Crummy kibble: the problems with expired dog food

We pay close attention to the expiration date on the foods we buy, because we know funky things can happen if we allow foods to hang around in our fridge too long. However, we may not be as diligent when it comes to our pooch’s food. Here’s why you should.

Why We May Take a Dog Food’s Expiration Date for Granted

It may be easy for us to pay little to mind for a dog food’s expiration date for several reasons. For instance, your dog’s digestive system is different than ours, plus they are known to occasionally eat things that we would rather not think about when they lick our faces. Because of this, we may think that they are better equipped to handle past-its-prime food stuffs.

Furthermore, the expiration date is often labeled as a "best if used by” date rather than an expiration date. It’s a simple example of semantics, but it’s strong enough to let us potentially believe that it’s not all that big of a deal if we miss this date by a few weeks or even months. After all, “best” just means that it’s just going to have a dip in quality, right?

Well, not so much. Dog food may not look like the kind of food we eat, but that doesn’t mean it won’t spoil or go rancid after a certain period of time. And even though our dog handles the digestion of food differently than we do, that doesn’t mean that he’s better equipped to handle bad food better than us.

Why is Expired Dog Food so Bad?

Hopefully, you’re feeding your four-legged friend high-quality dog food. If you are, you should be cognizant of the fact that the reason the food is high-quality is that the ingredients tend to be more natural are held are of a higher standard in general. These ingredients will have a tendency to start declining after the expiration date because they are more organic.

Preservatives also play a key role in keeping track of your pooch’s expiration date. While these substances are essential for staving off spoilage, microbial proliferation, and other similarly icky things, even they will start losing their effectiveness after a certain time frame. When they do, degradation could unwittingly settle in on the chow, with potentially disastrous results.

It should also be noted that spoiled dog food isn’t as easy to detect as spoiled human food. You won’t smell much of a difference compared to non-expired chow, and your dog won’t be all that fussy about eating it if you feed him. Of course, your dog may let you know that giving him spoiled dog food was a bad idea in other, more unpleasant ways.

Diligence is the Key to Preventing Expired Dog Food in the House