10 Best Puppy Training Treats | Best Treats For Puppies

Sit! Stay! High-Five! Oh boy, training your new pup is gonna be a full-time job, but using the best puppy dog training treat can help your puppy learn to roll over and shake like a pro. Training is easier when your puppy has a good reason to pay attention.

Picking the best dog treats to train your puppy will have them drooling in anticipation and focus on your instructions. Healthy puppy coaching treats can make training less of a nightmare and have you feeling good about rewarding your dog with nutritious goodies.

Welcoming a new puppy into your home can be equally exciting and nerve-racking, especially if it's your first time.

From the second they are born, puppies start to learn, grow, and adapt to their environment. Whether you are working on puppy potty training, teaching some basic manners and tricks, or helping your puppy learn good walking behaviours, puppy training treats will help.

Benefits of Treat Training a Puppy

When you bring your new pup home, it’s important to help them through this transition by providing the stability and routine that they need to succeed. Just like kids, puppies require a structured environment to thrive and develop. 

It may sound strict and boring, but the dogs are instinctively eager to please. They desperately crave that “good boy” or "good girl" title, and a tasty reward can sweeten the deal. High-quality puppy training treats are a must-have on any new puppy checklist.

Puppy treat training has a number of benefits:

Encourages Positive Reinforcement

Training dogs at any age can be frustrating, but using treat rewards, especially in young puppies, can help you and your puppy stay focused on the reward aspect of the training. Using positive reinforcement is the most effective training type for puppies, and it can make training feel less strict and stuffy. 

Better Focus and Attention

Puppies can be easily distracted, even in the calmest environments. Using a tasty and delicious-smelling puppy treat is one of the most effective ways to keep your dog's attention.

Though training sessions should be kept short and frequent, using a high-value puppy treat will encourage your pet to keep their focus on you so that you can demonstrate appropriate behaviours, use hand signals, and offer clear commands.

Associated Learning

The reason that treat training is so effective in puppies is because rewarding with treats has a psychological effect that associates certain behaviours and commands with the positive feelings they have when eating something delicious.

It's called the Pavlovian response and stems from an experiment done decades ago in which a bell was rung before giving dogs a treat. In time, the dogs began to associate the sound of the chime with the rewards and would salivate even before the food was offered.

It's a Very Effective Training Method

There are many methods of training, and each has their own merit, but treat training has proven to be one of the most effective methods for beginners (trainers and trainees). This means that puppy treat training can be used by anyone, from first-time pet owners all the way up to experienced trainers.

It's an intuitive method that both pets and people can pick up quickly. If you start to see success early on in your puppy's training, it can help to build confidence for both you and your puppy and keep training fun and relaxed.

Nutrient Boost

During the puppy stage, your pooch may need some extra calories and nutrients to support its growing body. As long as you pick a healthy puppy, your treat training sessions can help to supplement your puppy's diet needs during growth spurts and times of higher activity.

Puppy Treat Training Best Practices

Your puppy training adventure starts on day one. You’ll likely need to potty train, crate train, or just teach them the basics of good manners. They need to know what’s theirs and what’s yours, and what is or isn’t appropriate good behaviour and dog training treats help these positive behaviours.

Incentivizing good behaviour and cognitive development is the best way to help your puppies connect with the lessons that you are teaching. There are many different ways to reward your dog for a job well done. 

While treat training a puppy might seem relatively straightforward, there are a few common best practices that can help ensure your puppy learns quickly and builds confidence.

Show Your Enthusiasm with Dog Training Treat

Never underestimate the value of a compliment. Regardless of whether they understand the words or not, your tone can convey the message perfectly. Verbal rewards are high-value and complementary to other training tools and methods.

Quick and high-pitched tones communicate excitement, so keep your congratulatory remarks short and consistent. I like saying YES! It is short and easy to sound excited about. 

In no time, keep your pup will be just as excited about their success as you are. Remember to use the same words to give your dog connect an action to the words, and make sure your feedback is appropriately timed. You want to respond right away to avoid them not understanding which action was correct.

Keep Your Cool

Training your puppy takes patience. Negative verbal correction is an ineffective way of training, especially with very young puppies. Dog treats for puppies tend to be more timid and easy to spook, so a harsh tone can be very discouraging.

Acting out can also be a way of getting attention. Remember that to a frustrated puppy, any attention is good attention. If they are stubborn or uncooperative, ignore them until they can calm themselves down. Once they have settled, you can resume training dog treats.

Choose High-Value Puppy Treats

If your puppy is foody, then you may be able to use any dog treats or even kibble for training, but if you find your young pooch struggling to pay attention or getting stuck on certain behaviours or commands, then it's a good idea to keep some high-value dog treats on hand. 

Stick to puppy training treats that are meat-rich and have a strong scent. Your puppy's strong nose will draw them to you making it easier to give commands, practice routine, and encourage good behaviours.

For some basic tips to get you started on keeping your puppy coaching journey, check out some common puppy teaching mistakes and their simple solutions in Puppies Training Tips.

Choose Healthy and High-Quality Puppy Training Treats

There is an almost endless variety of dog treats, but it can be hard to know which ones are going to be the most effective and healthiest for treat training a puppy. Puppy training treats should always be appropriately bite-sized for the animal, free of artificial colours or flavours, and aromatic enough to be attention-grabbing.

That being said, we see a lot of puppy treats that are full of fillers, sugar, salt, or other undesirable natural ingredients. Occasionally giving a junk food type treat is typically fine, but if you're consistently treat training your puppy, you may want to elevate the quality of the puppy treats to avoid digestive system upsets and poor nutrition.

Look for organic dog treats with minimal or even single-ingredient formulas, like freeze-dried or dehydrated dog treats, so that you always know exactly what you are offering your pup.

Best Training Treats for Puppies

What are the best puppy treats for training? Puppy treats come in all shapes and sizes, but some kinds are better suited to repeat treating and treat training sessions. 

Puppies can have different preferences for taste, odour, and texture, so it's a good idea to have a variety of options on hand to discover which are going to be the most effective at keeping your puppy's attention and rewarding good behaviour. 

Additionally, having more than one type of reward for puppy training can help keep the treats exciting. To help you get started, check out some of our best-selling training treats for puppies:

1. Crumps Mini Trainers Beef Liver

Beef liver is one of the most popular and nutritious treats for puppies. Crumps' Mini Trainers Beef Liver treats are the perfect training treat size for puppies of all sizes. This single-ingredient snack is the perfect option for your puppy's treat pouch.

2. Polkadog Chicken Littles

With only 3 nutritious ingredients, Polkadog Chicken Littles are crunchy treats that are packed with flavour. They are dehydrated at a low temperature to make them soft treats than the average biscuit but still crunchy enough to satisfy your dog's munchies.

3. Grandma Lucy's Organic Oven-Baked Treats

Remember Teddy Graham? One of our favourite childhood snacks is now a healthy treat. Grandma Lucy's Organic Oven-Baked Natural Dog Treats are offered in various flavour options. Each bear-shaped cookie is not only a delicious snack but is easily snapped into smaller pieces for high-value training rewards.

4. Darford Grain-Free Mini Biscuits

Better for larger breeds because of their bite-size, these cookies are both healthy and yummy. Darford Biscuits are easily snapped in half to lengthen training sessions without spoiling their appetite. Naturally flavoured and packed with organic fruits and veggies, Darford biscuits are a nutritious reward for your puppy's hard work.

5. Tilted Barn Dog Treats

With only nine quality ingredients, these thin pepperoni sticks are tasty and healthy treats for your puppy's mouth. The soft texture of Tilted Barn Dog Treats allows you to tear or cut them into any small-size training best treats for puppies you would like or feed them whole for a larger reward.

6. Plato Small Bites

Plato Small Bites soft puppy bites offer a perfectly sized, 2-calorie intake reward for lengthier training sessions. The softer texture allows you to break them into even smaller pieces for very tiny pups and anyone worried about over-feeding. Additionally, these soft treats are ideal for teething puppies.

7. Fromm Crunchy Os Bacon Blasters

These tasty snacks are reminiscent of classic breakfast cereals of our childhood, but instead of sugar and marshmallows, Fromm Crunchy Os Bacon Blasters are made from wholesome ingredients like chickpeas, bacon, apples, and cheese to form a tasty and light snack for dogs of all ages.

8. Vital Essentials Beef Bites

If you want huge flavour in a tiny package, then look no further. Vital Essentials Beef Bites are freeze-dried beef and beef liver making these rich meaty treats ideal for pickier pets without filler ingredients, like corn wheat flour. Each freeze-dried morsel is packed with healthy protein and vitamins to support growth and development.

9. Bocce's Quack, Quack, Quack Training Bites

Some puppies prefer the texture of soft and chewy training treats, which is why Bocce's Bakery Quack, Quack, Quack Training Bites are one of our favourites. Each flavourful treat is made from wholesome ingredients and oven-baked to perfection to lock in flavours.

10. ValuePack Chicken Bites

ValuePack Chicken Bites, are all-natural single-ingredient chicken chunks that are sure to get your puppy's attention. These freeze-dried snacks are the perfect treat training size and are loaded with meaty flavour that your puppy will do just about anything for. 

Healthy Puppy Training Treat Recipe

Looking for a DIY dog training treat recipe? Sometimes you just can’t find a simple training treat that your dog will flip for, so why not try making your own? Not only does this allow you to pick your own healthy ingredients, but you can also make the treats as small as you want to suit your dog’s size.

Peanut Butter Banana Morsels

With just four simple ingredients, you can easily whip up a tasty and healthy dog training treat recipe.

Ingredients:

• • • 2 cups of oat flour
    • 1 egg
    • ½ cup mashed banana or pumpkin purèe
    • 3 tbsp of dog-safe peanut butter

Directions:

• • • Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer. The dough will be thick.
    • Roll out your dough ball on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. 
    • Use a bench scraper or a pizza cutter to cut the dough into your desired training treat-sized squares. ½ inch by ½ inch is great if you are doing lots of treat training, but you can cut your squares a little bigger if you have a bigger dog.
    • Place your cut treats onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, single-layer, and bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes or until you reach the desired crunchiness. The smaller the treats, the faster they will cook.
    • Store the treats in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or freeze them for up to a month.

This is just one example of a basic and easy homemade puppies training treat recipe. You can customize your recipe by swapping out ingredients for some of your dog’s favourite flavours, like pumpkin, chicken treats, bone broth, or their favourite dog-safe veggies or dog-safe fruits.

How Many Treats to Give a Puppy When Training

There is no magic number of treats for puppies' training period. Every puppy is different based on breed and activity level. When doing long training periods throughout the day, it’s easy to overfeed your dog trainer.

Treats shouldn’t be more than about 10% of their caloric intake for the day, so try to keep your treats as small as possible and reduce grain meals to accommodate heavier treat days.

Even if the treatment seems too small in size, that's okay. Most puppies will happily work for even the smallest morsel if it's meaty and delicious. This will allow you to train for longer without spoiling your appetite.

Many softer, freeze-dried, or chewy treats can be broken or cut into small pieces. Try freezing the softer jerky treats that you’ve cut to prevent them from going stale before you can use them. 

Whatever your training method or methods are, be consistent and positive. It can be frustrating when it seems like they just aren’t catching on, but it will eventually click. Consistency and repetition will work, so keep calm and treat on!

Frequently Asked Questions 

Why are puppy training treats important for training sessions? 

Puppy training treats are essential tools for positive reinforcement-based training. The use of treats creates a positive association with learning, making training more effective and enjoyable for both your furry friend.

How do I choose the best training treats for my puppy? 

Treats should be small, soft, and easily digestible. Choose treats made with high-quality ingredients and minimal additives, promoting your puppy's overall health.

Can I use regular dog food as training treats for my puppy? 

While you can use regular dog food as training treats, it's often more effective to use specialized training treats. Training treats are smaller, more flavorful, and have a higher value to your puppy during training. 

Are there specific flavours that puppies prefer in training treats? 

Many puppies are drawn to flavours like chicken, beef, turkey, and peanut butter. It's a good idea to observe your puppy's reactions to different flavours and use the ones that elicit the most excitement. 

How frequently should I give training treats to my puppy? 

During training sessions, treats should be given as immediate rewards for correct behaviours. The frequency depends on how often you train your dog. 

Can I make my own puppy training treats at home? 

Homemade puppy training treats can be a fun and cost-effective option. You can use ingredients like cooked chicken, cheese, carrots, and pumpkin to create treats tailored to your puppy's tastes.