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Have a new puppy in your life? Then it’s time to stock up on all the necessities, including treats. Puppy treats are great for training, bonding, and rewarding behaviors you’d like to continue to see. Plus, there are treats to soothe sore teething gums, keep your pup occupied, and even supplement your growing puppy’s diet.
The best treats for puppies will also be nutritionally sound for growing pups (or as close as possible) and feature high-quality ingredients.
You’ll want to try a range of textures and proteins to see what appeals to your new friend the most. Good treats can be regular training fare, but really good treats—the ones your pup goes wild for—should be designated high value. High-value treats can be offered as rewards for especially tricky tasks, like learning to “leave it” or a puppy’s first bath.
Without further ado, here are our favorite puppy treats for new dogs, plus what they’re good for and how to use them well.
Best Soft Treats: Wellness Soft Puppy Bites Grain-Free Dog Treats
The soft texture of these puppy bites makes them an especially great option for teething pups with sore gums. They’re also easy to break into smaller pieces for training sessions and are free of artificial colors and flavors, corn, and soy.
Lamb and salmon help make up the 20% protein content. These treats also contain DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in a mother’s milk, to support puppy growth.
Nutrition Details:
- Calories: 4 kcal/treat
- Protein: 21.4%
- Fat: 22.9%
- Fiber: 2.9%
- DHA: 0.20%
Best High-Value Treats: Stewart Beef Liver Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Treats
Some crunchy treats might be too hard for sensitive puppy mouths. But these freeze-dried liver cubes deliver a satisfying chomp with enough soft give for delicate gums and teeth. Made of only one ingredient—beef liver—these protein-packed treats make an excellent high-value option, especially if your pup has a food allergy or sensitivity.
Other single-ingredient flavors include chicken breast, chicken liver, and salmon. These treats are pretty big, though, so you may want to cut them down to pup proportions.
Nutrition Details:
- Calories: 4 kcal/g
- Protein: 54.1%
- Fat: 5.4%
- Fiber: 3.2%
Best for Puppy Training: Buddy Biscuits Training Bites
With just 1.5 calories in each nibble-sized treat, you can generously reward your puppy with these training bites without worrying about spoiling their appetite. The soft treats come in a bacon flavor with pork liver as the first ingredient, offering a tantalizing taste (and smell) for extra enticement. There are no corn, soy, or artificial flavors, and each pack contains an impressive 500 treats.
Nutrition Details:
- Calories: 1.5 kcal/treat
- Protein: 20%
- Fat: 12.3%
- Fiber: 4.6%
Best for Teething Pups: N-Bone Grain-Free Puppy Teething Ring
Teething can be a challenging time for both puppies and pet parents, since it can lead to a lot of destructive chewing. A soft-textured chew like this one can help relieve your puppy’s sore gums. These rings come in a bunch of yummy flavors and are packed with vitamins and minerals. They’re also made with a short list of ingredients, including chicken, potatoes, and blueberry.
Just be sure to keep an eye on your pup with these chews—you’ll want to discard them when they get too small.
Nutrition Details:
- Calories: 98.6 kcal/ring
- Protein: 21.8%
- Fat: 2.4%
- Fiber: 4.7%
Best Spreadable Treat: KONG Easy Treat Puppy Recipe
A puppy-level puzzle toy or lick mat with a delicious spread can entertain energetic puppies—and keep their attention away from things like your oh-so-chewable shoes. The nozzle on this squirt bottle helps eliminate the messy process of getting inside narrow toy openings or on top of textured surfaces. Freeze it inside a toy for both an extra challenge and gum relief.
You can use this spreadable treat in other ways, too. Squirt a little into your pup’s mouth or onto your fingers as a training reward or to help them build positive associations with new things. Milk and dried chicken liver create a tasty spread for a high-value treat, offering an alternative to peanut butter and whipped cream. You’ll want to use this one sparingly though, as it’s pretty high in calories.
Nutrition Details:
- Calories: 3,000 kcal/kg
- Protein: 13%
- Fat: 39.1%
- Fiber: 2.2%
Best Dental Treats: Whimzees Puppy Dental Treats
GMO-, grain-, and gluten-free, these dental chews are an excellent option for puppies with allergies and sensitivities. Made with calcium to help puppy teeth grow strong, these gentle treat sticks are soft on gums, textured, and long enough to remove plaque and tartar and reach tough spots.
With an estimated 80% carbohydrate content, these dental chews are mostly carbs. That leaves room for little else, with just 1.1% protein and 2.3% fat. If given thoughtfully (and not exceeding the recommended one serving per day), these dental chews shouldn’t throw your pup’s nutrition out of whack.
Nutrition Details (for XS/Small):
- Calories: 24 kcal/piece
- Protein: 1.1%
- Fat: 2.3%
- Fiber: 7.9%
- Calcium: 0.3%
Best Low-Calorie Puppy Treats: Crazy Dog Train-Me! Chicken Flavor Treats
The perfect size for training sessions, each little bite is only three calories. The chicken flavor enhanced with pork liver and natural smoke flavor will help motivate your pup to be the best boy or girl they can be. You’ll also feel good knowing each treat is free of corn and soy, or preservatives like BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin.
At 62.5% carbohydrates on a dry-matter basis, these tiny treats are high in carbs and consequently fairly low in protein, fat, and fiber. But because they’re so small, they shouldn’t negatively impact your pup’s nutritional balance.
Nutrition Details:
- Calories: 3 kcal/treat
- Protein: 16.7%
- Fat: 6.9%
- Fiber: 2.8%
Best Budget Puppy Treats: Old Mother Hubbard Classic Puppy Biscuits
At just 22 cents per ounce on Chewy, these slow-baked, crunchy biscuits are the most cost-efficient option on our list. However, the low price doesn’t mean your puppy will miss out on quality. These crunchy, oven-baked bones are packed with wholesome ingredients such as chicken, oatmeal, apples, and flaxseed.
They also feature essential vitamins and minerals to aid your pup’s growth. While they’re already small in size, you can snap them into even tinier pieces to get more bang for your buck.
Nutrition Details:
- 10 kcal/treat
- Protein: 13.4%
- Fat: 7.9%
- Fiber: 6.2%
Best Calming Puppy Treats: Zesty Paws Puppy Turkey Calming Bites for Dogs
Between adjusting to a new home, socialization, and vet visits for vaccinations, being a puppy is a lot of work! Calming treats, like these puppy bites by Zesty Paws, may offer some soothing relief in stressful situations.
Featuring calming ingredients like L-theanine, these soft treats also have a proprietary blend of probiotics to strengthen your pup’s gut health. (A happy tummy is a happy puppy.) Salmon oil provides essential fatty acids, and the natural turkey flavoring ensures palatability.
Nutritional Details:
- Colostrum (Bovine): 125 mg
- Dried Fermentate (Made Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (EpiCor): 40 mg
- Apple Cider Vinegar: 37 mg
- Salmon Oil: 35 mg
- Astragalus Root: 30 mg
- 5-Strain Gut Health Blend: 125 Million CFU
How We Chose
The puppy treats featured here were selected based on a combination of our own hands-on testing and a comprehensive look at customer reviews across a wide array of retail platforms. We prioritized high-quality ingredients, nutritional alignment with AAFCO, and, of course, taste. We’re also guided by the experience of living and playing alongside our much-loved and strongly opinionated pets, who are never stingy about their feedback—especially when it comes to treats.
