Giving treats is one of the most fun parts of owning a dog. Selecting treats for your puppy can be a daunting task with all the different options on the market. Pet parents find themselves scouring reviews for the best possible treats they can give to their puppies.

Treats are not just fun food items; they’re also a critical part of training. Introducing the correct types of treats to your puppy can help aid their training and make them easier to manage as they get older. Treats can also be used to introduce new flavors and ingredients to your puppy’s diet and help them not be picky as they get older.

Here are our favorite treats for puppies along with reviews of each one!

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites – 2024

The 9 Best Treats for Puppies

1. Wellness Puppy Bites – Best Overall

Wellness Puppy Bites come in both soft and crunchy textures. They’re specifically designed for a puppy’s more delicate, smaller mouth. They come in “lamb and salmon” flavors to help you offer variety to your puppy’s diet. All Wellness foods are grain-free and made with high-quality ingredients as their primary source of nutrition.

Puppy Bites can be used as a training tool or to treat your dog to something nice. Most parents will probably use them for both as they offer a fragrant and nutritional source of protein and vitamins that your dog can snack on between meals or while training. We think they’re the best overall treats for puppies.

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2. Old Mother Hubbard Classic Puppy – Best Value

The best puppy treats for the money are Old Mother Hubbard’s Classic Puppy treats. These treats are reminiscent of old dog biscuits and are perfect for your puppy’s small mouth. Even better, Old Mother Hubbard makes a variety of dog treats that can grow up with your puppy.

Old Mother Hubbard’s classic treats are not grain-free. While they have an excellent grain-free treat line, they haven’t introduced an increase to caloric content treat for puppies within this line. Pet parents looking to get Old Mother Hubbard’s goodies for their puppy can get the grain-free in “mini” size, which is small enough for a puppy’s mouth.

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3. Greenies Puppy Teenie Dental Dog Treat – Premium Choice

Greenies are a famous brand for dog owners and cat owners alike. Their treats feature a crunchy but bendable texture that allows dogs and cats to scrape the plaque off their teeth while chewing on the treat. This unique structure is what makes Greenies so popular and expensive.

Owners can get treats in the “Teenies” size for dogs weighing between 5 and 15 pounds. They are recommended only for puppies 6 months of age or older. Puppies that outgrow them should have their treats replaced with a larger size as they may easily swallow them by accident and choke.

Greenies also produce pill capsule treats that can help your dog take pills. These traits have a small pocket that you can insert the pill into so your dog feels like they’re eating a treat rather than a pill.

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4. Get Naked Biteables Puppy Health

Get Naked Biteables features a puppy-health-designed treat. These treats are soft and perfect for a puppy with a delicate mouth. They’re sized for a puppy’s mouth and teeth. The first ingredient in these treats is real meat, and they feature a variety of probiotics and colostrum to help your puppy grow up strong.

They make a great training treat because of their simple texture and shape. They also feature a limited ingredient base that’s great for dogs with allergies or intolerances. Their limited ingredient base means that eaters will find something they love within them as they are mostly made of real chicken.

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5. Wellness CORE Puppy Bites

For pet parents who have their puppies on grain-free, high-protein diets will be pleased to know that there’s even treats out there that they can work into their dog’s diet plans. Wellness CORE Puppy Bites are just like the Wellness Puppy Bites but use the same high-protein index that the Wellness CORE line boasts. Pet parents who love Wellness’ holistic recipes will be pleased to know that their money is going directly to the quality of their dog treats.

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6. Get Naked Premium Puppy Care

Get Naked makes a variety of puppy treats including their specially formulated breakable bones for puppies. These are smaller than a lot of the rawhide bones and formulated with recipes designed to support the growing bodies of puppies.

These bones break apart as your puppy chews on them, giving them all the benefits of chewing and relieving teething stress as your puppy’s adult teeth grow in. They’ll give your pup all the benefits and joy of chewing on a bone without any fear that the bone will splinter their teeth.

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7. Navus Naturals

Navus Naturals is a great choice for pet parents who want to feed their dog natural, organic foods. They source real meat as the primary ingredient for their dog products and they don’t contain any artificial colors or flavors.

Navus Naturals also contain omega 6 and omega 9, along with all sorts of vitamins and minerals to help support healthy growth as your puppy gets older. These treats are nice and small, perfect for training sessions to help your puppy learn the ropes.

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8. Purina Puppy Chow Training Treats

Purina Puppy Chow is a well-known, household name. Unfortunately, in recent years that household name has come under fire for poor quality ingredients and species-inappropriate recipes.

However, when it comes to treats, these are meant to be fed sparingly and so it’s okay if their treats are a little less healthy than their regular food choices. So, if your puppy likes Purina Puppy Chow, don’t feel too bad about giving them a few of these treats every now and then.

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9. Milk-Bone Treats

Milk-Bone treats have been a favorite of pet parents for decades. Pet parents everywhere fall back on Milk-Bone treats as a way to get their dog excited for just about anything.

In more recent years, Milk-Bone treats have been criticized for using inappropriate ingredients within their recipes. Specifically, the titular ingredient milk is not recommended for dogs that are lactose intolerant. Still, Milk-Bone treats are a trusted fallback for many pet parents when they need to get their dog’s attention.

Buyer’s Guide: Finding the Best Treats for Puppies

Buying treats for a dog is very important. Treats are an essential training tool employed by pet parents and trainers everywhere. They are also just a fun way to introduce variety to your dog’s diet. When buying drinks for a puppy. Pet parents have to make special considerations for the treats they choose.

Puppy Size

Considering the size of your puppy’s mouth is essential when choosing treats for them. Puppies have smaller, softer mouths than their adult counterparts, and hard treats that are too large could be painful or impossible for them to chew comfortably.

While many dog foods are explicitly marketed for puppies, treats are not as varied. While a handful of the treats are expressly sold towards puppy owners, there is little variety. Many pet parents may want to branch out into adult dog treats to provide more variety to their pets. Ensure that you check to make sure that your dog can comfortably chew the treats before you buy them.

Additionally, you don’t want the treats to be too small. Puppies haven’t learned a comfortable speed for eating and often eat very quickly. If the treats are too small, they may swallow them whole and choke on them. You want to strike the perfect balance of the treats being small enough that your puppy can chew on them but large enough that they won’t swallow them whole.

Puppy Treat Texture

The texture is also important to consider when purchasing treats for a puppy. A puppy’s teeth are shaped differently from adults. They’re more like needles. Additionally, puppy teeth are more brittle as they’re intended to fall out and grow into adult teeth. You want to choose softer treats for your puppy; they’ll be easier for your puppy to handle in their mouth.

Consider getting a variety of textured treats so your puppy can become accustomed to eating foods of many textures. This variety can help in the long run when your dog may have to switch to a softer food to accommodate the dental decay that is so common in older dogs.

Puppy Treat Ingredients

Also, you want to consider the ingredients of your puppy’s treats. The elements of the foods you feed your puppy will determine how the palette develops as they get older. If you choose treats that have varied flavors and texture profiles, your dog will be more adaptable and less picky about their food as they get older.

Choosing treats with high-quality ingredients is also essential. You want your puppy’s treats to be made of the same high-quality ingredients that their foods are made of. Low-quality ingredients such as meat by-products or filler ingredients like grains can cause gastrointestinal distress for your puppy and make them pickier about food as they get older.

Additionally, if your puppy has any food allergies or intolerances, it will be essential to select foods and treats that satisfy these needs. Just like you wouldn’t want to eat something you are intolerant to, neither does your puppy. Many treats are made of all different ingredients and with varying ingredient profiles. Shop around to find the best ingredient list for your puppy.

Other Dietary Considerations

As with many traits that humans buy for themselves, dog treats aren’t always made with nutrition in mind. Often dog treats are made with ingredients that are not recommended for dog consumption, like milk.

Additionally, because of the high volume of brands producing dog biscuits, many dog treats are made with wheat ingredients. Pet parents avoiding wheat products may find it extremely difficult to find dog treats that don’t contain wheat.

Puppies with severe allergies will likely need to be fed adult dog treats. Small dog-sized treats usually suffice for pet parents who need to provide their dog limited ingredient treats, even if they aren’t explicitly marketed for puppies.

Conclusion

Buying treats is a fun and exciting experience for puppies. Through treats, they get to experience a lot of new flavors, smells, and textures. Our choice for the best overall puppy treats is Wellness Puppy Bites. Our choice for the best puppy treats for the money is Old Mother Hubbard’s Classic Puppy treats. Finally, for the best premium puppy treats, we selected Greenies Teenies Dental Treats. No matter what kind of puppy you have, there is a treat out there for them, and we hope our reviews helped you find the best one.

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Featured Image By: Christian Mueller, Shutterstock