Top 10 Best Puppy Training Treats in the UK 2021 (Lily's Kitchen, Wagg and More)

When there are so many treats to choose from, you really need to know your stuff to be able to decide what's best for your dog. This buying guide will let you in on all the things to look out for when shopping, including nutritional value, size and form of the treats themselves.

When training a dog, it's often advised to shower them with treats, rewarding them for their good behaviour. This is why it's essential to make sure that what you're feeding them is still healthy. After all, you don't want to end up with a chunky pooch!

Many dog treats are high in fat, and while these are fine as an occasional reward, they aren't suitable for use during training. These high-fat nibbles are best reserved for specific times when you're extra proud of your pup, or when you feel that they deserve something a little special.

When looking for treats for training you want to make sure that the fat content is low as you may be feeding them to your dog multiple times a day. In general, the lower the better, but as a rule of thumb, training treats should be below 10% fat.

When it comes to training, especially in the first few weeks of getting your puppy home, treats are the key to success! Positive reinforcement goes a long way in making your dog behave the way you want them to.

 
That said, as with fat content, a high-calorie intake will most likely result in an overweight puppy.  As a general guideline, treats should count towards a maximum of 10% of your puppies daily calories, with the total amount dependable on your dog's size. 

For example, if your puppy should be eating 350 calories a day, 35 of that can be with treats. If you're giving your dog 10 treats a day, that means they need to contain a maximum of 3.5 calories each. Remember, you can break treats up into smaller amounts, so be sure to check the calorie count of the bag!

While puppies tend not to discriminate too much when it comes to food, you should try to combine high and low value rewards to help keep things interesting, and keep your puppy guessing! When deciding which ones to incorporate into your training regime, it's important to prioritise whole foods, such as grains, meats and vegetables.

Treats with potent smells and flavours such as liver, fish or whole meat are perfect for high-value rewards. These types of treats are jam-packed full of flavour and are primarily used to introduce new techniques and tricks, or during challenging situations and tasks.

On the other hand, basic kibbles that contain more plant-based ingredients such as vegetables and grains are ideal for low-value rewards. These aren't too potent and are less flavourful, but still enjoyable enough to use as a reward for good behaviour. Use low-value treats for reinforcing training techniques or as a reward for doing something that he already knows.

The final thing you'll need to check is the age restrictions of the treats you buy. If your puppy is older than 16 weeks, they should be able to handle most foods and treats, but if they're younger than that, you will need to be a little more careful.

Puppies under 16 weeks have very sensitive baby teeth and might not be able to handle hard treats straight away. So it is best to use soft treats, which are better for them while their teeth are still growing. Older puppies, on the other hand, should be fine with crunching harder options.

As for how big they should be, training treats for small dogs should only be about the size of a grain of rice, whereas medium dogs can handle those up to the size of a pea. That said, you will rarely find treats of this size, so you will usually need to rip or cut them up into smaller pieces.

You'll need to be extra careful while shopping for treats if your dog has any allergies or intolerances. If you’ve just got them home, then you might not be aware of any just yet, so keep a watchful eye until you’ve tested everything out.

The most common intolerances and allergies in dogs arise from proteins, especially those from dairy products, meat or eggs, milk, soy or gluten (from wheat). You will need to be extra careful of young puppies who are especially prone to sensitivities, as they have only just been weaned off their mother’s milk and still have very delicate tummies.

Now that we've got all of the nitty-gritty details out of the way, it's time to share our top 10 favourite treats to buy online in the UK. We've included a range of textures, flavours and ingredients so there should be at least a couple that your pooch will love!

Training your puppy is crucial to encourage good behaviour from a young age. Not only will this calm your nerves, but teaching obedience can help minimise anxiety in growing pups. To help you out, we've selected a few more of the best training aids for puppies and dogs, all available to buy online in the UK!

So concludes our guide on how to choose the best puppy training treats in the UK. To keep your pup engaged, it's always recommended to buy a variety of treats for different occasions, and after reading this stellar list, we're sure that you'll have no problem in finding a few that will keep those tails wagging!

Author: Roxy Pratley