Taking freeze-dried salmon to a dog friendly patio

Salmon treats for dog friendly patios need one question asked before you sit down: is it all right with the restaurant? If yes, reward your dog at ground level, keep the pouch sealed, and wash your hands before your own food arrives. The weighed share for the meal comes from home.

Can you bring salmon treats to a restaurant patio?

Ask the restaurant. A patio that welcomes dogs has said something about dogs, and it may or may not have said anything about food you bring for them. We do not know any restaurant's rules, so we will not state one. The staff can answer in a sentence, and asking when you book or when you are seated costs nothing.

Ask the person who can actually answer, the host at the stand or the server at your table, and keep the question specific: treats for your own dog, in a closed container, handed out at ground level. A specific question gets a specific answer.

Take the answer as given. A yes means you can go ahead with the plan below. A no means the pouch stays in your bag, or at home, and your dog gets the evening without it.

Here is a patio visit from start to finish:

1. Ask the restaurant whether you may bring treats for your dog.
2. Bring the share by weight, weighed at home, and set water down for your dog.
3. Reward at ground level, by your chair.
4. Keep the pouch shut in your bag between rewards.
5. Wash your hands before your food arrives.
6. Reseal and pack up before you leave the table.

Where do you give your dog treats at the table?

At ground level, beside your chair, where your dog is. Hand the bit down to the dog's spot and leave the table for the people.

The bag says: "Provide fresh water and supervise while feeding." Supervising at a table is the easy half, since you are sitting right there, and your attention on the dog is the whole job when a bit is going down. Keep the handouts brief and put the rest away. Your dog's share is a weighed amount, so there is no reason to keep reaching for the pouch once it is spent.

The listing describes the pieces as breaking into small, quick rewards. Break them at home, so each reward goes from your hand to the ground without any work at the table.

How do you handle salmon and your own food at one table?

Keep them apart, and wash in between. Remember that the salmon on your fingers was raw before we freeze-dried it. The bag's instruction for after you have handled it is short. The bag says: "Wash your hands after handling it." On a patio that means finding somewhere to wash after the dog's bits and before your food arrives.

The pouch stays sealed and stays off the table. The bag says: "Reseal the pouch once it is open and store it cool and dry." Put it back in your bag between rewards.

Our travel guide covers handling treats when you are away from your own kitchen, for anyone who wants the longer version.

How much salmon should you bring to a meal out?

The share for the meal, weighed at home. The meal out is a portion of your dog's day, not an extra day. The calculator on our product page turns a daily calorie number into a treat allowance by weight. It is set at 10 percent and stays there, and when your vet names a different share, the vet's amount replaces it. The calorie method itself is laid out in how many salmon treats a day.

Bring the weighed share in its own closed container and the pouch resealed. The bag says: "Not intended as a complete diet," so a night out is no reason to make treats the whole of dinner.

The guides hub lists the rest of what we have written about salmon treats.