Pets are always a joy to have in any household and their unconditional affection makes them as much a part of the family as any other household member. Although caring for a pet can place a certain amount of restrictions on a person’s schedule, such as planning vacations or even a night out, as some pets may require constant caring and affection, owning a pet can be as rewarding as it is demanding. Depending on the type of pet, some may require considerably more attention than others.
Moreover, even between animals of the same breed, depending on how they are brought up the amount of care required may vary considerably.
While most pets can care for themselves to a certain extent, it is important to make sure that you pay close attention to the things they eat as this is the most common mode of sickness and illness. While paying close attention to the nutritional and vitamin contents of the feed that you provide your animal, it is equally important to pay attention to the way you store the food.
This is primarily because of the fact that certain storage containers could possibly contaminate the food over a certain period of time – causing your pet to fall sick or even, in the worst of cases, lead to its death. In order to get a clearer glimpse of the dangers of improper food storage, one should understand the physiological process of oxidation. A practical example of this occurrence would be placing a tomato in open air. The constituents of the tomato will tend to react with the air and oxygen molecules causing a very destructive reaction. This is the result of the chemical composition changing within the food that acts in decreasing the nutritional value of the food as well as creating a perfect environment for mycotoxins, mold and bacterial contamination.
Some of the environmental factors that significantly contribute to dog food spoilage include exposure to oxygen, heat, moisture, long term storage and moisture amongst many others. A combination of two or more of these conditions contribute to the development of mold, salmonella growth as well as insect contamination by mites, mice and ants. When selecting commercially available dog food avoid purchasing anything that contains artificial preservatives as the risks involved significantly outweigh the benefit of a longer shelf life. Always remember that the best way to store dog food is in its original container as it is specifically treated for storage of its contents. The better dog food companies will generally use better quality packaging including the use of oxygen barriers in the bags.
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