How Long Can You Leave Wet Dog Food Out?

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Written by Tim Rhodes Last Updated: Sep 17, 2024

Having pets in our life is like accepting a huge responsibility to take care of them, and when it comes to feeding it’s important to know for how long can you leave wet dog food out.

You have to consider which pet is suited to be with you, to be with your family, and to be part of your journey.

But why is it that having a pet has a huge responsibility?

It’s because they also manifest a couple of things the same in humans.

They also sleep, play, have feelings, and they eat.

Table of Contents

How Long Can You Leave Wet Dog Food Out?

In this article, we will discuss some of the factors we have to consider before having one of the most popular pets in the world, the dog.

Also, this article will emphasize the importance of feeding your dogs while pointing out for how long can you leave wet dog food out.

Dogs As Your Pet/Best Friend

Imagine having a sibling, a child that cannot speak, nor fully think like a human but has the same characteristics as you, able to cry when it gets hurt, able to show that they are happy through wagging their tails and some of them can also smile.

They are also able to feel hunger, able to choose when to play and when needed to be quiet, able to choose when to sleep or to be with, and able to show love and affection to anyone.

Whether your dog is young or old, these are examples that you might consider loving and taking care of a dog.

Dogs can be taught a lot of tricks – most of their breeds can easily adapt things that you could be taught through training.

But still, it depends on the strategy of the owner to teach or train their pet/s.

But most of the time, what some owners do is when it’s still a puppy, they treat their pet a daily routine that is consistent during that the puppy is growing so that it gradually adopts the process in their home or yard.

There are hundreds of breeds of dogs that you could choose from.

You can choose which suits your lifestyle so that it would not be complicated to adjust your environment to them.

Dogs can be trained to protect our house, even us from strangers.

They are popularly known as man’s best friend.

But in line with this, they also tend to be more protective of their owners that they don’t want anyone to hurt them.

It is one of the characteristics that all dogs have.

Puppies can sleep more than 18 hours a day that results in the rapid growth of their body!

Dogs enjoy human companions, they don’t like to be alone.

That’s why even some of the owners are quite rude to their pets, dogs are still loyal to them and still love them because at the end of the day dogs still think that you love them.

Being friendly to humans is the characteristic that dogs are known for.

Regardless of breed, but it could depend on the environment where they grew up if it’s had the chance to play or see humans or just stuck in a dog cage.

Dogs have great senses, a great sense of smell, great vision, and their hearing is great as well.

So dogs can easily smell foods, able to recognize people because of their great vision, and able to hear something that a human can’t hear easily.

Choosing a Dog

Considering that there are lots of breeds of dog out there, you have to choose a dog that will be fit your daily lifestyle, fit your place, and able to be fit in your companions in the house, you may consider the following.

Do you wish to have a house dog or a yard dog?

Dogs have distinction when it comes to where they want to be put, and depending on their breed.

A house dog basically will leave with you inside your house, they will be able to interact with your companions or visitors.

A yard dog will stay in your yard.

Yard dogs are usually designated for them to guard your property and able to play with other dogs outside your area.

Time management – dogs also need physical and emotional attention.

So don’t take a dog as a pet if you have complicated time management in your lifestyle.

It’s like taking care of a baby, but the difference is, even these puppies will grow someday unlike babies that become a child, dogs are dependent when it comes to having owners.

They cannot prepare themselves food like your child stealing chocolates in your refrigerator!

Money – finances are also important, you have to make sure that they are healthy, through regular check-ups to a veterinarian, able to complete their vaccines, providing healthy foods and vitamins, and other basic needs.

Some of the owners do not invest in these things, which resulted in much more money to spend when their dogs are now needed to be treated by a veterinarian.

Unlike in humans, dogs have also doctors’ prescriptions in medicines and how to treat them properly, but the crucial part here is that twice the bill in a single human patient could be spent by the dog owner to his/her pet.

Even their medicines are quite expensive since it is different from human medicine.

So it is true that prevention is better than cure!

It is also applicable to pets!

Feeding Dogs

Unlike humans, dogs are most often picky about their foods.

Sometimes due to the weather, due to the environment where they are living, and sometimes due to their cravings!

Given that one of our priorities as owners is maintaining that they’re healthy, keeping their food monitored is one of the factors that could maintain their healthy body.

Foods may vary to their breeds but most of the time it depends on the capabilities of the owner to produce specific dog food for their pets.

There are no mandatory rules on how many times a dog needs to be fed.

But animal experts recommend twice a day.

But for dogs that have medical issues, you may consult a veterinarian for their medical advice.

How Many Times An Adult Dog Should Eat Per Day?

Animal experts determined that for adult dogs, the standard rule for feeding is twice a day, but there’s a lot of factors you should consider in following this rule.

First is you have to identify whether your pet belongs to the large breed of dogs whose estimated weight is 50 to 150 pounds, or to the small breed of dogs weighing under 20 pounds.

With that, you can now estimate the number of calories that your dog needs to intake daily.

How Much Should Puppies Eat Per Day?

Like newborn babies, puppies are also growing rapidly, they are much in need of food than an adult dog since they are still in the stage of developing their foundation to be an adult.

For the first few months of puppyhood, they need small feeds throughout the day before they can replace their food with their mother’s milk.

After four months of that, they will start to eat three times a day, and gradually start to the twice a day standard rule of feeding for an adult dog.

Dog Food

Remember that the nutrients needed for a dog or a puppy are very distinct from humans.

With that, animal experts’ manufacturers made a blended mixture of ingredients in a single type of food that contains minerals, water proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins to produce the nutritional requirements of a dog in just one type of food.

Types Of Dog Food

Wet dog foods: these foods are cooked at high temperatures to sterilize them and seal them.

It is a food with high moisture content.

Dry dog foods: these are foods shaped with flake foods and biscuits.

Dry dog food also contains meat but in a dried state.

Sometimes dry dog food could also mix with water (optional), depending on the manufacturer’s instructions on their dry dog food product.

Raw dog foods: these are foods that are available in frozen or freeze-dried formats of meats.

Benefits Of Wet Dog Food:

Wet dog food helps your pet to taste a new variety of foods that can avoid the usual refusal of eating it
Some dogs are not drinking enough water, wet dog food is good for those types of dogs because it keeps them hydrated even if they do not like to drink plenty of water
Wet dog food is much easier to chew than dry dog food, which could help dogs that have smaller mouths, or missing teeth to eat it
Wet dog food is rich in aroma which could help your senior dogs to sense and to eat it because most of the senior dogs are gradually decreasing their sense of smell
Also, dogs who have an illness and are in the stage of healing tend to lose their appetite because they are sick, wet dog food that is rich in Aroma could attract them to taste it

Benefits Of Dry Dog Food:

Dry dog food is a cheaper option
It uses less packaging that is more environmentally- friendly, meaning it is easy to prepare and very convenient for the owners that don’t have much time to prepare foods for their pets
Small amounts of dry dog food meet their dog’s needs such as nutrients and vitamins
It contains multiple ingredients that are equal to every single type of food
Dry dog food is odorless, it’s very house friendly because it doesn’t have a bad smell that could stick to your things inside the house
Dry dog food is easy to stock up
In case of an emergency, for example, this global health crisis in the present time, which a lot of people are advised to stay at home, dried dog foods are easy to buy so that you will no longer need to go outside every day just to buy their foods
It’s not required to be frozen or refrigerated
One thing that is good for dry food is that you just need to put it in your cabinets that have enough heat and cold temperature to store it
It doesn’t require too much containment because it is made for the convenience of the owners

Benefits Of Raw Dog Food:

Raw dog food is good for the dental hygiene of a dog
Some dogs suffer from gum disease which is very detrimental to any breeds of dogs
This dental problem is caused by the soft diets of dogs, they don’t practice dental activity such as tearing raw flesh, crunching bones, etc
Also, raw dog foods are good for the kidneys of a dog

Natural Human Food For Dogs

If you are confident that natural human foods are much fit for your dog, then you need to consider these things first:

Natural food should also have protein like eggs, salmon, fish, and meat
When choosing meat or fish, be sure that it is well cooked and remove bones or other parts of the fish or meat that might choke your lovely pet
Nutrients, vitamins, and minerals are also needed, it can be found on grains such as oatmeal and white rice
Veggies are one of the healthy foods for humans as well as in dogs
Veggies contain minerals and vitamins that dogs need to obtain
Do not feed raisins or grapes and garlic

What Is The Best Time For a Dog To Eat?

Feeding your dogs may vary to different factors, including age, breed, and most importantly, the weather or temperature.

Possible in times of the hot or cold season, your dog’s appetite might change so in that case, you must prepare an alternative food for them and disregard their old routine of prepared food.

What Causes Dog Food To Spoil?

Too much exposure in the air resulted in more bacteria on the food
High temperatures that are not advisable as per the manufacturer of the dog food
Too much moisture causes dog food to mold

How To Identify If Your Dog Food Is Already Spoiled?

First is the refusal of your dog to eat your dog food, you need to check it right away if it has these signs
You will notice a sour odor from dog food
Dog food has been exposed to too much heat
You will notice that the dog food has already mold or bugs

How To Prevent Dog Food From Spoiling?

If your dog has leftovers, store it in the original can with an airtight lid.

If properly stored, it may stay 3 to 5 days.

And most importantly, always check the expiration date of the dog food.

It is the basic thing to do for the safety of your pets.

Free Feeding

It is indeed that most of the owners are busy in their lives and sometimes don’t have time anymore to monitor their pets’ food, that’s why free-feeding is their solution.

Free feeding is making dog food available all day in their dog’s bowl.

But the question is, does this free-feeding is good for a dog’s health?

Animal experts believe that if a dog is fed in a consistent schedule, it will be easy for the owner to determine their dog’s bathroom needs.

It is somehow considered as their training ground for discipline inside the house or outside your property, for the yard dog.

In addition to that, having a consistent schedule for their food might teach them to come on you when they are being called.

It also has an impact on your dog’s impulse control.

For instance, their excitement when they’re being called for food is a good practice for their pulse, if you will let their dog food all day in their bowl, it will gradually lose their interest in food because they will expect that their bowl will not be empty.

Another thing, for instance, your dog loses its appetite, it is problematic to determine if your dog is still eating its food because you kept on filling its bowl expecting that your dog is still eating it.

Other Factors

When a dog is motivated to eat, earning a bowl of food is a powerful process.

After your puppy has learned that remaining calm and following their owner’s command is the key to keeping on-task with meal prep, you can use feeding time as an opportunity to teach them like sit or stay.

Start on scratch by asking for just five seconds for them to sit or stay as you hold your dog’s bowl of food.

If the dog didn’t make it to stay in its position including being quiet lying down since you already command them for a sit or stay, just simply set the bowl of food on your table and disengage or disregard your dog for 30 seconds or more.

It’s good to make yourself busy during this time so that it’s easier to remain to disregard your dog, who might try to understand and as he works to figure out what just happened.

Also, there’s no need to correct the dog when he breaks the position that you asked them.

The goal is for your dog to realize that his action is what’s causing you to not give his bowl of food.

After 30 to 60 seconds, return to your table, pick up his bowl of dog food, and ask your dog to sit and stay and try it again.

Chances are good that his, this moment will come within three times of trial.

When it succeeds, and you reach your five seconds count, be sure to use a clear release word like “okay” before persuading your dog to eat.

The release word lets your dog know that this time, getting up won’t result in you removing its bowl of dog food.

As it gets the hang of things, be sure to change up the time on how long you ask him to stay, sometimes asking for more than usual, sometimes surprise him with a short time, short stay, but always ending with the release word you’ve made.

Final Thoughts

Owners need to choose the best dog food for their pets, whether it’s wet dog food, dry dog food, or raw dog food and need to know for how long can you leave wet dog food out.

Remember that they are not just pets, they also manifest a lot of things same in humans, they maybe have a smaller type of body compared to humans, they still have enough needs in nutrients to have and other requirements for them to be healthy.

It could be a great way to prevent your dog from being sick or having problems so that you will not be able to invest more time in taking care of them because you ensured that they are taking healthy foods and a good environment to live in.

It also saves money on buying medicines if they are going to be sick.

With regards to their dog food, once wet dog food has been prepared, do not leave it more than 30 minutes after it has been eaten or refused to eat by your dog because it could create a mold that results in spoiled dog food.

It’s better to monitor this thing because a lot of dog owners overlooked this issue that resulted in their dog’s food being spoiled.

It is a basic routine that could help you to prevent problems in your pet’s appetite.

How Long Can You Leave Wet Dog Food Out?