Salmon Dog Treatby Sniff and Shift
The Sniff and Shift store

Guide

Carrying freeze-dried salmon as a dog walker

Updated

Salmon treats for dog walkers begin with a yes from the owner, because the owner decides what the dog eats. After the yes, the walker carries only the share the owner set out, by weight, kept separate from every other client's treats. Hands get washed after the bits are handled, dog by dog.

Should a dog walker carry salmon treats?

If the owner asks for it, yes. If you are the one who wants to, ask first. A client's dog is the client's call, and a walker who hands out something the owner did not approve has made a decision that was never theirs.

The simplest version is that the owner supplies the salmon. An owner may hand you a closed container with the day's share, may say no treats at all, or may mention a vet instruction you have not heard of. Each of those answers is the owner's to give.

Leave your own pouch out of it. Whatever a client's dog gets on your watch comes from that client, in the amount that client chose.

Our product page is where the owner can read the label lines for themselves.

How much salmon should a walker carry for each dog?

Whatever the owner set out, and no more. The owner's number comes from the vet, or from the calculator on the product page, which takes the dog's daily calories and returns a 10 percent allowance as a weight of salmon. The 10 percent is built into the calculator. When the vet gives a different share, the owner follows the vet. How many salmon treats a day covers the calorie method for anyone who wants it.

A walk is only part of the dog's day. The share on the walk comes out of the whole day's share, so the owner may set out less for you than the full amount. That is the owner's arithmetic, not yours.

The bag also says: "Not intended as a complete diet." Whatever you hand out on the route is treat time, not a meal.

You carry the share, and you do not top it up. An empty container means the walk carries on without salmon.

How do you keep each client's treats separate?

One closed container per dog, with the dog's name on it. That is the whole system, and it is aimed at one mix-up: handing one client's dog another client's salmon.

On a route with several dogs, the containers ride apart. The listing says: "The pieces are medium sized and break into small, quick rewards," so the owner can break the bits at home and you never touch a pouch at all. If a pouch does come along, the bag says: "Reseal the pouch once it is open and store it cool and dry."

Washing up on a route is its own puzzle, and our travel guide covers handling treats away from a sink, so we will not repeat it here.

What should a walker ask the owner first?

Ask before the first walk, and write the answers down. A short list is enough:

  • May my dog have salmon on walks at all?
  • How much, by weight, and is it the vet's number or the calculator's?
  • Do you pack it, or do I?
  • Is there anything your vet has said about treats that I should know?
  • How do you want me to report back?

The answer to the first question can be no, and a no is a complete answer. Tell the owner you will wash up after handling the salmon, which is raw before it is freeze-dried. The bag says: "Wash your hands after handling it," and the line applies to you as much as to them.

Wild-caught salmon is the one ingredient, freeze-dried raw in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

$15.00
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  • Pink salmon is the only ingredient
  • Freeze-dried by Sniff and Shift in Malvern, PA
  • Free standard shipping once an order reaches $50
  • Orders are placed on Sniff and Shift's Shopify store

Other reading for people who spend their days with other people's dogs lives on our guides hub.

Questions

Can a walker give salmon to every dog on a group walk?

No. Each dog gets salmon only if its own owner has said yes, and the okay is per dog. A dog whose owner has not said yes gets nothing, even if the dog beside it is eating. Keep the containers apart, and treat the owners' answers as a list, not a general rule.

Do walkers need to wash their hands between dogs?

After you handle the salmon, yes. The salmon was raw before it was freeze-dried, and the bag says: "Wash your hands after handling it." On a route that means planning where you will wash. If you cannot, handle the salmon less and keep the containers closed.

Should the owner or the walker pack the share?

The owner. The owner has the vet's number or the calculator's, and the owner knows the household. A walker who packs the share is guessing at someone else's dog. If the owner wants you to pack it, ask for the number in weight and nothing else.

Where should a walker carry the salmon on the route?

Somewhere you and the owner agree on, with each container closed between treats. The bag says: "Reseal the pouch once it is open and store it cool and dry." Keep the container closed between treats too, and each dog's container apart from the next one's.

What should a walker tell the owner after the walk?

How the walk went with the treats: how much of the share was handed out, how much came back, and whether the dog took the bits. Report in weight terms or by saying the container came back empty or not. That is what the owner needs to set out the next share.