Interesting Discovery About Raisins and Grapes

Have you ever wondered why raisins or grapes are toxic to dogs? 

Do you eat raisins or grapes? Do you drink wine? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you'll want to check out this very informative 14 minute video interview with well known veterinarian Karen Becker and Melissa Gardner, who has a very interesting background.






For a deeper look into fluoride check out the film Fluoride: Poison on Tap. Available on YouTube. You'll be amazed at what you'll discover.


A special note of caution about Fluoride: Poison on Tap: This is a great film but one of the doctors in the film suggests that the healthiest water is distilled water with some organic apple cider vinegar added for minerals, so as to avoid fluoride --  I have to jump in and say this: This is not a good idea! And please never give distilled water to your pets! There is a better way! A healthier way!

Distilled water has had not only all the chemicals removed but all the minerals too. For water to be balanced (healthy/beneficial), it has to have minerals. Distilled water is known as "dead" water. It has no life force energy. Drinking distilled water may be sometimes used for short periods for detoxification purposes but drinking it on a regular basis can deplete the body of minerals. 

And drinking apple cider vinegar, even when diluted in a glass of water, can make your teeth sensitive. I have sensitive teeth to begin with and can't drink ACV for this reason.

Another thing about distilled water is it can't penetrate your cells and properly hydrate you due to it's surface tension, as I talk about in more detail in my book Structured Water: Nature's Gift. However, structured water is water that is energetically alive, has a lower surface tension, and it is able to penetrate on a cellular level to hydrate you like never before.

It's not what brand or kind of filters the water has that you drink, but whether it's structured or not that matters. Structured water is the healthiest way to go. Keep your brand and filters if you want, but structure it!
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Stop Vaccinating Seniors!

Another veterinarian speaks out about over vaccination of pets and says "Stop vaccinating your seniors, already!" This time it's homeopathic veterinarian Dr. Will Falconer, located in Austin, Texas.

As he points out in his article with the same title, "The expert telling you to re-vaccinate your already vaccinated senior pet should be told in no uncertain terms that they are out of line. How? Cite the real experts. The veterinary immunologists. They don’t profit from pushing vaccines, but they know far more about them than the rest of us. What do they say? Stop vaccinating."

Read Dr, Falconer's article to find out why you should stop vaccinating your seniors by going here:  https://vitalanimal.com/stop-vaccinating-seniors/

Instead of going in for the "yearly shots" that we've been conditioned to do, take them in for a yearly (if not every 6 months as recommended for seniors) wellness check-up and blood work, as holistic veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker shares in her article Your Older Pets Special Needs and How to Meet Them. (Notice there is no mention of vaccinations in her article.)

Here's a great no-nonsense video explaining the facts about pet vaccines by Dr. Becker. 

And I'd like to mention that as she points out, boarding kennels don't recognize titer tests and they usually require more vaccines, such as kennel cough and the flu vaccines. All the more reason to use a Professional Pet Sitter like Cozy Critters Pet Sitters instead of boarding!



Veterinarian Dr. Jean Dodds is one of the foremost experts in pet healthcare. She developed NutriScan, which is the most accurate food sensitivity and intolerance test on the market. Check out her vaccine protocols for Dogs and Cats. Notice that she recommends you request the rabies vaccination that is thimerosol-free (or mercury free) when your pet is vaccinated for rabies. 

Yes, that's right -- the majority of rabies vaccines contain mercury additives. These additives go by different names –Thimerosal, Thiomersal, Merthiolate, and others. A real good reason to not over-vaccinate and when your pet must get a rabies shot, to request one that does not contain mercury! 

Read what veterinarian Dr. Cathy Alinovi  has to say about this and other toxic ingredients in pet vaccines in her article What are the Ingredients of Vaccines?

The importance of pet parents educating themselves on which vaccines their pets need and how often cannot be stressed enough. Vaccines are NOT harmless.

Fluoride and Pets

Fluoride in the water (and other products) is a problem for people and for pets. Fluoride is a toxic poison which should have never been added to the water supply or other products.

The good news is that structuring your water and your pets' water can protect you and them from not only the fluoride in water, but other toxins as well.

Whether it's tap or bottled water (which also contains fluoride), structuring it with a structuring unit protects you from fluoride as well as any other toxin in the water by changing the molecular structure of it. Once structured, any toxins pass right through you (or your pet) and come out your elimination system or sweat, causing no harm to you. If you have a whole house unit or a unit for the shower you can also be showering in healthy structured water and avoid absorbing fluoride, chlorine and other chemicals through your skin.

Animals definitely prefer drinking and bathing in structured water over "regular" water. So do people once they experience it. As a professional pet sitter I have been in the unique position to have been able to observe this for over five years now. You can read pet lover testimonials by going here. 

Please watch this newly released film below about fluoride and learn about the history of fluoride, how it came to be in our water and other products, what happens when it is consumed, and what you can do to avoid it, and cleanse it from your body. And when you watch it, keep the animals in mind too. If you don't have time to watch it right now, please make a note to come back to it later. It is well worth watching.

But before you do, a special note of caution: although one of the doctors in the film suggests that the healthiest water is distilled water with some organic apple cider vinegar added for minerals, so as to avoid fluoride, I have to jump in and say this: This is not a good idea! There is a better way! A healthier way! And please never give distilled water to your pets!

Distilled water has had not only all the chemicals removed but all the minerals too. For water to be balanced, it has to have minerals. Distilled water is known as "dead" water. Drinking distilled water may be sometimes used for short periods for detoxification purposes but drinking it on a regular basis can deplete the body of minerals. 

Not to mention drinking apple cider vinegar can make your teeth sensitive. It does mine.

Another thing about distilled water is it can't penetrate your cells and properly hydrate you due to it's surface tension, as I talk about in more detail in my book Structured Water: Nature's Gift. However, structured water is water that is energetically alive, has a lower surface tension, and it is able to penetrate on a cellular level to hydrate you like never before.

It's not what brand or kind of filters the water has that you drink, but whether it's structured or not that matters. Structured water is the healthiest way to go. Keep your brand and filters if you want, but structure it!

Check out the film Fluoride: Poison on Tap available on YouTube.

Reminder: Buy Only Treats Made in U.S.

There's been another recent report of a dog dying after eating a jerky treat that was purchased at Walmart. Read more here.

Just as I wrote in 2012, this warning still holds true today. (Yes, these treats are still sold in stores!)  Please remember to read the packages when you buy treats! Are they sourced/made in the USA? Don't buy them if they not!

Who's in Charge?

The FDA warned Mars Petcare a roach infested pet food plant is a "regulatory violation", but then the agency just walked away taking no enforcement action. This is typical of what happens within the big pet food industries and why you can't trust them. It's like the fox guarding the hen house.

Here's a one minute video message from our pet food advocate, Susan Thixton with TruthAboutPetFood.com:

Pet Food Consumer Alert from FDA

Here's a good example of why you should save your pet food bags instead of dumping the kibble into a container, and why it's important to read the ingredients. 

The FDA issued the following pet food consumer alert on July 12, 2018:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting pet owners and veterinary professionals about reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods containing peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes as main ingredients. These reports are unusual because DCM is occurring in breeds not typically genetically prone to the disease. The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network, a collaboration of government and veterinary diagnostic laboratories, are investigating this potential association.

Early reports state that the dogs consistently ate these foods as their primary source for months or years. Does your dog's food contain these items listed early in the list of ingredients? Time to change food!

Canine DCM is a disease of a dog’s heart muscle and results in an enlarged heart. DCM often results in congestive heart failure. Heart function may improve in cases that are not linked to genetics with appropriate veterinary treatment and dietary modification, if caught early.

For more details about this warning please check out our pet food consumer advocate Susan Thixton's article by going here: https://truthaboutpetfood.com/fda-investigates-potential-connection-to-diet-and-heart-disease-in-dogs/

In this article Susan also reminds us of how pea protein, pea starch and pea fiber actually got put into pet foods in the first place. Thanks for all you do in advocating for healthier pet foods, Susan!

UPDATE 8/10/18: The FDA has provided an update to their investigation into a potential link between diet and heart disease in dogs and also answer some frequently asked questions.

Calculating Daily Calories

With today's pet obesity epidemic, I highly recommend not only measuring your pet's food portions with a measuring cup, but also calculating your dog or cat's daily caloric needs to keep them at a healthy weight or to help them lose weight to achieve a healthier weight and maintain it. It's not hard to do but does require a little math.

To calculate the kcal (kilocalorie) requirements for your pet, first you have to figure out what is their ideal weight. If you don't know what the ideal weight is for your pet, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention provides a chart of ideal weight ranges for popular breeds of dogs and cats or ask your veterinarian.

To use an example, let's say your dog🐶 is 60 pounds and his/her ideal weight is 50.

Daily calories (canine) = Body Weight (kg) x 30 + 70

To use this formula, first you need to convert his/her weight from pounds to kilograms.

One kilogram = 2.2 pounds, so divide her ideal weight (not her current weight) in pounds by 2.2. 50/2.2 = 22.7, so you dog's ideal weight in kilograms is 22.7.

Now our formula looks like this: Daily calories = 22.7 (kg) x 30 + 70

And finally, it looks like this: Daily calories = 751

If your dog eats 750 calories a day he/she should drop steadily to his/her ideal weight of 50 pounds and maintain it.

Experts recommend the total daily calories should be split between two or three meals.

The formula for cats has a slight variation to account for the very sedentary lifestyle of most house cats:

Daily calories (feline) = Body Weight (kg) x 30 + 70 x 0.8

Let's say your cat🐱 is 12 pounds and should be 10.

Divide your cat's ideal weight (not current weight) in pounds by 2.2.  10/2.2 = 4.5, so your cat's ideal weight in kilograms is 4.5. 

Formula looks like this: Daily calories = 4.5 (kg) x 30 + 70 x 0.8 = 164

If your cats eats 164 calories a day he/she should drop steadily to his/her ideal weight of 10 pounds and maintain it.

Of course the calories don't have to be exact, but you can get it pretty close, and they may vary a little with each meal if fed a variety of foods. It's best to divide the daily calories into two or more meals a day.

Now that you've figured out how many calories they need per day for an ideal, healthy weight, you have to figure out how many kcal are in the portions of the foods you currently feed, INCLUDING any treats given throughout the day and modify accordingly.

If you're feeding a dry kibble, the serving amount will be listed on the back of the bag and is usually a cup. The calorie content will be listed per serving, such as 373 kcal/cup in the example below.

On can foods, the calorie content is usually listed per can, like 131 kcal per 5 oz can, as shown below:

Treats will usually list the kcal per treat. Most pet foods and treats will have the kcal listed on the back of the package. If not, you can usually find it on the manufacturer's website.

Now add up the kcal of foods and treats you give your pet in a day based on the portions they are currently given. Are you feeding too many calories? Not enough? You may have to do a little math to figure the amounts you need to cut back (or add in) and should be feeding each meal for a healthy weight. And this may vary a little if you feed a variety of foods or change foods, etc.

As pet guardians it is our responsibility to educate ourselves on how to properly care for them, including what and how much we should be feeding. They depend on us for their well-being. 

And we can't leave out the importance of daily exercise for your pets too!

7 Suggestions for Dog Anxiety

Does your dog suffer from separation anxiety when you travel or are gone for more than a few hours?

It really saddens me to see how our society has carried over the pill-will-fix-it syndrome onto the pets.Here are seven recommendations to try before considering the use of pharmaceuticals, which can have serious side affects and should be the last resort:

🐶Classical music or pet music. Studies have shown that pets prefer classical music. Now there are CDs that were made specifically for pets. You'd be amazed of how many are listed on Amazon now. I have several of them. They are great for playing in the car when transporting pets as well as for at home. Music is healing.

🐶Dog pheromone plug-ins - like the ones for cats, but contain dog pheromones. We cannot smell it but dogs can. It's the calming pheromones their mothers put out when they are puppies. It has helped other client's dogs with separation anxiety. No side affects. It plugs into an outlet. Refills available. One lasts about a month.

🐶Diffusion of Lavender essential oil (safe for pets, links are to vet's site) is a wonderful way for people and pets to experience a pleasant smell that calms and relaxes. I've been doing this for years. Can also put one drop of Lavender essential oil on a dog bandanna and tie it around their neck so they can smell it on an on-going basis. (One drop is all you need!) If you are allergic to or don't like Lavender, try Frankincense or Melissa essential oils. There are others good for anxiety as well.

🐶Dietary supplement Zen Pet created by a holistic veterinarian and contains safe and healthy ingredients. For both dogs and cats.

🐶Rescue Remedy for Pets is a homeopathic remedy that is alcohol free, easy to administer and safe for many different kinds of pets. There is also a human version.

🐶The Anxiety Wrap for dogs is not just for fear of thunderstorms. It's also for separation anxiety.

🐶An extra pet sitting visit/walk once or twice a week in the middle of the day to break up the monotony for those longer trips, if your dog is receiving twice a day visits from us.

We want your dog to be like this while you're away!  😉

Pets and GMOs

As a huge proponent of living and eating healthy, including organic and non-GMOs for us and our pets, I am so glad that one of the well known experts on GMOs, Jeffrey Smith, with The Institute of Responsible Technology, has created a website PetsandGMOs.com.  He created the short 10 minute movie below too. Check it out!

Jeffrey Smith also produced the documentary about GMOs called Genetic Roulette, which came out about 5 years ago. I highly recommend this documentary to anyone to hasn't seen it. It's available to rent, buy or you can find it on YouTube for free.

If you visit the Pets and GMOs website and sign up for their emails and updates you will receive a free gift -- The Pet Food Guide, a list of the best organic and non-GMO dog and cat foods! This list can help you navigate through the maze of pet foods in finding some of the healthiest organic and non-GMO brands to buy.

I downloaded my copy of The Pet Food Guide and the foods I've been buying for my own pets (other than what I make myself) are on there. Are yours? If not, for your pets' sake, you may want to seriously consider switching to some of these brands.

New Structured Water Website

It is my hope to educate and raise awareness to what Structured Water is and to the many benefits of drinking, showering, and using Structured Water in multiple ways. In that effort, I have created a new website! Click the button to check it out.

We have the best selection and prices of Structured Water devices!

World's Oldest Dog

Sadly, we don't see this very often these days due to all the toxins our pets are exposed to on a daily basis in their food, water, air, on the ground, as well as other sources. But it IS possible. Meet Maggie, the world's oldest dog, who lived to be 30!

In this article you can get free access to the entire video interview Rodney Habib (PlantPaws.ca) did with Maggie's owner by clicking on the "full article" button, or by going here: http://www.worldsoldestdog.planetpaws.ca/ and find out why Maggie lived to be 30 years old. This is a great example of what is possible.

Maggie was also in USA Today,  The Huffington Post, Fox News and more.

Courageous and Determined Pet Owner

Although this took place in Australia, this courageous and determined pet owner speaks for many of us here in the U.S. too -- those of us who have done due diligence in researching pet foods any way. And for those of you who have not done any serious research on the foods (and treats) you buy and feed your pets, I know that if you had (or do), you would (or will) have come to the same conclusions and be standing there right beside this woman!

In 2016 I wrote about some of the problems with prescription pet foods, and another article about a class action lawsuit against the major makers of prescription pet foods. Also in 2016, a movie came out about pet food called Pet Fooled, which is now available to see here.

Not to mention, just this year two new documentaries came out -- The Dog Cancer Series: Rethinking the Canine Epidemic, and The Truth About Pet Cancer, both of which have dozens of experts discussing the role that food has on a pet's health.

I applaud Maria in Australia for being brave and determined to bring attention to the problems with prescription pet foods. One person CAN make a difference.

Read Maria's story here: https://truthaboutpetfood.com/one-determined-pet-owner/

Are Your Pets Eating Food Coloring?

Learning how to read the labels on pet food is one of the best things you can do for your pet. 

For instance, do you buy those "colorful" foods because you think it will be tastier or better for your pets? Better think again! It's just a marketing ploy to get you to buy it. The colors are for your benefit. Pets don't care what color their food is; besides, studies have shown that they don't see the same color spectrum as we do.

Do you know what you're really feeding your pet(s)?

Save on Pet Meds

Are your pets on medication? 

Do you buy their medication at (human) pharmacies? 

You can save up to 80% instantly with a free GoodRx card!

Just hand it to your pharmacist with your pet prescription and save instantly! GoodRx is 100% free. One card can be used as often as needed for all your pets' prescriptions. No personal information is required. No expiration date. No fees.

A free prescription drug savings card with no strings attached! Yours for the asking.

🐶Don't pay full price for your pets' meds any more! 🐱

Get your free GoodRx card today. Now available from Cozy Critters Pet Sitters. Just send me an email requesting one and I'll be sure to get it to you.

Essential Oils and Pets

There is so much disinformation out there in regards to essential oils and pets. Especially when it comes to cats. Even the mention of essential oils and cats can send people into a frenzy. According to Melissa Shelton, DVM, "much of what we 'think' we know about cats and essential oils is misinterpreted and outdated. The simple evidence is that in the absence of gross mis-use and overdose of essential oils, they really are quite safe."

(For those so inclined, click here to read the most current research review in regards to safety of essential oils with cats, also pertaining to other animals.)

The key things to using essential oils with any pet, including cats are:

👉The essential oils must be 100% pure, high quality, veterinary grade. Not all oils are created equal! They need to be screened specifically for use in veterinary applications.

👉They must be used in species appropriate doses and regimens. (i.e.,Cats are not small dogs.) Essential oils need to be regarded similarly to how we use drugs.  There are species considerations, dosing considerations, and interval considerations.

Obviously, some research and knowledge on the subject is required. Essential oils are powerful but safe if used in the correct ways. Sound a little too complicated or like too much work? No worries! Dr. Shelton has done all the work for you. You and your pets can experience the wonderful benefits of essential oils by purchasing essential oil products created by Dr. Shelton herself. The specific application and dosing instructions are found on her website for all her products.

Dr. Shelton attained her degree from The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999.  She is the owner of Crow River Animal Hospital in Howard Lake, MN – where her work with the medical use of essential oils for animals began in 2008.  In 2011, she dedicated her practice solely to the research and advancement of veterinary aromatic medicine.  (She prefers to call it aromatic medicine instead of aromatherapy.) Dr. Shelton is devoted to providing accurate, honest, and documented information regarding essential oil use in the animal kingdom - and is a popular speaker at veterinary conferences. 

 In 2014, she introduced animalEO, a line of veterinary essential oil products for animals.  She has presented on the use of essential oils throughout the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada.

She has also authored several books, including The Animal Desk Reference: Essential Oils for Animals and Essential Oils for Natural Pet Care: A Veterinarian's Desk Reference for the Top Health Concerns of Cats, Dogs, and Horses. I have both of these great reference books which sadly got damaged in the flood last year but I am so grateful I was able to salvage them.

I love essential oils and my pets and I have been experiencing the benefits of them for over twenty years.

Please visit Dr. Shelton's website at www.animalEO.info for more information.

The Truth About Pet Cancer Docu-Series

Losing several pets to cancer myself, I know the pet cancer epidemic is real. Our pets don't know how to protect themselves, so it's up to us to become educated pet guardians to help them live the healthiest lives possible.

Did you know …

• In the 1970’s, Golden Retrievers on average would live to be 17 years old. Now, they average only 9 years.

• Just 50 years ago only 1 in 100 dogs got cancer. Now, it’s worse than 1 in 2 dogs will be diagnosed with cancer this year. That's a ridiculous statistic.

• Cancer is the leading cause of death among cats. In fact, 1 in 3 cats will be affected by this devastating disease this year alone.

• So when I found out that Truth About Cancer were running a series about cancer in our pets, I wanted to tell you about it.

The Truth About Pet Cancer is a great docu-series which discusses in detail how to AVOID your pet getting cancer as well as what to do if your pet already has cancer. It includes interviews with over 30 Pet Health Experts including world-renowned veterinary oncologists, holistic veterinarians, and animal health specialists, just to name a few.

The Truth About Pet Cancer is available to watch for FREE! It begins Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at 8 PM Central and airs 7 (one hour) episodes in 7 days. Each episode is available for viewing for only 24 hours, for free.

Sign up now to get your link to watch it for FREE starting April 4th!  Watch the trailer here.

Go here to watch a 20 minute Sneak Peek of The Truth About Pet Cancer.

Check out their Facebook page here.

This is the second documentary series about cancer in pets that has come out just recently. Read about the other one here.

UPDATE (4/9/18): A Special Offer for Our Clients! 

Cozy Critters has purchased this must-see 7 part documentary on DVD so that we can share it with as many of our clients as possible. We want all pet lovers and veterinarians to see this! Ask us about borrowing the DVD set so you can watch:

All 7 Truth-Revealing 65-Minute Episodes

Episode 1:  Understanding Pet Cancer & the Current “Medical Toolkit”

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Episode 2:  The Pet Food Industry, Healthy Diets,
Ketosis & Nutrigenomics

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Episode 3:  Pet Vaccines – “Do’s & Don’ts”

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Episode 4:  Pet Cancer Causes, Silent Killers & Recurrent
Epigenetic Triggers

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Episode 5:  Cancer Roots and Remedies, Hidden Hazards,
Healing Tones & Detox

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Episode 6:  Treatments & Preventions: Part 1 –
Healing Herbs, Homeopathy & Other Proven Protocols

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Episode 7:  Treatments & Preventions: Part 2 – Eastern Medicine,
Supplementation, Surviving & Thriving

Dog Cancer Series Documentary

A new documentary was just released for pet lovers and veterinarians alike. The Dog Cancer Series - Rethinking the Canine Epidemic is a six hour documentary now available on DVD and will also be available for digital download very soon. It was co-produced by Karen Becker, DVM and Rodney Habib.

Dr. Becker is well known from Mercola Healthy Pets, which is the most viewed pet health website in the world. She is also the author of Real Foods for Healthy Dogs and Cats: Simple Homemade Food.

Rodney Habib is well known to pet lovers everywhere from his Facebook page Planet Paws, which is the largest Facebook pet health site worldwide. He also has a website with the same name.

It took them a year and over 25,000 miles to create this much needed documentary so they can bring awareness to the devastating epidemic of cancer in dogs. Another reason they created it is "to provide pet owners with the most relevant and impactful advice currently available from the top oncologists, researchers and veterinarians in the world." Another priority, Dr. Becker says, is to also get this information into the hands of veterinarians as this is information that is not taught in veterinary schools.

I've seen it and highly recommend it. It contains a lot of great information!

You can learn more about it, watch the trailer, and sign up for a free workshop they've created by going here:  https://www.dogcancerseries.com/  (The free workshop is great too!)

You can also listen to a 20 minute interview of them talking about their new documentary by going here:

https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2018/03/12/dr-becker-rodney-habib-documentary.aspx

👉 Special Offer for Our Clients: I highly encourage all dog lovers (and veterinarians) to watch this informative and eye opening documentary. In an effort to make it easily accessible for you to do so, I have it on DVD (4 DVD Set)  and will be happy to loan it to you. Just send me an email!

How You Store Kibble Matters

 I am not a proponent of dry food to begin with (the more I've learned, the less I like it), but some of the ways in which I see people storing dry pet foods are less than ideal. How you store your pet's dry food does matter.

Dry pet foods (which by the way, are technically and legally considered feed not food) are highly processed. Because they are highly processed and use preservatives, they are packaged and stored in bags that are intended to keep them as fresh as possible until the expiration date or shelf life, which can be between one and three years. (Always check the expiration or "best by" date.)

Some of the dietary fats in dry kibble -- fats that pets require -- are very sensitive to air, heat and time. As soon as a bag of kibble is opened, those fats begin to go rancid. Pouring the kibble from the bag to a container, or into a bowl accelerates the process as the kibble is exposed to more air each time. The more exposure to air or heat, the quicker the fats will go rancid.

In addition to that, in the final step of the kibble production process, palatability enhancers are sprayed on the food (because few animals would eat it otherwise), which consist of metal oxides and sulfates that promote the oxidation of fats.

Most bags of dry food have either a plastic or foil liner on the inside of the bag for this reason. The packaging is protecting the food from air (oxygen), heat and moisture. No matter what type of preservative is used in your pet's kibble, it can quickly turn rancid if exposed to air and hot temperatures. Dry pet foods are supposed to be stored in a cool (under 80 degrees), dry place, which (especially here in the South) does not mean the garage.

Sometimes there is the issue of bugs getting into the food which is why people began putting the food in other containers to store it. But instead of pouring the food out of the bag into a container, it's much better to leave the food in the bag and put the bag in a container. It will stay fresher this way. Remember, each time you expose the food/feed to air, the quicker the fats become rancid.

I have seen dry pet food stored in all kinds of containers. The most popular is plastic of course. What most people don't think about is whether or not the plastic your storing the food in is even food grade plastic. The food items we buy for ourselves as well as pet foods, are stored in food grade plastics. Are you using food grade containers to store your pets' food? 

Even so, most (if not all) plastics can leach toxic chemicals into the contents of the container. (Which is why after learning this I stopped using plastic for food storage altogether.) Also, some plastics can actually absorb much of the vitamin C out of the food; it leaches out and gets sucked into the plastic material. This effects shelf life as it causes the fat to oxidize and accelerates spoilage. Another reason to leave it in the bag.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that can be found in many plastic containers, including food-grade plastics. BPA has been shown in several medical studies to be harmful and may even cause cancer. BPA has been linked to thyroid and neurological problems. 

And if you think you're out of the woods by getting BPA-free plastic, better think again. Studies have found that some BPA-free plastics have similar estrogenic activity as plastics with BPA, which cause adverse health problems.

Another reason to leave it in the bag.

Another two important reasons why keeping it in the bag is a good idea: One is that the bags, which were made specifically to keep the food fresh as possible for as long as possible, would likely keep the food fresher longer than it would after being poured into another container (letting air in), which is likely to allow for more space (air) as the food level gets lower. A bag you can roll down to keep the air out!  Two: In case of a recall of the food. If your pet ever gets sick and you suspect the food (or treats), you will need the product information code and expiration date on the package. Or if there is a recall on the food you buy, you will need to know the information on the packaging. This is important! Pet food recalls happen on a frequent basis.

You can follow Cozy Critters Facebook page to get notices of pet food or treat recalls.

Buying too much dry food at a time might save you a few dollars or a few trips to the store, but it may also be causing your pet's food to go rancid quicker. Just how long does that bag last? (More than seven days?) Does it last so long it's most likely stale or rancid once you get to the bottom of the bag because it's been opened and exposed to air so many times? You might want to consider buying in smaller quantities so it's always as fresh as possible. If not, be sure to at least keep the bag closed tightly after letting the air out. 

If you ever notice that the food looks or smells funny, don't feed it to them. Better safe than sorry. You may not even notice anything different when a food has actually turned rancid. If your pet refuses to eat something, don't make them. Animals can sometimes smell when there is something "off" with the food and know not to eat it. We forget sometimes to give more credit to the animals.Their sense of smell is much more powerful than ours! 

If you continue pouring your dry pet food in a plastic container, at least be sure to wash it out and dry it thoroughly before putting a new refill of food in. If you dump new, fresh food on top of remnants of old, rancid food, those remnants of oxidizing old food can spread the oxidation to the new food. 

We need to be more conscious of how we store our pets' food in order to help them stay healthy. How you store their kibble matters.