Dogs and cheese are the combo. Everyone knows that dogs love it, and in moderation, cheese can be a great way to get your dog to listen, even on their most stubborn days. Learning what they need to stay focused is a crucial part of training!

One Labrador Retriever hit the jackpot, though: he didn’t just get cheese. He got a mozzarella stick, which is cheese in its ultimate form! He loved every second of it, from the “cronchy” breading to that perfect cheese pull.

Maria, the Labrador Retriever, is such a good dog. She was once in training to be a service dog, but she did not end up passing the program. Even still, she’s a well-trained pup, and she’s got plenty of skills that would make my dogs side-eye her.

As a well-trained, well-behaved dog, it only makes sense that Maria gets some treats. Doing all these tricks with no motivation is bound to get boring, which is why her mom makes sure to keep it interesting. Sometimes she gets dog treats, sometimes meat. Sometimes, mozzarella sticks!

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Honestly, I’m a little upset over this. That mozzarella stick looks so good, like, cartoon-level good. I wish the mozzarella sticks I ate all looked like that! Maria is a lucky girl, that’s for sure.

Don’t worry, she doesn’t just sit around all day eating cheesy snacks. She also likes to eat drawer pulls.

This makes sense. Puppies are basically feral: they’ll eat anything and everything they possibly can. My dog literally ate a hole in our wall as a puppy. Suddenly, some fried cheese isn’t looking so bad!

Are Mozzarella Sticks Safe for Dogs?

Feeding your dog a piece of a mozzarella stick, or even a whole one, is very unlikely to harm them, especially in the long term. While the stringy cheese could cause gagging, the actual food is typically safe for them. Dogs can eat cheese in small amounts!

The tricky part is the breading; more often than not, mozzarella sticks are breaded with Italian breadcrumbs. These contain garlic and onion seasoning, which can cause an upset stomach for your pup. Additionally, mozzarella sticks are fried in oil.

If you’re going to give your dog a mozzarella stick, consider taking off the breading just to be a little extra cautious. Maria wouldn’t allow that, though: she likes the cronch!

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This story was originally published by PawNation on Dec 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add PawNation as a Preferred Source by clicking here.