[cinco]

Forgot I signed up for this free service, but got another email alert on recalled dog food today which prompted this post.

You can sign up at the following link...

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall-alerts/

[cinco]

Decided to pull the WolfPack Dog Packs (I have the "Native") I bought out of storage to give them a once over. After seeing VooDoo6Actual's sweet EliteK9 molle harness/vest he got for Scout, I needed to do some thinking. It had been quite a while since I bought them and was unaware of the mil/leo quality offerings out there at that time.

I'm real interested to see VooDoo's pix of Scout and how he sets up his harness/vest up. From what I've seen so far this seems like it would be a good set up for my smaller Feist dogs that are hyper.

However, I was pretty pleased to revisit the packs and have made the committment to get the dogs out in them as much as possible. Smarter than just sitting in a tub with the tags still attached isn't it? Quality was very good with a nice capacity and well thought out design. These were made to order when I bought them and wished I had requested the reflective piping left off (looks like I should be able to remove without too much hassle - it's right above "native" pattern strip). What you see below are size "medium" for the Labs and Chessie (Shy the Lab is around 77# and Taytor the Chessie is around 67#) and had plenty of adjustment left for both bigger and smaller.

Per WolfPacks website ( http://wolfpacks.com/products/dogpacks/guide.html ) most dog's can carry a 1/4 of thier body weight. Thus, these two could both carry around 15# of rice (that's a good amount of food in a worse case scenerio for one dog). Worse case for my herd if all had packs, we'd be hauling around 50# of rice (H20 is plentiful here) plus stuff. Rollin' like a bunch of VC in the A Shau Valley



All pix shown with pack empty.

Top of pack has a zippered compartment perfect for leash,cordage, poo bags, etc. Also has two sewed on molle-type attachment points that I can see being nice for attachment of tarp/tent/poles/etc.



Here you can see how the pack straps are worn. Nice fleece underside "guard" with velcro securing strap to secure the buckle and prevent rubbing the dog.



Who dat? There's a main pocket with another zippered pocket on the outside of the main pocket. There is also a strap that runs parallel along the outside to allow you to cinch down the load.

[VooDoo6Actual]

redacted.

[cinco]

Cinco,
Been swamped w/ new client, long hours, 80 gazillion questions they have for me. I was also de-molding (2 cups bleach to 1 gal water) my Cabela's Alaskian Guide Tent just to be ready etc.

Roger, I understand - life IS busy!


Your Dogs look great & happy !

I will have some pics up of Scout rig later this week.

Sweet, I'm looking forward to your advice and opinions! I'm definitely interested and want to learn more about your approach.

Those Wolfpacks Dog Packs look great & will do the job nicely no doubt. I'm told about the same for Dogs carrying weight. I talked w/ some guys in current SOF units & SWAT trainers & got about the same info. I'm told 40 lbs is really about the upper limit for Dogs. I have been using mine for conditioning for Scout etc. he likes it so far & it does not AGITATE him.

Yes, I honestly don't know about the actual comfort of these packs. This is the dumbassery part where I let them sit in the storage box instead of actually using them. I'll correct this poor behavior though with more frequent use to gain an idea if they are worth a shit.

Thanks for the posts & keep them coming. It's the collective body of wisdom that helps out w/ the ideas & solutions etc.

Does the Wolfpack Dog Pack have a yoke in between front shoulders ?

Ya, know I meant to ask you about this but I forgot. I don't know what you mean by a yoke . Is this a strap that connects the front "cross strap" to the rear "cross strap". Clear as mud?

Looking forward to Scout's photos. Also interested in your further opinion of the "night light" you got for him. Cheers brother

[VooDoo6Actual]

redacted.

[cinco]

Cinco,

Sorry for delay. Here's what I have going so far. I'm playing w/ different configurations on MOLLE pockets etc. so more pics later of final pocket dimensions I end up with. I like the versatility of choices the most. From my research & data looks like 40 lbs. is about a max for dogs depending on condition, health issues, altitude etc. from the SOF guys & SAR guys I have conversed with specifically on this topic. Can some dogs carry more yes. Some less.



Small utility pocket & Rig is w/o Big pockets as I have not settled on exactly which ones I want yet. Note "V-rings" & straps etc.



Shows alignment etc. You gotta love how Labs protect those hips when they sit.



This shows the chest attachment. I want to MOD it by adding a Yoke strap that runs from middle of horizontal chest strap perpendicular to sternum to second horizontal chest strap.



Noctum w/ camera phone flash & Scout donning his best Righteous Indignation pose.. "TWEP"



Full Noctum no strobe, flash etc. Only VIP light in Strobe mode. I have VIP Legacy as well w/ IR that will work effectively etc. Tail of Dog is at left bottom of pic.

Here's links to VIP Adventure Beacon Strobes I use.

Non IR Guardian model (has strobe & continuous modes)

http://www.nitevis.com/Guardian_detail.htm


IR Beacon Legacy Model:

This link has a lot of different color & option variations:
http://www.nitevis.com/VIP_detail.htm

http://www.bhigear.com/vipinfraredstrobe.aspx

HTH someone

Scout's a happy boy ain't he VooDoo - great looking Labby. Ha ha, I laughed out loud about your comment how Labs sit - so true - all mine sit like that cocked to one side. I feel like a chick with shoe, err I mean vest envy Wow, that vest looks REAL nice.

I guess I hadn't noticed that it has three straps. Man that vest is not going anywhere and I see now what you meant by a "yoke" - and see it's benefits. Indeed this is a very nice vest that is beyond the standard packs I have.

What are Scout's physical characteristics (weight, height, etc)? What size did you end up getting for him?

Man, I really like those two grab handles and can already envision their benefit in many ways. I can only imagine the strength of the unit if you needed to manhandle the dog via the vest. I'm guessing the V-rings are what you'd use to connect Scout to your parachute harness (if so damn sure better be pix) or a leash - frickin' nice! I'm sure I'll be picking up a light like yours too. Nice and compact compared to other "dog lights" I've seen. Would be perfect around the campsite and going to/fro a duck blind in the dark.

Damn, damn, damn. You and Scout are gonna cost me more money . Thanks again for posting up the info. As you mentioned, I also really like seeing what other guys are doing and learning from those who have real world combat/survival/.mil/leo experience to pass along - and to see how you'd apply it to caring for our K9 buddies.

Oh yeah, more pix of Scout as you mod it out and get time!