Duck Jerky for Dogs

Read the ingredient list first: the plainest duck jerky is dried duck and nothing else, and wrapped jerky adds a second ingredient around the core.

What duck jerky usually is

Duck jerky is duck meat, sliced or shaped, and dried until it is firm or brittle. It may be a flat strip, a thin chip or a duck breast cut across the grain. Some bags are a single ingredient, and some are not.

The most useful fact about it is the cut. USDA FoodData Central lists raw duck with the skin at about 39 grams of fat per 100 grams, and raw duck meat only at about 6. Skin on makes an oilier, heavier strip; meat only makes a drier one. Neither is better. They are different jerky, and the bag tells you which you have.

The fat line is the other thing to look at. Duck strips with the skin left on show a line of paler fat at one edge. A strip with no skin looks like a flat piece of dark meat and stays dry.

Sniff and Shift does not make duck jerky. Its Air Dried Duck Necks, a single ingredient chew air dried in small batches in Malvern, are the house option for duck.

Strips, chips and wrapped jerky

Strips are the long, flat ones. A thick strip lasts, and a dog has to work at it. A thin one goes down in a few chews, which is a fault in a chew and a virtue in a reward.

Chips are small, thin pieces, often broken off a strip in the bag. They are easy to snap for training. If the jerky comes in chips, you can already tear it without effort.

Wrapped jerky is a core of another food, sometimes a chew, with duck wound around it. It looks like one treat and it is two ingredients: the wrap and the core. Read both. The ingredient list names the core.

Thick strips last, and thin chips train. Pick by the job. If you train in short bursts, buy thin pieces and break them into peas. If you give one treat after dinner, a thick strip is the better buy.

Reading the ingredient list

FDA requires the ingredients in pet food to be listed in descending order by weight, heaviest first. On a jerky bag that means duck should be the first word. If it is the second, something outweighs it.

One ingredient is the shortest list, and the easiest to understand. Two or three can be reasonable, and a long list is a reason to read slowly.

The bag also lists the weight and storage directions, and sometimes a count. If it gives a count, divide the weight by the count and you have the weight of one treat. If it does not, open the bag once, count the strips, and write the number on the bag. For anything over a few ounces, that number is the one that tells you how long the bag lasts.

Look for the words after the duck. Sweeteners, glycerin, salt and flavors turn up in some jerky to keep it soft or to make it smell stronger, and each is a line you can read and decide about. You are not obliged to avoid them. You are entitled to know they are there.

The bend test: soft jerky and brittle jerky

Bend a strip. A soft one folds double without cracking. A brittle one snaps. Neither result is a flaw, but each suits a different dog.

Soft jerky tears easily, which suits a small dog or a dog with a tired jaw, and it can be cut with kitchen shears into reward sized bits. Brittle jerky lasts, and the dog has to crunch it. It breaks into sharper pieces, so give it to a dog that chews rather than gulps. The raw feeding notice on this site says to watch your animal while it eats, because any treat can break into pieces or become a choking hazard.

The bend test also tells you the age of the bag. A soft strip that has turned brittle was left open, and a brittle one gone soft has taken on moisture.

Storing an opened bag

Squeeze the air out and press the zipper shut along its whole length. Then keep the bag away from heat and sun. A kitchen window is the wrong shelf, and so is the top of the refrigerator, where the compressor keeps things warm.

Soft jerky dries out and brittle jerky softens, and both are signs that air got in. A glass jar with a tight lid does the same work as the zipper and sits on the counter where you can see it.

Follow the storage directions printed on the bag. They come from the maker and they are the only ones that apply. There is no single number of days for an opened bag, because each maker's directions differ.

Soft jerky strips often cling to each other in the bag. A gentle bend separates them, and a bag that is one solid block deserves a second look at the ingredient list.

Duck jerky is a meat strip; for something different from the same bird, duck feet for dogs are an air dried chew. You can browse both in jerky dog treats and duck dog treats.

Common questions

Is wrapped duck jerky a single ingredient treat?

No. A wrapped treat is duck around a core of something else, so it has at least two ingredients. The ingredient list names both.

Can small dogs eat duck jerky?

Yes, in pieces sized to the dog. Choose a soft strip that bends double and tear it into bits, or snap chips. Watch the dog while it eats.

How long does an opened bag of duck jerky last?

The maker's printed storage directions are the answer, and they differ from bag to bag. Seal the zipper along its whole length after every use.

What is the difference between duck jerky and air dried duck?

Jerky is usually sliced or shaped meat. Air dried duck can be a whole part, such as a neck or foot, dried in the same way. Both are shelf stable and firm.