Why We Love Oysters

Also, our book should get to you today!

Reading The Dog’s Table

Our cookbook is HERE! Thank you to everyone who preordered and supported this mission. More and more dogs are eating real food everyday and it’s the early adopters (smart people) like you making it the new norm and improving dogs’ lives around the word.

As you flip through the book, you might see that oysters are a common ingredient in our recipes. Today we tell you why they are one of our favorite foods. As fresh oysters are highly perishable and can be hard to find, we often use oyster powder instead. We think it’s such a great pantry staple for dogs that we want to help make it more widely available. Today we’ll briefly discuss where to find oysters in all forms, the benefits and risks of feeding oysters, and share our journey to making the best oyster powder in the world.

Where do I get oysters for my dog?

Fresh oysters - Grocery stores, fisheries

Canned oysters in water (plain) - Walmart, Amazon

Frozen oysters - Asian supermarkets

Freeze-dried whole oysters - Specialty pet stores

Oyster powder - Precious Creatures (us!), natural supplement stores

See conversion chart on page 27 of The Dog’s Table for how to easily convert wet to dry oysters.

Oysters, a nutrient powerhouse

For millennia, oysters have been coveted by people. As far back as ancient Rome, patrons were served oysters as a show of wealth and status. There are records of oysters being shipped long distances and kept alive in special tanks over 2000 years ago. Shellfish was associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and hence oysters were labeled as an aphrodisiac.

In the 1700’s, Casanova, the legendary lover, bragged about eating 50 oysters for breakfast to sustain his libido. He even wrote about an “oyster game” he used to seduce women. Thereafter, the myth of oysters improving sex drive became a mainstay of popular culture.

Modern science has blunted many of these claims, but there is a substantial foundation. Oysters are loaded with nutrients, especially minerals. In just 100 g of oysters (3.5 oz), there is about 500% of the human RDA of zinc! They are the greatest source of zinc on the planet. In addition to zinc, oysters have very high levels of copper and B12, both far greater than 100% of the RDA in 100 g. There is also a healthy dose of selenium, iron and smaller but meaningful amounts of vitamin D, manganese, phosphorous, riboflavin, vitamin E and more. Oysters are also very high in protein, while being low in calories.

There are some caveats, however. Because oysters are filter feeders, they can accumulate toxins from their environment, so it is important to source high quality product raised in clean waters. In the United States most oyster fisheries are very well managed, especially in the Pacific Northwest where the water is very cold. In Asia, outside of Japan, the quality control can be more suspect.

Oyster powder is a convenient nutrient bomb

Because oysters are mostly water, when they are dehydrated the nutrients become super concentrated. This means that a little bit of pure oyster powder goes a very long way. For example, a person can get their RDA of zinc by consuming just 2 - 5 g (0.07 - 0.18 oz) of oyster powder. Furthermore, the form of zinc and nutrients in oysters are more bioavailable compared to inorganic forms like zinc oxide.

Oyster powder, especially high quality oyster powder, is very dry, so it keeps much longer than fresh oysters. For example, fresh oysters can go rancid within hours at room temperature and can harbor nasty pathogens like vibrio. Pathogens need water to be active. Making oyster powder very dry from a process like freeze drying, eliminates most microbial activity. (Some molds, however, are very very resilient, which is part of the reason things eventually expire.) Using oyster powder instead of fresh oysters provides both safety and flexibility because you don’t have to worry about spoilage or pathogens.

Note: Though oyster powder is shelf stable, for optimal freshness we recommend storing oyster powder tightly sealed in the refrigerator or freezer after opening.

But fake oyster powder is everywhere

As we mentioned in our previous post on homemade food, we take quality very seriously and run third-party tests to audit vendors. Finding a reliable source of oyster powder turned into an epic journey. We searched far and wide for high-quality suppliers. We tested widely available oyster powder in the US. We went upstream and found their suppliers and many more from around the world including producers in China, South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Much of the oyster powder sold in America today comes from China because it’s cheap. But here’s the thing, it’s not made from just oysters. Manufacturers typically spray an oyster flavored liquid on a carrier, usually maltodextrin or dextrin. It’s then air dried at high temperature. The result is a product that smells and looks like roasted oyster powder, but is often less than 20% oyster and is degraded by high heat.

One brand we tested claimed to use third-party testing and have cGMP facilities, but their product turned out to be very disappointing. Based on the test results we estimate that the product was less than 5% oyster!

The world’s highest quality oyster powder

We grew so frustrated with unreliable and dishonest vendors that we made the decision to make oyster powder ourselves. It just so happens that we live about 100 miles from the largest oyster fishery in North America. We were able to drive straight to the farms and talk with the farmers face to face. The companies that we buy oysters from are recognized as some of the best in the world because the waters of the Pacific Northwest are clean, cold and well managed. These oysters are produced for people and are eaten raw, everyday across America.

Oysters from the PNW

The oysters are delivered weekly. We gently blanche and then freeze-dry them at low temperatures to retain critical nutrients. The result is a powder packed with protein, essential minerals, and vitamins. We actually sample each batch ourselves for quality control (though please note it is a pet product, not for human consumption).

Why are your products ‘not for human consumption’?

You may wonder why our products are labeled ‘not for human consumption’, because that sounds pretty bad. The reason is that making and selling human food requires different licenses that we don’t have. However, the quality and food safety practices we use are the same (or better) than anything available on the market.

Converting fresh and powdered oysters for your convenience

There is nearly one pound of fresh oysters in each jar of our oyster powder. It’s expensive to produce, super premium, but because it’s so pure, a little goes a long way. One jar can last a while.

Of course you don’t need to buy our product to make any of the recipes on this site or in our book. We are offering this product simply for your convenience and peace of mind.

For any recipe that calls for oyster powder you can simply substitute fresh, frozen, or plain canned oysters (no salt, in water). For every gram of oyster powder use about 10 g oysters (conversion chart on page 27 of The Dog’s Table).

Check out our oyster powder!

Trio of natural powders

If you read this far and are interested to try our oyster powder, you can find it here along with the sea kelp and eggshell. The sea kelp is sourced from Canada and the eggshell sourced from the USA! All of our raw materials are premium human food grade quality. The trio is the perfect compliment to any dog chef’s kitchen. We hope your pup loves them as much as Cedric and Edith.

That’s all for this week.

All the best,

Joelle and R.A.