If you’re a fan of seafood, you may be wondering: “Can dogs eat lobster?” or other shellfish with you. Lobster for dogs may seem a bit pricey, but feeding dogs shellfish like lobster, crayfish, crabs, or shrimp is an exciting and novel form of protein for those that live near the sea.
In fact, some gourmet dog food companies have jumped on the bandwagon, creating grain free seafood with lobster. However, dogs need specific nutrients in the right balance. So before you feed your dog lobster, we need to take a closer look at whether dogs can eat lobster, and whether lobster and other shellfish is even good for dogs.
In this article:
Can dogs eat lobster?
Yes, dogs can eat lobster and other shellfish, but this needs to be fed with care. For instance, the high sodium content can be bad for dogs with kidney problems. Other problems can include the risk of heavy metals and pollutants in seafood or the shell’s dangers for your dog’s digestive tract.
On the other hand, there are some interesting benefits of shellfish for dogs that are interesting. This includes high levels of vitamin B12, minerals, and high levels of amino acids. So while lobster should not form a staple part of the canine diet, some fresh and cooked flesh can be fed in moderate amounts to healthy dogs.
Furthermore, like jackfruit, hummus, and avocado, health trends have us reaching for more and more boutique or gourmet foods for our pets. So lobster for dogs might seem like an extravagance, but it is one the pet food industry has already jumped on.
We all want to do the best for our fur babies, so feeding a gourmet commercial pet food that advertises lobster may seem like a good idea. But we will need to look at whether an ingredient such as lobster is worth the often hefty price tag.
First, let’s investigate some of the risks associated with lobster and shellfish, so that we can make an informed decision before adding it to our dog’s diet.
Risk feeding lobster and other shellfish to dogs
Just like for humans, feeding our dogs lobster and even other shellfish is not risk free. In fact, there are several potential problems with it.
Parasites in Lobster
The major issue is feeding lobster or other shellfish that isn’t fresh or properly cooked or in feeding any part of the lobster that isn’t strictly meat.
For instance, the tomalley is the soft green part of a lobster found in their body cavity. It can contain paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins that can be very dangerous to your dog’s health.
In fact, any raw fish or shellfish is a risk for foodborne parasites. What’s more, they can also be contaminants for bacteria like salmonella and Vibrio vulnificus, both of which can make your dog very sick.
Heavy metals
Another risk of feeding lobster to dogs is the possibility of high levels of heavy metals from polluted waters. Researchers found arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead in the flesh of lobsters from the Persian Gulf.
While they found most of these in relatively safe concentrations, the amount of lead in the lobsters was above the levels that are safe for consumers. If it isn’t safe for consumers, you can assume it isn’t safe for dogs either.
Canine allergies to Lobster
While there are no specific studies that tell us what percentage of dogs might be allergic to shellfish, one study on cod suggests that dogs’ allergic reactions to fish are similar to that of humans.
Shellfish happens to be one of the “big eight” food groups that cause dangerous allergic reactions in humans, and if dogs have similar levels of allergic reactions to humans, shellfish can be just as dangerous to them.
One of the current myths in the dog food world is that grains are the main cause of allergies in dogs. In fact, food allergies in dogs are relatively rare. Only about 10% of total allergic reactions are caused by food, and of those, only 10% of allergies in food allergies are grain allergies. And, only about 0.2% of dogs actually have food allergies.
Note, this does not mean that grains like corn should form the majority of a dog’s food, only that they aren’t the main cause of food allergies.
But keep in mind, shellfish is not a normal addition to the canine diet. And since poultry and eggs are two of the most common canine food allergies, the possibility that your dog might be allergic to lobster is very real.
Incomplete Amino Acid profile
Dogs need precise minimal and maximum amounts of key amino acids in their diets. While lobster and shellfish have better amino acids than most fish, they are low in some of the most essential ones.
They also do not contain thiamine, a critical vitamin for dogs and cats. In fact, a thiamin deficiency can cause a variety of severe health issues and even death.
High sodium and cholesterol
As stated above, lobster is high in sodium. It contains about 551mg per 100g of cooked lobster. It is recommended that healthy dogs only get between .25g and 1.5g of salt per 100g of food. This means that a cup of lobster can more than a third of the recommended maximum amount of salt 3.5 ounces of food.
Now that’s for healthy dogs. As stated above, dogs with kidney or other health issues can be severely impacted by the high salt content.
Another problem is the high level of cholesterol. High cholesterol levels are associated with a condition known as hyperlipidemia and put dogs at risk of other health concerns such as pancreatitis.
Symptoms of high cholesterol levels in the blood include:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Lack of appetite
- Eye and skin problems
The Lobster shell
The final danger of eating lobster for dogs is the shell. A dog eating lobster tails or any bits of the crust is at risk of intestinal damage or blockage. So, in short, under no circumstances should a dog be allowed to eat any part of the Lobster that isn’t the properly cooked flesh.
But if lobster is so bad, why are some pet food companies adding it to their pet food? The short answer is marketing. Lobster is a gourmet dish, and paw parents who only want their beloved dogs to eat the best might be duped into thinking that lobster is the best. Even so, this doesn’t mean that lobster is completely bad for dogs. Interestingly, there are some benefits to lobster meat for your dog’s diet.
Can Lobster be good for dogs?
Some aspects of lobster can be suitable for dogs. For instance, Lobster is very high in protein, even higher than chicken. To be fair to lobster, let’s have a look at its potential benefits.
Lobster is a great source of amino acids and proteins for dogs
Lobster has a relatively good amino acid profile when looking at the National Resource Council’s (NRC) recommended amounts per 100 calories.
Using Nutritiondata.com, we can see well a cup of cooked lobster meat (98 calories) does next to the NRC’s recommendations per 100 calories. This gives paw parents who may be considering lobster as a part of their dog’s homemade diet an idea of where lobster hits the mark and where it misses it.
| Proteins and amino acids | per 98 Kcal of Lobster in grams | Recommended in 100Kcal in grams |
| Protein | 20.4g | 25g |
| Arginine | 1.79 | .88 |
| Histidine | .42 | .48 |
| Isoleucine | .99 | .95 |
| Leucine | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| Lysine | 1.7 | .88 |
| Methionine | .58 | .83 |
| Methionine + Cystine | .23 (cystine) | 1.63 |
| Phenylalanine | .87 | 1.13 |
| Phenylalanine + Tyrosine | .68 | 1.85 |
| Threonine | .8 | 1.08 |
| Tryptophan | .285g | .35 |
| Valine | .9 | 1.23 |
From this chart, we can see that lobster has most of the amino acids that the NRC recommends. In most cases, it is also very close to the recommended daily amounts per 100kCal. There are some exceptions.
For example, there is not quite enough protein. And some amino acids, such as arginine, are a bit more than what is recommended. Others don’t hit the mark, but in general, they are more than the recommended minimum.
This makes lobster a good source of protein for dogs. It’s worth remembering that most proteins in commercial dog foods are rendered, which means they are cooked at high temperatures for days. This denatures the amino acids, and the extrusion process that follows usually strips the food of its available nutrients.
This is why so many commercial dog foods need to fortify or put back amino acids, vitamins, minerals into the dog food after processing. On dog food labels, you will see this in the number of vitamins and “L–” ingredients that follow the salt content in the food.
Suppose you see something such as “L-Lysine” on your dog food label. In that case, it shows that the original proteins were so damaged by the cooking process, the amino acid had to be artificially replaced.
Therefore, it’s worth noting that despite the risks of lobster, it is an excellent source of natural amino acids, when fed cooked.
Lobster is high selenium and copper
Unfortunately, lobster is relatively low in most essential minerals such as iron and calcium. So it should not be considered a complete or balanced meal on its own.
The good news is that it is pretty high in selenium.
Selenium is vital for a dog’s thyroid function and immune system. It is also a fantastic antioxidant. A cup of lobster contains just over half a dog’s recommended daily allowance (RDA) of selenium.
It also contains just a bit more than the RDA for copper. Keep in mind, too much copper can be highly toxic to dogs. But in the right amounts, copper:
- Helps the metabolism
- Aids in the structure of the nervous system
- And helps correct bone formation.
Lobster is a good source of vitamin B12
A cup of cooked lobster meat contains about half the amount of vitamin B12, also called cobalamin. Vitamin B12 is necessary for:
- Healthy brain and nervous systems,
- The formation of red blood cells,
- Healthy digestion.
Certain breeds, such as Border Collies, Beagles, Australian Shepherds, Shar-Peis, and Giant Schnauzers, struggle to absorb cobalamin. So it is essential to monitor their intake. It is also one of the most common deficiencies in dogs that are fed a homemade diet, so if you are feeding your dog your own food, be sure to consult a nutritionist to make sure they get the right balance of vitamins such as B12.
Can dogs eat other shellfish besides lobster?
In general, shellfish are not recommended for dogs, for the risk mentioned above. But it’s worth noting that for a healthy dog that does not have any liver or kidney problems, a little well-cooked shellfish meat here and there is not bad for them. In fact, the proteins in lobster are pretty good.
Other shellfish, such as crabs, prawns, and shrimp, are also quite low in fat and high in protein. Crab is also a good source of zinc, selenium, vitamin B12, and Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids.
Shrimp has similar benefits, but is also higher in iron, niacin, phosphorus, and zinc.
Unfortunately, the potential for allergies, pollutants, and contaminants makes shellfish not the best choices for our canine companions. The high levels of cholesterol is also not a good indicator.
Is commercial pet food with lobster good for your dog?
Lobster is an expensive ingredient, so finding commercial dog food with significant amounts of lobster can be difficult, and companies can often be misleading.
Let’s look at the ingredient of one such brand of dry dog food and see what the label can tell us.
North Paw Grain-Free Atlantic Seafood with Lobster Adult Dog food can tell us two things, just from the name.
Firstly, it is part of the grain-free wave of pet foods that recently hit the market. Be warned, these grain-free pet foods have been linked to more cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). It’s not clearly understood why, but it’s thought that the pet food manufacturers use starch from peas, legumes, and potatoes to make up for not having the grains.
In particular, the pea and lentil flour has higher levels of protein, allowing the manufacturers to put in less actual animal protein. Together with the extra fiber that interferes with taurine absorption, the lack of animal protein may be leading to a taurine deficiency, and eventually to DCM.
The second point to note about the label is that it specifies “with Lobster,” not that lobster is the main ingredient. According to FDA guidelines, any pet food that specifies “with” only needs to have 3% of that ingredient. Therefore, there is no reason to think there is more than 3% lobster in this food.
Looking at the ingredient list, we get a better idea. We will only look at the ingredients up to salt. Everything after that is the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids replaced after the extrusion process removed from the original food.
- Herring Meal,
- Seasonal Fish Meal,
- Lobster Meal,
- Sweet Potato,
- Green Peas,
- Red Lentils,
- Chickpeas,
- Sunflower Oil,
- Fish Oil
- Whitefish,
- Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Zucchini, Flaxseed, Blueberries, Carrots, Kelp, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine.
From this, we can see that most of the product is fishmeal, that is, every part of a fish ground up. Much of the starch and a portion of the overall protein will also come from the various plants such as chickpeas, green peas, and lentils. This will leave a bad protein profile for dogs, which explains the number of amino acids that have been added to the food.
As a general rule of thumb, most of the food is made up of the first five to seven ingredients, so it is unlikely that there is a significant amount of flaxseed or blueberries in this food. However, even there, one needs to keep in mind that dry food is cooked at such extremely high temperatures that the nutritional value in these foods would largely be removed.
The lesson is that while lobster is a delicacy for us humans, it’s a marketing gimmick for pet food manufacturers. Unless the ingredients specify lobster as only one or two ingredients, as in this cat food, there is unlikely to be very much lobster in it.
Final thoughts
In short, dogs can eat lobster, it has some value for dogs. It is high in selenium, vitamin B12, and protein. Nevertheless, it contains many unfortunate risks, such as parasites, pollutants, and contaminants. It can also cause allergies in your dog.
So while a little lobster meat here and there is fine for a healthy dog, it should be avoided as a staple part of their diet.