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Small, whole and odd: freeze-dried mussels up close
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What do freeze dried mussels look like? Like small mussels, because that is all they are. Each piece is a whole blue-lipped mussel, freeze dried and sized for a quick bite, not an extract pressed into a chew. It crunches at 4 of 5 on our scorecard, and a small dog gets the same piece a big dog does.
What does a freeze-dried mussel look like in the hand?
Like a mussel, dried and sized for a quick bite. The listing describes the ingredient as blue-lipped mussels, one ingredient, with no additives, preservatives or fillers. That is the whole description of what you are holding: the mussel itself.
We would love to hand you a color, a shape and a texture in three adjectives, but the listing does not supply them and we will not make them up. What it does give is the practical picture. Each mussel is small. It is meant for a quick bite. And it is an odd thing to put in front of a dog, and the listing owns up to that.
Here is what the listing leaves unsaid, so you are not waiting for it later in this page: color, per-piece weight, piece count per bag and shell. If you want one of those, the bag in your hand will answer it faster than we can. We would rather leave a gap than guess into it.
For the product details, the mussels for dogs page has the ingredient, the feeding lines and the cautions in one place.
Why is it a whole mussel and not a chew?
Because the listing says so in plain words: you get the actual mussel, and nothing has been extracted and pressed into a chew shape. The mussels are blanched and then freeze dried, and that is all the processing we can describe. The bag is not trying to be a powder or a pressed shape.
That also settles one of the common mix-ups. Ours are blue mussels, which the listing says are a different species from green-lipped mussels. Anyone shopping for green-lipped should look elsewhere.
So picture the contents as a pile of small individual mussels, not a molded treat.
How big is a piece next to the dog?
Small. The listing calls each piece small and sized for a quick bite, and it adds that a little dog and a big dog are handed the very same mussel. We give no weights, no lengths and no dog sizes, since the listing gives none.
The listing lists the mussels for adult dogs of all sizes, and for cats. It also says one or two at a time is the usual count for most dogs, and that mussels are rich, so the count stays low. Our count guide, linked in the Questions below, works through that question, so we leave it there.
How does a mussel crunch and break?
Crunch comes in at 4 of 5 on our scorecard, which makes it a crisp piece. It says the piece can be broken up into small training rewards, and it scores training value at 3 of 5. Those two scores are the whole of what we know about texture. We have no line on how a mussel snaps or crumbles, so we offer no description of the sound or the pieces.
Treats like this are for intermittent or supplemental feeding. They are no replacement for a complete diet, and a dog on a plan from the clinic gets the vet's yes before mussels go in.
What is in the bag besides the mussels?
Nothing. The points on the listing are short:
- Blue-lipped mussels, one ingredient.
- No additives, preservatives or fillers.
- Imported shellfish, made in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
- Blanched before freeze drying.
Mussels are mollusks, so they count as shellfish. The rest of the sister pages are in the guides hub.
Questions
Is the shell on the mussel?
The listing does not describe shells either way. It names one ingredient, blue-lipped mussels, and says nothing about shell on or shell off. We will not fill that gap for you.
Are the mussels raw?
No. The mussels are blanched before they are freeze dried, which is not the same as raw. We do not call them fully cooked either, since the listing does not use those words. Blanched is the word we have, and it is the word we use.
Are these green lipped mussels?
No. The listing is clear that ours are blue mussels, and the green-lipped kind is another species. That is the only comparison we make. This is a treat made from blue-lipped mussels, and nothing on this page speaks to any other kind.
Do freeze-dried mussels smell?
The mussels carry a weak fish smell, by our own description; the listing does not mention smell. If the smell matters to you, closing the bag after each use and keeping it cool and dry is what the listing asks, and our page on low smell dog treats compares the bags.
Is the piece the right size for a cat?
The listing says the size suits a cat, and the same bag is sold for cats and dogs. It gives no cat portion, so this page has no number for it either. Beyond that, each piece is described as small and sized for a quick bite.
How many mussels do I give at a time?
Most dogs get one or two at a time by the listing's count, kept inside the 10 percent treat guideline, and because mussels are rich the count stays low. Our mussel count guide goes into it.