Frog Legs for Dogs: Plain Is Fine, Breaded Is Not

Frog legs for dogs are fine when they are plain, meaning cooked with nothing on them or freeze-dried with nothing added. People type can dogs eat frog legs into a search bar and the honest answer is yes, with the same rules that apply to any meat you hand over. Skip the breading and the seasoning, and keep the portion in line with the dog. The rest of this page is the longer version.

What a frog leg actually is

The frog legs sold as food are the hind legs. They are skinned, and they usually come as a pair still joined at the hip, which is the part that makes people pause. One leg is a few inches long. There is a short, meaty thigh, then a long thin lower leg, and the foot is normally trimmed off before sale. Picture a very small drumstick with a very long shin and you are close.

The meat is white and mild. Frog is not a bird and is not related to chicken or beef at all. It is a protein most dogs have never had, and we see it as a fun option for owners rotating off chicken and beef. We will be honest about the other thing too. A frog leg looks like a frog leg. It does not get shaped into a nugget on the way to the bag, and some people find that a lot to look at.

Plain is fine, restaurant style is not

Most frog legs people encounter come out of a fryer. They are dredged in seasoned flour or breadcrumbs, deep fried, salted and often finished in garlic butter or hot sauce with a lemon wedge on the side. That plate is for you. Breading and fry oil are the first problem, and the salt and garlic butter on top are the second.

A plain frog leg is different. If you are cooking at home, boil or bake it with nothing added and let it cool. The dog gets its portion before the seasoning goes on for the rest of the household. Skip the marinade. Frozen frog legs from a grocery store or an Asian market work for this. Raw frog from the market we would cook plain first. Freeze-dried is the form we make, and that is covered below.

Cooked or freeze-dried

Cooked plain frog leg is soft and comes apart in strands, like any cooked lean meat. It is a fine way to let a dog try the protein, with the drawback that you are now cooking frog legs for a dog and eating the rest yourself.

Freeze-drying takes the water out and leaves the shape behind. The piece is light and dry, and it does not need a fridge. It is the form we make.

How much to give by dog size

A common rule of thumb keeps treats of any kind to around 10 percent of what a dog eats in a day, and a frog leg counts toward that like anything else. Beyond that rule, size the piece to the dog. For a small dog, a whole leg is a lot at once. Break off a piece the size of a thumbnail and call that a serving. For a medium dog, one leg is a reasonable treat. For a large dog, one or two. Our freeze-dried legs run at approximately 85.9 kcal per ounce on the label, and the bag is one ounce, so the whole bag comes to about that much however many sessions it lasts.

The first time

Nearly every dog that tries frog is tasting something new. Treat it the way you would any new food. Give a small piece on a quiet day, one piece, and leave it there. See how the dog does over the next day before a whole leg goes down. We start octopus and the other odd ones the same way. If your dog is on a special diet, or has a history of trouble with new foods, ask your veterinarian before adding frog to the list. We can tell you what is in the bag. We cannot tell you what fits your dog's plan.

Freeze-dried frog legs for dogs

Our bag holds one thing. The only ingredient is frog legs, freeze-dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with nothing added. It comes in one size, a 1 ounce bag, and it ships from us. A freeze-dried leg looks like what it is, which is the first thing people notice when we open a bag at the table. On our own scorecard the piece size is medium, with 4 of 5 for crunch and 3 of 5 for training value. Pieces can be fed whole or broken into smaller pieces depending on the size of the dog. We list it for medium and large adult dogs. This is a natural product, so size and shape vary from piece to piece.

The label reads: Feed as a treat or meal topper. Not intended to replace a complete and balanced diet. Provide fresh water at all times and supervise dogs while feeding. If you want it freeze-dried, this is our freeze-dried frog legs, and more of our freeze-dried treats for dogs are in the collection if you would rather start with something that looks less like a frog.

Storage

Cooked frog leg is cooked meat. Refrigerate what the dog did not get and use it within a couple of days, or freeze it. The freeze-dried bag is simpler. Reseal it after opening and store it in a cool, dry place. No fridge. Moisture is the thing to keep out, so close the seal properly rather than folding the top over, and keep the bag out of a steamy kitchen. Our note on how to store freeze-dried treats covers the longer version.

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

Frog leg questions

Can dogs eat frog from the yard?

No. A frog or toad your dog finds outside is not food, and we would not treat it as food. Frog legs sold for eating, frozen at a market or freeze-dried in a bag, are a different thing from a frog in the grass.

Can dogs eat fried frog legs?

Skip them. The breading and the salt are the problem, not the frog. If you want the dog to try one, cook a plain one at home with nothing on it instead.

Are frog legs like chicken?

To people, the meat is white and mild and the chicken comparison comes up a lot. To the dog it is a different animal entirely. Frog is not related to chicken or beef, and that is why owners rotating off the usual proteins look at it.

Can small dogs have freeze-dried frog legs?

We list ours for medium and large adult dogs. For a smaller dog, break the leg into smaller pieces rather than handing over a whole one, and supervise while the dog works on it, which is what the label asks for dogs of any size.

Can puppies have them?

We list this one for adult dogs, so for a puppy we would point you to a treat that breaks small instead.

What is in the bag besides frog legs?

Nothing. Frog legs are the only ingredient, freeze-dried with no added ingredients, which is what we mean by single ingredient.

Where are they made?

In small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and the treats ship from us.