The best dog training treats are not always the smelliest, the most expensive or the ones another dog trainer recommends.
The best reward is the one your dog actually wants, in that situation, for that behaviour, at that moment.
That might be a tiny piece of kibble in your kitchen. It might be a soft training treat in puppy class. It might be pâté, fish or something wonderfully stinky when you are asking your dog to come away from squirrels, dogs, picnics or the suspiciously magnetic patch of fox poo.
This is where training becomes much fairer. Instead of asking, “What are the best dog training treats?” we start asking, “What is the right reward for this dog, in this environment, doing this job?”
Why the best dog training treats depend on the situation
In dog training, reinforcement simply means something that makes a behaviour more likely to happen again.
Food is one of the easiest reinforcers to use because it is quick, clear and practical. But not all food has the same value to your dog. A bit of kibble at home might be perfectly useful. That same piece of kibble in a busy park may be about as exciting as being paid 50p to clean the gutters.
This matters because dogs are always making choices. If the environment is offering something your dog finds more valuable than you are offering, it is not really surprising when they pick the environment.
That does not mean your dog is stubborn, dominant or plotting against your life choices. It usually means the reward does not match the difficulty of the task.
The 50p, £10 and £1000 dog training treat scale
I often explain dog training treats using a simple pay scale.
A simple sit in the kitchen with no distractions might only need a 50p reward. A recall in the garden might need a £10 reward. Coming away from another dog, a squirrel, a picnic blanket or a field full of smells may need a £1000 reward.
No, I do not expect you to spend £1000 on dog treats. Although, yes, a client did once ask.
The point is this: the harder the behaviour is for your dog, the better the reward may need to be.
| Reward value | Best used for | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 50p rewards | Easy behaviours in easy places | Kibble, part of your dog’s normal meal |
| £10 rewards | Everyday training and slightly harder situations | Small soft training treats, fish cubes, sushi treats |
| £100 rewards | Busier environments, puppy classes, visitors, first walks | Higher-value meat or fish treats |
| £1000 rewards | Recall, wildlife, big distractions, genuinely hard moments | Pâté, salmon stick, special recall treats |
There is no universal best dog training treat
Every dog has their own reward hierarchy.
Bear might think one treat is worth £1000. Blue might look at the same treat and file a formal complaint. Different dogs value different things, and those preferences can also change depending on the environment, hunger level, stress level and what else is available.
This is why a treat that works beautifully in your living room might suddenly “stop working” in puppy class, on a walk or near another dog. The treat has not magically become useless. The environment has become more valuable.
So rather than trying to find the one perfect treat, it is far more useful to build a reward menu for your dog.
Build a reward menu for your dog
A reward menu is simply a list of things your dog finds reinforcing. Some will be food. Some may be toys, movement, sniffing, access or social interaction.
This is useful because dog training is not really about bribing your dog with snacks. It is about understanding what your dog values and using that information kindly and effectively.
You can learn more about the difference between a reward and a reinforcer in Rewards Vs. Reinforcers.
| Reward type | Examples | Useful for |
|---|---|---|
| Food rewards | Kibble, training treats, fish cubes, pâté | Most training, recall, puppy classes, new skills |
| Toy rewards | Tug, chase, retrieve, ball games | Dogs who love play, engagement, motivation |
| Sniffing rewards | “Go sniff”, exploring a hedge, checking a scent | Walks, loose lead training, decompression |
| Life rewards | Going through a gate, greeting someone, getting out of the car | Real-life manners, impulse control, everyday choices |
| Social rewards | Praise, touch, access to people or dogs | Some dogs, some situations, never assumed |
The key is to watch your actual dog. Not the dog on Instagram. Not the dog in the book. Not the dog who apparently does everything for one dry biscuit and a polite thumbs up.
Your dog tells you what is reinforcing by what they choose again and again.
Not all rewards have to be food
Food is incredibly useful, but it is not the only reinforcer available.
On a walk, sniffing might be more valuable than a treat. For a toy-mad dog, tug might be more exciting than a biscuit. For a sociable dog, greeting someone might be the thing they really want. For a spaniel, the reward may be investigating that one magical leaf that absolutely must be inspected for 47 minutes.
This is why training becomes much more powerful when we stop thinking only in terms of “treats” and start thinking in terms of reinforcement.
You can also read Do You Always Have To Use Food? if you want to explore this more.
What makes a good dog training treat?
For most training, I want treats to be:
- Small, so the dog can eat them quickly
- Soft, so training does not pause while they crunch for ages
- Smelly, especially outdoors or around distractions
- Easy to deliver, so your timing stays clear
- High enough value for the situation
- Suitable for your individual dog, including age, digestion and dietary needs
I generally prefer high-protein treats with simple ingredients where possible. Some bright supermarket treats may look fun, but many are full of unnecessary fillers, colours and sugars. Your dog does not need treats that look like they were designed by a children’s party bag committee.
If you are using a lot of treats, it is also important to reduce your dog’s normal food slightly so their overall daily intake stays balanced. For more on this, read How to Tell if Your Dog Is a Healthy Weight. You can also use the PDSA Body Condition Score guide as a helpful independent reference.
How small should dog training treats be?
Much smaller than most people think.
For training, the reward is often in the receiving, not the chewing. Your dog does not need a whole biscuit every time they make a good choice. Tiny pieces are usually enough, especially when you are rewarding frequently.
Small treats help because they:
- keep training moving quickly
- reduce the risk of overfeeding
- allow you to reward more often
- make it easier to practise without filling your dog up
- help your dog stay engaged without turning training into a three-course meal
If your dog snatches treats or takes your fingers with them, have a look at How to Teach Your Dog to Take Treats Gently.
My rough dog training treat hierarchy
This is not a fixed rule. Your dog may completely disagree with Bear, Blue and every other dog I have ever met. That is allowed. Dogs are individuals, not treat-dispensing spreadsheets.
But as a starting point, this is how I would usually think about treat value.
Everyday rewards: easy jobs
These are your “50p” rewards. They are useful for simple behaviours at home, low-distraction training and easy repetitions.
- Your dog’s normal food
- Kibble
- Small pieces from their daily allowance
This works best when your dog is fed in a structured way rather than having food available all day. You can read more in Avoid Leaving Dog Food Down.
Training rewards: everyday learning
These are your “£10” rewards. They are useful for puppy classes, learning new behaviours, loose lead walking foundations, name response, recall practice in easy places and general training.
These are the sort of treats I would usually want clients to bring to classes, especially if their dog finds the environment exciting, distracting or a bit overwhelming.
High-value rewards: harder environments
These are your “£100” rewards. They are useful when your dog is working around more distractions, meeting visitors, settling in new places, learning around other dogs or practising skills outside the house.
- Hollings Sprats Dog Treats
- Fish Skin Cubes Dog Treats
- Pure Chicken Nibbles Training Treats
- Thrive ProReward Training Treats
Some dogs will also find play, sniffing or access to the environment more reinforcing than food in these moments, so watch what your dog is telling you.
Jackpot rewards: recall and big distractions
These are your “£1000” rewards. I save these for the hardest jobs, especially recall, wildlife, big distractions, emergency moments or anything the dog finds genuinely difficult.
- JR Chicken Pate Recall Treat
- JR Salmon Sticks Recall Treat
- JR Recall Treats
- Pet Munchies Recall Treats Selection Box
If recall is the behaviour you are working on, also read The Ultimate Guide to Dog Recall Training or have a look at the Rapid Recall Online Course.
You can learn more about when to use bigger rewards in Jackpot Rewards for Dogs.
The environment changes the value of the reward
This is where many owners get caught out.
A treat might be high value at home and low value outside. A toy might be exciting in the garden but irrelevant near livestock. A dog who takes treats beautifully in the kitchen may refuse food completely when they are stressed, overexcited or too close to something worrying.
That does not mean food-based training has failed. It means you need to look at the whole picture:
- Is the environment too difficult?
- Is your dog too close to a distraction?
- Is your dog stressed or over threshold?
- Is the food valuable enough?
- Is your dog already full?
- Has food accidentally become part of a stressful setup?
If your dog refuses food in training, read Why Won’t My Dog Take Treats? 5 Common Causes. It is rarely as simple as “my dog is not food motivated”.
One of the biggest dog training treat mistakes
One of the biggest mistakes is using the best treats all the time.
If your dog gets their £1000 reward for every tiny thing, that special reward can lose some of its power. It becomes normal. Still nice, but not quite as special.
This does not mean being stingy. It means being thoughtful.
Use everyday rewards for everyday jobs. Use better rewards for harder jobs. Save the really special stuff for moments where you genuinely need your dog to think, “Wow, that was worth coming back for.”
If you are worried about whether you are using too much food, read Can You Give Too Many Treats?.
Are you paying your dog enough?
When training is not going well, it is easy to think, “My dog knows this.”
But it is often more helpful to ask:
- Is this behaviour actually hard for my dog right now?
- What else is competing for their attention?
- Am I using the right reward for the job?
- Would I do this much work for what I am offering?
This is not about bribery. It is about fair pay.
If I ask Bear to come away from something he really wants, I need to make coming back to me worth his effort. If I only offer the dog equivalent of 50p while the environment is offering £1000, I cannot be too surprised when he makes an accountant-approved decision.
Best dog training treats for puppies
For puppies, I want treats to be small, soft and easy to swallow. Puppy training usually involves lots of tiny repetitions, so oversized treats can quickly fill them up or slow the session down.
For puppy classes, I would usually bring a small selection rather than one type of treat. That way, if your puppy gets tired, distracted or overwhelmed, you have options.
- kibble for easy moments
- soft training treats for learning
- fish or meat treats for distractions
- a jackpot option for big wins
Choosing the right rewards is especially useful for puppy biting, toilet training, recall, lead walking, calm greetings and settling. If you want help putting those pieces together, have a look at HPDT Online Courses, including puppy and recall support.
Best dog training treats for recall
Recall is one of the clearest examples of why reward value matters.
Your dog is often being asked to leave something exciting, interesting or valuable. That might be another dog, a person, wildlife, a scent trail, a muddy puddle or a suspiciously delicious patch of ground.
For recall, I usually want a reward that is:
- high value
- easy to deliver quickly
- special enough that it is not available all the time
- safe to carry on walks
- worth turning away from distractions for
This is why I often like JR Chicken Pate or JR Salmon Stick for recall work. They are easy to cut into small pieces and most dogs find them much more exciting than everyday kibble.
If recall is a priority, the treat is only one part of the puzzle. Timing, distance, distraction level and practice history all matter too. Start with The Ultimate Guide to Dog Recall Training or go deeper with Rapid Recall.
Need help choosing rewards for your dog?
Choosing the best dog training treats is only one part of successful training. You also need good timing, the right environment, clear criteria and a plan that fits the dog in front of you.
If you are working on puppy training, recall, loose lead walking, reactivity, jumping up or general life skills, HPDT can help you build a kinder, clearer training plan.
Start with the HPDT Online Courses, including Rapid Recall, or explore HPDT services and consultations.
You can also browse the HPDT Training Treats and Recommended Foods section for treats I recommend and use with dogs in real training situations.
FAQ
What are the best dog training treats?
The best dog training treats are the ones your dog finds reinforcing in that specific situation. For easy training at home, kibble may be enough. For recall, distractions or new environments, you may need higher-value treats such as fish, meat treats or pâté.
What treats should I use for recall training?
Recall usually needs a high-value reward, especially outdoors. Many dogs respond well to soft, smelly, meaty or fish-based treats such as pâté or salmon stick. The reward needs to be worth coming away from whatever your dog wanted to investigate.
Can I use kibble as dog training treats?
Yes, kibble can be useful for easy behaviours in low-distraction places. It is often not valuable enough for harder training, such as recall, puppy classes, loose lead walking outdoors or working around distractions.
Why won’t my dog take treats outside?
Your dog may be stressed, overexcited, too close to a distraction, full, unwell or simply not interested in that particular treat. It does not automatically mean your dog is not food motivated. The environment may be too difficult, or the reward may not be valuable enough.
Will dog training treats make my dog overweight?
They do not have to. Keep treats small, use part of your dog’s daily food allowance where appropriate, and reduce meals slightly if you use a lot of rewards during training. Regularly check your dog’s body condition and speak to your vet if you are unsure.
Do I always have to use food in dog training?
No. Food is very useful because it is quick and clear, but dogs can also be reinforced by toys, sniffing, movement, access to the environment, social interaction and other things they value. The best trainers learn what each individual dog finds reinforcing.
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