Can dog food go bad????

[Butts Mom]

I just bought new bags and cans of food on Tues. and since then the boys(Both Saints-Butt is 3 1/2 yrs and Tub is 11 wks) have had loose stools,today being VERY LOOSE So can dog food go bad?? Does it have an expiration date?? (I transfer all my food to different containers when I get home,so I don't have the bags anymore.) Sould I ditch the food?? Wait and see if their poops get better in a day or 2?? The food for the record is Cal. Naturals Lamb & Rice mixed 50/50 with Innova Evo,both dry.Butt gets his mixed with a can of Cal. Naturals Chicken and Rice.Tub only gets dry except when he steals Butts food. Sorry so long again,I hope I'm not becoming a pain in the butt

[Anakalia]

The food does have a "best if used by" date on the bag.  Koby gets Cal. Natural too.  I usually transfer the food to a storage bin, but I fold up the bag and keep it on hand just in case I need that info.  I did have a bag of food go bad once, but it was because the food bin was getting way to much sunlight during the day.  I've since put the food bin downstairs so it always stays cool and dry.  I'd wait and maybe to see if they get over the loose stools, maybe put some canned pumkin with their food on their next feeding and see if that helps.  Good luck, I know how stressful loose poos can be! 

[marypyrs]

Yes. They can go bad. I feed Solid Gold Wolf King for Rainbow and the Wolf Cub for my puppy, Whisper. Along with Seameal for both of them. There's a date on the bags and containers. I've had "out of date" bags in the past a couple of times and promptly returned them to the Supplier. Lucky for me, my Groomer is now my Supplier and she is THE BEST EVER! She and I both check the dates.

One thing I've used for many years when dealing with the loose stools is potato. Baked, boiled, or steamed with skin on and mashed up a bit. It works wonders. Also yams. But I can see where pumpkin would work as well. Good suggestion there! 

[sc.trojans]

Absolutely.... there is bacteria in dog food and depending on the shelf life, can absolutely become excessively bacteria ridden.  I have known of a couple of bacteria over-growth problems as a result.

It can happen to old bags, but it can also happen in processing so the date may not reflect it.  If all dogs suffer loose stools, I would switch bags and if it clears -throw the original bag out.  My neighbor just had to do this after her girl got explosive diarrhea as soon as they started a new bag.