Look and smell
Whole baby octopus, tentacles and all: a close look
Updated
What does freeze dried octopus look like? A small octopus, because that is what it is. Every piece in our bag is one whole baby octopus, tentacles and all, so nobody confuses it with a biscuit. The pieces are small and they vary in size and texture. The listing is direct about the smell: strong, the way seafood is.
What does a whole baby octopus look like dried?
Like a baby octopus. The listing describes each piece as a whole baby octopus with the tentacles intact, and it is the only ingredient in the bag. If you pour a few pieces into your palm, you are looking at individual animals, not a batch of identical pieces.
We stop there on purpose. The listing does not describe a color, so we do not either, and it names no species, so we cannot tell you which octopus it is. What we can describe is what the listing gives us: whole, small, tentacles on, one ingredient.
The octopus for dogs page covers the feeding lines. This page is about what turns up when you open the bag and tip it out.
Why are no two pieces the same size?
Each piece is a whole animal, and whole animals are not all alike. That is the listing's own explanation. The size and the texture differ from one octopus to the next, which is why a handful of pieces looks like a handful of individuals.
For you, that means a few things at the bag. Some pieces will look bigger than the one beside them. Others will look smaller. None of that is a mistake in the packing, because the listing sets out the variation in advance and puts it down to each piece being its own animal.
It also means the bag reads as a mix of individuals, so judge each piece when you pick it up instead of judging the bag by the first one out.
How strong is the smell when the bag opens?
Strong. The listing says the smell is strong, in the way seafood is, and that is the full description we have. We cannot rate it on a scale, say how long it lasts, or tell you how it compares with other bags.
What helps is knowing it going in. Open the bag where you do not mind the seafood smell, take out what you need, and close it again. Reseal after each use and keep the bag cool and dry, which is what the listing asks. We make no claim about the smell fading, because the listing makes none.
How does a piece feel in the hand?
Crunchy. The listing scores the crunch at 4 of 5 on our scorecard, so the piece is meant to crunch. Texture also varies from one octopus to the next, which means one piece may feel different from the one beside it.
The product is light and shelf stable by the listing's wording. It is a treat or a meal topper, and for dogs it can be fed whole or broken into smaller pieces. How to do the breaking has its own page; here the point is simply what you are holding.
What is, and is not, in the bag?
The bag holds one thing. These are the facts we have:
- One ingredient: baby octopus.
- No grains, fillers or dyes.
- The octopus includes imported ingredients.
- Freeze dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
This is a treat or topper and not a complete diet. A dog with a diet plan from the veterinarian needs the vet's go-ahead before a new protein. For more pages like this one, the guides hub has the full set.
Questions
Is it really a whole octopus?
Yes, a whole baby octopus per piece, tentacles intact, and it is the only ingredient. The listing is blunt about it. What you see in the bag is individual animals, so the pieces differ in size and texture, and they look like exactly what they are.
Is the octopus raw or cooked?
Raw. The octopus is freeze-dried raw, and the rest of what we can give you is the ingredient (baby octopus) and the origin note: the octopus includes imported ingredients. Handle it the way you would any raw seafood treat.
How do I keep the smell down at home?
The listing asks you to close the bag after each use and keep it in a cool, dry place. A closed bag keeps the smell to itself better than an open one. We make no promise that the smell fades, because the listing does not say it does.
Is octopus the same thing as squid or calamari?
Not in our bags. Our Captain's Catch medley lists squid and octopus as two separate ingredients, and the octopus bag holds octopus only. For how the shellfish fit together, the seafood for dogs page lays it out.
Can a cat have the same piece?
Cats eat from the same bag as dogs. For a cat, the listing has one piece served whole or crumbled over the food. Pieces differ in size, so look at the one you are about to hand over, the same as for a dog.
Where does the octopus come from?
The octopus includes imported ingredients, and it is freeze dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Our listing names no species and no fishery, so we cannot go further than that. Imported is the honest word, and Malvern is where the bag gets made.