Keep food in original bag better or to plastic container?

I bought air-tight containers at Petsmart and some food (cat) I put in the container without the bag because it's used in about 3 days.  The dog food I leave in the original opened bag in the container.

I can't afford to feed a Dane 4# bags of food to make sure of the freshness, that I can tell you for sure.
I also read that it is best to keep the food in its original package for freshness.   I also have two smaller containers that both have about a weeks worth of  kibble in different formulas, that I keep in my laundry room where Bubblegum gets fed, that way I am opening the big bags only once in a while.    I always sniff the food when taking it out of the bags and into the container,,,so see if anything ever smells rancid, I honestly don't feel that it is much different from the first opening of the bag until the end.  Once the bags are opened they are pretty tightly closed again and kept in dark places.

33 lbs last a week, and that's only feeding it for breakfast!!

Glenda... don't you only have 6 dogs ? How the heck  are you going through a 33# bag a week ? GSDs only weigh about 50-60 lbs don't they ??  A 33# bag should have  about 106 cups of kibble. At 2.5 C per day per dog, that should feed 6 dogs  for  a week for both  meals . What kibble are you using that you have to feed them so much ?  I'm feeding  two 80 lb dogs , a 15 lb dog and a 12 lb dog  (4) + (4) + (1.5) + (1.5) cups /day. A 33 lb bag lasts me about 3 wks feeding them kibble for half their meals.   A 33# bag should last you at least 2 wks.

Nooo, Glenda's big boys are like 90 lbs!

When qualtiy food is purchased, it should not be stored for any period of time in plastic containers.  That is because the 'good' foods are preserved with natural preservatives, such as Vit. C instead of those nasty preservatives that we all hate.     Plastic will actually leach the Vit. C from the kibble.  It does make the kibble go rancid faster.   Granted, in Glenda's case, that's not a big issue.  But, for most of us it would be.   It is ok to store the kibble in  the original bag with the top smushed down and place that bag inside of the plastic container.  You don't want the kibble to actually touch the plastic.
I will take some out and store in a glass container, at room tempature.  This way I only get into the bag to refill my glass container up and it's easy to dip from the container w/o opening the bag itself every time. 

When qualtiy food is purchased, it should not be stored for any period of time in plastic containers.
 
So how long do you think is long for storing in plastic containers?    Just because I do store both formulas in plastic maybe a weeks worth.

Jeano, just curious which food you feed as you said it is salmon based. Thanks []

My smallest shepherd is my female and she's around 65 lbs.  I feed Innova, 3 cups per dog.  Since I am feeding almost 20 cups per day, and since TWO of the dogs are still growing pups and sometimes get a snack between meals, we average 33 lbs per week.  That's only about 1600 kcals per dog, plus their homecooked.  2.5 cups PER DAY would provide them with a whooping 1372 kcals per DAY.  For big dogs?  For big ACTIVE dogs??  They'd be big inactive, nearly dead dogs on that amount of food and I'd be in jail for animal cruelty.
 
I have posted pictures of my dogs before...in fact I posted some of Tyler yesterday in the Anything and Everything thread Tylers getting into stuff.....go look at the picture and then tell me that I'm overfeeding.  Tyler is an 8 month old pup and still has no fat.  The two pups and Sheba are the only ones who don't look downright skinny right now.  With the cold weather I've had a terrible time keeping weight on them and the vet has actually encouraged me to try to put a few pounds on ALL of them....several on the older boys.  It isn't happening.  I've increased their innova by a full cup int he mornings and I've increased their homecooked the same.  They are ALL getting about 2500 kcals per day and not maintaining their pre-winter weight.
 
Even using your calculations at 2.5 cups per day per 6 dogs, that's 15 cups per day and thats 105 cups per week.  I'm not sure how you think I can stretch the food further.  There are 557 kcals per cup of Innova so it's not a low cal food.  Big active dogs need MORE than the kcals you are suggesting per day.  As I said, they are lean, borderline too skinny.
 
My apologies if this sounds cranky, but I do know how to properly nourish my dogs and to have someone tell me that I'm overfeeding them and not making a bag of kibble last long enough, just strikes me the wrong way.  And again, I store the food in the original bag inside a human food grade storage bin.

They'd be big inactive, nearly dead dogs on that amount of food and I'd be in jail for animal cruelty.

 Wow I didn't think GSDs got that big. I thought they were average sized dogs.  I was just wondering how you were using so much food. I didn't realise you had 2 pups still. That definitely adds to the amount of food seeing as they can eat almost double the normal amount of food.  
 
  Don't get me wrong.. I WASN'T criticizing you . I was just trying to figure  out how you were going through a 33# bag so fast.  I  also did NOT  say you were 'overfeeding' them.  I don't know where you got that from.  All brands do not use the same 'serving sizes' which is why I was asking what food you used. because the ones I have used have only ever called for 2-2 1/2 cups for a 50 lb dog and for you to be going though a bag a week on one meal a day would mean you were having to feed double that amount.  There ARE some foods that require a large portion and I wondered if that is because they are not as nutrient dense. You would think if a food was very nutrient dense that you would have to feed much less, not more. I've seen some foods that require as little as 2 cups for a 50 lb dog and some that require as much as 6, and I'm talking  super premiums. I tend to stay  with foods that have a moderate calorie count, high protein and moderate fat  and they usually only require the amounts I quoted for my dogs... ie 4c/day for an 80 lb dog.

What is it w/the people on this board? I've noticed that almost EVERYONE misinterprets what other people say.

Sharon, I already said that I apologized if I was cranky.  I did read your statement as basically, what kind of crap food are you feeding that you need to feed so much.
 
Innova is a good food for my crew.  It has 557 Kcals per cup so isn't a lightweight food.  But, if you feed 4 C to an 80 lb dog, well 3 C for a 90 lb dog ain't bad, plus his homecooked and occassional raw. Breed standard for gsds is 65-95 lbs for the males, and 55-80 for the females, depending on bloodlines.  My three adults are from working bloodlines, so a tad bigger than show lines.  The younger three are from various conformation lines so not as large, but at 8 months, Tyler is 66.5 lbs and still growing.....and, any dog who will be 50 lbs or larger as an adult is considered a large breed.
 
And remember, my dogs are active.  We get out at least every other day to romp in the fields, and when we aren't out romping, they still run and play in the yard a LOT, so they are physically quite active, it's bitter cold here and has been one LONG winter.  Once summer comes, if it ever does, and the weather is warmer AND I get the three boys back up to the weight I want them to be at, then I'll taper back to 2 or 2.5 cups plus the homecooked.
 
And yep, I do get a tad cranky.  But, then again I had someone on this board say that I needed to get a job so I could afford to feed my dogs more....and that's before it got cold and they started dropping weight.......sometimes cruel things are said here and sometimes it IS deliberate.

Thank you for everyone's inputs.  I think I have got pretty good idea.

Glenda... don't you only have 6 dogs ? How the heck are you going through a 33# bag a week ? GSDs only weigh about 50-60 lbs don't they ?? A 33# bag should have about 106 cups of kibble. At 2.5 C per day per dog, that should feed 6 dogs for a week for both meals . What kibble are you using that you have to feed them so much ? I'm feeding two 80 lb dogs , a 15 lb dog and a 12 lb dog (4) + (4) + (1.5) + (1.5) cups /day. A 33 lb bag lasts me about 3 wks feeding them kibble for half their meals. A 33# bag should last you at least 2 wks.

ORIGINAL: myorganicpets

myorganicpets - Please don't interpret this the wrong way, but when I read your post questioning Glenda's feeding methods, I would've gotten defensive as well. It was just the way you worded it that made it seem like you were judging her. Sometimes it's just in the words we choose to use and I think that's why I, and maybe Glenda, read your post in the way that I did. Now I'm not saying that's what you meant and I agree that sometimes things get misinterpreted, but I also think that sometimes we need to review our post before we actually post it and read it as others may read it.

Thanks...I thought maybe I just got up on the wrong side of the bed today!

ORIGINAL: lazlowe1
Jeano, just curious which food you feed as you said it is salmon based. Thanks []

Fromm Salmon a la veg. I know, it's a silly name, and it's very expensive. But I have only one dog. Sofia really loves it and it's great for her coat. She also gets Yummy Chummies, a treat made from wild Alaskan salmon. I stick with wild salmon because farmed salmon has problems---they feed the fish stuff they shouldn't and there's even been warnings about humans eating farmed salmon.

Here's the link.
http://www.frommfamily.com/products_fourstardry_salmon.asp

Thanks...I thought maybe I just got up on the wrong side of the bed today!

Nope Glenda, that would have struck me funny too.