Blue Lipped Mussels for Dogs: Plain, Cooked or Freeze-Dried

Most of what goes wrong with blue lipped mussels for dogs happens in the pot, because a mussel steamed in plain water, or freeze-dried, is fine for a dog. So yes, dogs can eat mussels, as long as nothing went in the pot with them. The pot of mussels steamed in wine and garlic, or swimming in butter, stays on your plate. Mussels are shellfish, so there is a shell to get rid of and a first feeding to think about. After that comes how many a small dog should get next to a big one. This page covers all of that, then what a freeze-dried one is like and how to keep the bag.

What a blue lipped mussel is

The blue lipped mussel is the common blue mussel, the one sold at fish counters across the United States in mesh bags. The shell is dark, somewhere between navy and black, and runs two to three inches long. Inside is a single soft piece of meat, orange in some and cream colored in others, about the size of the end of your thumb. They are sold live, or frozen and already cooked. Live ones should be shut, or should close when you tap them. Next to a scallop they are smaller and softer. Next to shrimp there is less to peel.

Plain is the whole rule

Almost nobody cooks mussels plain, which is the problem. The standard pot starts with butter and garlic, then shallots, then white wine, and the mussels go in last for a few minutes under the lid. Every one of those is a reason not to hand one to the dog. Garlic and onion are the two things we keep off a dog's plate entirely, and most mussel recipes open with both. Butter and cream turn a small treat into a heavy one. Wine is wine. Salt gets strong fast in a broth that reduces. Marinara and curry fall under the same rule, since the mussel soaks up whatever it was cooked in.

If you want to share from dinner, set a few mussels aside before anything goes in the pot and steam them in plain water. Three or four minutes with the lid on, until the shells open. Let them cool and pull the meat. That is the dog's share.

Shell off, every time

Mussel shells are thin and they break into sharp slivers. A dog does not sort the meat from the shell the way you do, so pull the meat before it goes anywhere near the bowl. Pull the beard too, the wiry tuft of fibers that pokes out along the hinge side. It is tough and tastes like rope. Any mussel that stayed shut after cooking goes in the trash, not to the dog, which is the same rule you already use for yourself.

Raw, cooked or freeze-dried

We do not feed raw mussels. Raw shellfish spoils quickly, and a mussel that has been sitting out is not one we would hand to a dog. Cooked plain is the home version: steamed in water and pulled from the shell. Freeze-dried is the version that comes in a bag. Freeze-drying pulls the water out of the mussel at low temperature, so what is left is the mussel itself, lighter and dry, with nothing added. It keeps at room temperature and there is no pot to wash, and nobody steams a pot of mussels on a Tuesday night to give the dog two.

How many, by dog size

A mussel meat is small, but the freeze-dried version is dense, so count them like treats and not like kibble. A common rule of thumb keeps all treats together at about 10 percent of what the dog eats in a day, and mussels count toward that. Our freeze-dried ones run about 85.7 kcal per ounce as printed on the label, so a 2 ounce bag is a lot of small treats rather than a snack to pour out.

• Small dogs under 20 pounds: one mussel a day is plenty.
• Medium dogs, 20 to 50 pounds: one or two.
• Large dogs over 50 pounds: two or three, and past that it stops being a treat.
• Cats: one, on its own or dropped on top of a meal.

Those are counts for a dog that already eats mussels. The first week is different.

The first time

Give one. Then give nothing else new for a day or two and watch how the dog does with it. Shellfish is a new protein for most dogs, and a dog that has never had it gets one mussel, not a handful. If your dog is on a special diet, or has had trouble with shellfish before, ask your veterinarian first. We list our freeze-dried mussels for adult dogs, so a puppy falls under that same conversation.

Freeze-dried blue lipped mussels for dogs and cats

If you want them freeze-dried, we make freeze-dried blue lipped mussels in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The only ingredient is blue lipped mussels. It is the whole mussel, freeze-dried, rather than an extract pressed into a chew, and each one is sized for a quick bite. On our own scorecard the piece size is small, with 4 of 5 for crunch and 3 of 5 for training value. It comes in one 2 ounce bag. We list it for adult dogs of all sizes and for cats, and more of our treats are in freeze-dried treats for dogs and cat treats. The label says to feed it as a treat or topper, not as a complete diet. It also says to provide fresh water and to supervise while feeding.

A note on smell, since people ask across the table. Mussels smell like the sea, fresh or dried, so keep the bag sealed between treats.

Storage

Reseal the bag after opening and keep it in a cool, dry place. That is the whole instruction for the freeze-dried ones. No refrigerator needed. Home-cooked plain mussels are the opposite. They keep a day or two in the refrigerator in a covered container and that is it, so cook only what you will use. Our longer note on keeping bags is in how to store freeze-dried treats.

We built a separate site on this one treat: exoticdogtreats.com goes deeper on mussels than this page does, and it sells the same bag.

Mussel questions

Can dogs eat mussels every day?

Within the counts above, yes. One mussel a day for a small dog or two for a large one is a treat, not a meal, and it fits under the 10 percent line. We rotate it with other treats ourselves, but that is a preference, not a rule.

Are blue lipped mussels the same as green lipped mussels?

No. The green lipped mussel is a different species from New Zealand, and much of what is sold under that name is a powder or an extract. Blue lipped mussels are the blue mussels at an American fish counter. Ours are blue lipped, and they are the whole mussel rather than an extract.

Can dogs eat mussels in marinara or a seafood pasta?

No. Marinara brings garlic and onion, the pasta brings salt and oil, and the sauce has soaked into the mussel by the time it reaches the table. Pull a few mussels aside before they go in the pot if you want to share.

Can dogs eat mussel shells?

No. The shell is thin and breaks into sharp pieces, and a dog does not pick the meat out the way you do. Shell off, every time, and the beard with it.

Can cats have blue lipped mussels?

Yes, and we list our freeze-dried ones for cats. The piece is small, so one is a treat for a cat, on its own or on top of a meal.

Do freeze-dried mussels need to be soaked first?

No. They are meant to be eaten as they come out of the bag. Freeze-dried food does take water back if you want it softer for an older cat, a spoonful of warm water and a few minutes, but there is no need to.