Comparison
A baby octopus and a blue-lipped mussel, compared
Updated
Octopus vs mussels for dogs comes down to form and handling. Our baby octopus comes whole, freeze-dried raw, with a smell the octopus page scores strong and pieces that vary in size. Our blue-lipped mussels are small whole mussels, blanched first, with a weak fish smell and a listing that asks you to keep the count low.
What comes out of each bag: a whole octopus or a small mussel?
From the octopus bag, an entire baby octopus, tentacles still attached. Per the listing, pieces differ in size, octopus to octopus. Our octopus for dogs page has the full listing.
From the mussel bag, whole mussels. In our photos, the pieces look like small oval to teardrop shapes, cream to golden tan on the face, with dark brown to black edges or ruffled rims on many. They read as individual mussels, not crumbs. Per the listing, these are blue mussels, not green-lipped. The mussels for dogs page covers that bag.
Put differently, one bag holds a whole assembly and the other holds a handful of small fittings. Neither listing gives a piece count.
How do the octopus and mussel labels compare?
These are the printed figures from the two package labels, side by side and unchanged:
| Printed on the label | Baby octopus | Blue-lipped mussels |
|---|---|---|
| Protein, at least | 70% | 59% |
| Fat, at least | 3% | 4% |
| Fiber, at most | 18% | 6% |
| Moisture, at most | 15% | 10% |
| Energy, kcal ME per kilogram | 2,235 | 3,023 |
| Energy per ounce, approximately | 63.4 kcal | 85.7 kcal |
Reading across, the octopus bag prints the higher protein minimum, the higher fiber ceiling and the higher moisture ceiling. The mussel bag prints the higher fat minimum and the higher energy figure on both lines. The table is figures and nothing else. Neither label explains why its numbers sit where they do, so we do not either, and neither one prints a number for a single piece.
What do the two listings ask when you hand one over?
A good deal of it matches. Both listings call the bag a treat or a topper, which is to say an extra beside regular meals. Both ask for fresh water and a supervising eye, and each lists adult dogs of every size.
They part on the piece. The octopus listing says to feed it whole or broken up. The mussel listing puts the count at one or two at once for most dogs, inside its 10 percent treat guideline. It also uses the word rich for mussels and asks for a low count; we only report that.
The octopus is raw, which is our statement, so the FDA, raw pet food diets page (opened 2026-10-16) applies to it. The mussels are blanched, so no raw handling line is pinned on them. For what blanched means, see blanched mussels for dogs.
How do the two differ by smell and on the shelf?
On smell, the octopus page's own scorecard rates it strong. For the mussels the description is ours: a weak fish smell. The two descriptions come from different sources, and neither one is a verdict on which bag belongs in your house.
On the shelf, the two read alike. Each listing describes its bag as shelf stable and asks for it to be sealed again after use and kept somewhere cool and dry. The dates are ours: every bag has its own best-by date, set at 1 year after production, and after opening we suggest the bag be used within 30 days. Those 30 days run per bag, not per household.
What does each bag offer a cat in the house?
The octopus and mussel listings both name cats beside dogs. For a cat, the octopus listing's line is a single piece, either whole or crumbled over a meal. For the mussels, our suggestion is small pieces, and the listing's wording about keeping the count low applies to a cat's share too. Anything beyond that is a question for your veterinarian.
The cat detail for each bag lives on our single-bag pages, not here.
Questions
Which has more calories per ounce?
The labels print about 85.7 kcal per ounce for the mussels and about 63.4 for the octopus. Those are the printed figures, and we draw nothing from them. Neither label prints a figure for one piece of either bag.
Are the mussels green-lipped?
No. Per the listing, ours are blue mussels, which makes them a separate species. The green-lipped kind is not this bag, and nothing on this page describes it, so look elsewhere for that one.
Does the Exotic Collection Box carry either bag?
The octopus bag is in it, alongside frog legs, scallops and quail eggs. It is sold as a dog product, built from those four bags, and the mussels are not one of them.
Which one is crunchier?
Our scorecard gives both bags 4 of 5 for crunch, so on that scale they match. Training value is 3 of 5 for each as well. These are our own scores, not a lab measurement.
Which suits a small dog?
The two listings cover the same ground on size: adult dogs, any size. Only the octopus listing ties breaking a piece to the size of the dog. We give no verdict beyond what the listings say.
Do both need hand washing?
Only the octopus carries that guidance: it is raw, so the steps in the handling section apply to it. The mussels are blanched, and our raw handling line stops short of them. More of our writing is on the guides hub.