Best dog training treats
Tiny soft treats for long sessions, a freeze-dried reward for recall and soft bites for puppies. Pick by the lesson, not the bag.
By the Clean Fluff Club team. Updated October 12, 2026. About 3 minutes to read. How we picked.
Our pick
Zuke's Mini Naturals are our pick for most training: 2 calories per treat, so a long session doesn't turn into a meal.
Best for: Long sessions with lots of rewards, and dogs on a diet who still need them
Best for: Long sessions with lots of rewards, and dogs on a diet who still need them
The catch: It can get sticky in warm weather, and a small bag runs out fast in heavy training.
Skip it if: Your dog ignores chicken when you call it back.
The catch: It can get sticky in warm weather, and a small bag runs out fast in heavy training.
Skip it if: Your dog ignores chicken when you call it back.
Why this one: real chicken is the first ingredient. Source: Listing
The short answer
Zuke's Mini Naturals are our pick for most training: 2 calories per treat, so a long session doesn't turn into a meal. For recall and other hard lessons, keep a higher-value reward like Stewart freeze-dried liver in your pocket. Training a puppy? Blue Buffalo Blue Bits are soft-moist bites made for it.
Train with Zuke's Mini Naturals: tiny, soft and 2 calories a treat. Don't train with full-size biscuits: you'll hand out dozens in a session, and the calories add up fast.
Picked for size, softness and calories, each matched to a lesson.
Why it's here: tiny, soft treats with real chicken as the first ingredient, at 2 calories each.
The catch: it can get sticky in warm weather, and a small bag runs out fast in heavy training.
Why it's here: soft, chewy peanut butter bites at 1.5 calories each, about 200 to a bag.
Best for: Long, high-repetition sessions where calories add up
The catch: It comes as a two-pack of 4 oz pouches, so you buy two at a time.
Skip it if: You need a reward for recall or another hard lesson. For those we'd use meat: Stewart freeze-dried liver is our recall pick.
The catch: it comes as a two-pack of 4 oz pouches, so you buy two at a time.
Why it's here: one ingredient, freeze-dried beef liver. Save it for the hard lessons.
Best for: Recall, and teaching a stubborn dog something new
The catch: It's crumbly, so expect liver dust in your pocket, and it smells strong.
Skip it if: Pocket crumbs bother you. Freeze-dried liver breaks apart; Zuke's Minis are soft.
The catch: it's crumbly, so expect liver dust in your pocket, and it smells strong.
Why it's here: soft-moist bites with real chicken first and DHA, made for puppy training.
Best for: Puppy training
The catch: The bites are bigger than some training treats, so break them up for a small puppy.
Skip it if: You hand out lots of rewards per session. These are larger than some training treats.
The catch: the bites are bigger than some training treats, so break them up for a small puppy.
Small, soft treats they can eat in one bite. Our puppy pick is Blue Buffalo Blue Bits: soft-moist, with DHA. Break them in half for a small puppy.
Regular treats are usually too large and calorie-dense for training. You'd need to break them into tiny pieces, which is messy and inconsistent. Purpose-made training treats are smaller, softer, and lower in calories. They are designed for the rapid repetition that effective training requires. Lower-calorie still adds up over a session, so see our weight management picks for dogs.
Try higher-value options like freeze-dried liver or real meat. Train before meals when your dog is slightly hungry. If food truly doesn't motivate your dog, consider toy rewards (tug, ball) or praise. Some dogs also respond better to novel treats they've never tasted before. The novelty factor can reignite interest.
Start with Zuke's Mini Naturals for everyday training: tiny, soft and 2 calories each.
Counting calories? Pet Botanics, at 1.5 a bite. For recall and other hard lessons, keep Stewart freeze-dried liver in your pocket. Training a puppy? Blue Buffalo Blue Bits.
| Long, high-repetition sessions where calories add up | Pet Botanics Training Rewards Puppy Bites | |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy training | Blue Buffalo Blue Bits Soft-Moist Training Treats |
Our pick: Zuke's Mini Naturals Dog Training
Our 3 picksEach pick is matched to one job, with its catch up front and who should skip it.
