I store my pet kibble in plastic pails with tight fitting lids. My pet food dealer recommended storing it in the bags, because in his experience, few folks wash out storage containers before refilling them, and that is not good. I always wash mine before refilling, and I find the pails are much less likely to tip over and spill. One other potential problem with in-the-bag storage... If you live somewhere with rodent activity, kibble is extremely attractive mouse food. My neighbours suffered for way too long after mice got into a bag of dog kibble stored in their basement. The little critters colonized much of their basement, between walls and dropped ceilings. They were very persistent and difficult to evict.

Oh, gosh, if I put things in capital letters I do it for emphasis. I would never be so boorish as to yell at someone on a forum. So if I have offended anyone I apologize. My mother was a squabbler and it was really embarrassing for me as a teenager because she would take anybody on and run her mouth till she figured she'd "won". But my best friend had a mother who always said, "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all". I really respected that woman for her restraint and her good manners. So you won't find me being obnoxious on a forum, on purpose, anyway. I appreciate everyone's input. Even if you don't all have the same opinions, it still gives me lots to think about. And, knowing that some things sound more harsh when they are written than the writer may have meant, I try to take everything other people say at face value. I love these forums and feel like I have learned so much from them. Cearbhaill, I'm going to offer Pearl a raw chicken wing tip today and see what she does. Stbonner, I will watch out for gluten on the ingredients list from now on. And also "meat by-products" or "meat and bone meal". Thanks for that information. Those who use blood-soaked sawdust from the floor, what would they call that? Does that fall in the "meat by-products" category? Minnie, I think that's a good idea you have there. I think it would be good to e-mail all these pet food producers who have the above items on their lists of ingredients and tell them we know what that is and we will not be buying their products as long as those ingredients are on the list. If they are just asked "if" they include euthanized pets and roadkill in their food, they'll just find someone who works there that doesn't know about "anything" that they put in the food, who can then truthfully tell you "I know of no such ingredients in our brand". Here's the ingredients list on the Chicken Soup brand of cat food: chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat preserved with mixed tocopherols, ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flakes, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus facium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganese oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid. I had never heard of Eagle Pack. I checked the price and it runs about $2 for a 13-oz can of cat food, if ordered from Amazon.com. I have sent an e-mail to a distributor 35 miles away to see what their price is. For that price, though, I'd think it would be cheaper to feed raw chicken if she will eat it. Would there be calcium in the cartilage that's in the wing? When I had cats as a child we always fed them milk and table scraps, and they supplemented it by hunting. Then people started saying cats couldn't digest milk and not to feed it. My dog, Sonny, has gotten so that he doesn't want to eat the dry Chicken Soup dog food. So to about a cup of dry food I've been adding about a half cup of leftovers from our most recent meal and some water that had sausage cooked in it (fat removed), or water with dry milk powder added, and he has been cleaning the bowl.

I have two portuguese water dogs (male and female) and use a Rubbermade dog bin purchased from Petsmart. The male eats from a bowl. The female is picky about where she eats and is currently on bowl-embargo. If I put food in her bowl she'll loudly protest and stand over it bark bark barking. Ditto for a plate. If you put it directly on the tile, she's fine. At some point she'll decide the bowl is okay again. The last time she went on bowl embargo she preferred to have her kibble on a placemat. It's probably some form of alpha-dog-logic and she's testing me. Hubs thinks it's because she's crazy. My dogs are counter-surfing-food-crazed beasts. They'll sometimes even swipe napkins from your lap while dining. They ate a whole watermelon...rind included. Couldn't pry it from their mouths. They eat everything. We're on friendly terms with Animal Poison Control and our vet calls them The Indestructibles. In the new kitchen remodel, I'd like to incorporate food storage in a drawer like someone else upstream mentioned. Funny how two furry clowns can dictate so many kitchen and home decor decisions ( dog friendly materials, etc) without voicing a single suggestion. Laughing over all the stories. Pets do make our lives interesting.

Lydia, please don't think your post about your sisters and the instinct of many American women to cocoon was a damp squib. I read with great interest, smiling and nodding my head in agreement. Although I should have acknowledged it, I didn't think I had anything pertinent to add; thus I completely forgot to say anything! I figure it's the same with most readers -- and I'm sure that there are a lot more lurkers than contributors! It's a natural progression of most threads, I think, to go hot and heavy for a while (usually only when they're new). But when the novelty wears off, they dwindle until they just stop. It's not the last poster's fault! Sometimes threads are dormant for a spell, only to wake up and have another short burst or two of activity. Most likely, though, the same topics will be recycled in different threads. So, Lydia, just stick around and you can read multiple retellings of my stories -- unfortunately I only have so many in my repertoire. As for why I spell it chile: force of habit, probably. I have lived in and have strong associations with the American southwest where that is the preferred spelling for certain Capsicum. Being as they are native to Mexico and Central America, the Spanish form seems appropriate. It also distinguishes the peppers themselves from the meat stew, chili con carne, that is usually shortened now to just 'chili'. Herr Gebhardt who first peddled his concoction of the typical Mexican and mestizo spice combinations in San Antonio, Texas was likely a bit fuzzy about the distinction between 'chile' and 'chili' -- so it's chili powder for chili. Anyway, the usual rendering of the Nahuatl word for the same Capsicum is 'chilli'. So take your pick as to how you want to spell it, but be warned that Mexicans and American southwesterners observe the distinctions! :-)