Can dogs eat Oyster?
Oyster（カキ）
Safe to feed
A bivalve remarkably high in zinc.
Cook first
Feed this food cooked.
Safe to feed
Dried oysters concentrate zinc and copper — even a small amount moves the numbers.
58 kcal per 100 g (raw)
What kind of food is this?
The bivalve nicknamed "milk of the sea." Zinc is 14mg per 100g — about four times the average of the seafood in this dictionary — and copper is about three times the average.
For dogs, cooking is a given. Even oysters sold for raw human consumption should be cooked through to the center. This is separate from any raw-versus-cooked feeding philosophy; it is simply food-poisoning prevention.
Fresh oysters with the water removed. As the moisture drops the nutrients concentrate, leaving very high zinc and copper.
Energy and sodium also become denser than fresh, so it is easiest to treat dried oyster as a separate food from fresh.
When logging, count the dry weight before any soaking.
Some breeds are known to accumulate copper in the liver — the Bedlington Terrier is the classic case, along with the West Highland White Terrier and others. For those dogs, avoid running copper-rich foods day after day.
About zinc (in a little more detail)
Zinc is a mineral needed to build skin and coat. It is known that an ongoing deficiency can affect skin condition. Oysters are especially high in zinc, making them an ingredient that is easy to work in even in small amounts.
That said, precisely because the content is high, this is not an ingredient to feed in large amounts every day. It is best used occasionally as part of a rotation.
Nutrition
Oyster (per 100 g, raw)
Japan's Standard Tables of Food Composition (8th ed.)
| Energy | 58 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 6.9 g |
| Fat | 2.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 4.9 g |
| Calcium | 84 mg |
| Phosphorus | 100 mg |
See more
| Fiber | 0 g |
|---|---|
| Moisture | 85 g |
| Sodium | 460 mg |
| Potassium | 190 mg |
| Magnesium | 65 mg |
| Iron | 2.1 mg |
| Zinc | 14 mg |
| Copper | 1.04 mg |
| Iodine | 67 µg |
| Selenium | 46 µg |
| Manganese | 0.39 mg |
| Vitamin A | 24 µg |
| Vitamin D | 0.1 µg |
| Vitamin E | 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.07 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 23 µg |
| Vitamin C | 3 mg |
| EPA | 230 mg |
| DHA | 180 mg |
| Alpha-linolenic acid | 26 mg |
This food is not listed in the public composition tables (Japan 8th ed. / USDA), so these notes do not show nutrition values for it.
In food-energetics terms
In food energetics this is classified as "neutral." It neither warms nor cools the body.
(Food energetics is a long-standing idea of supporting the body through everyday meals. Treat it as one extra hint alongside the nutrition numbers.)
How much for your dog?
Get daily estimates from weight and activity level.