Best Puppy Training Treats for Small Dogs: Calorie-Conscious Picks

Well, the internet is full of tiny, colorful, "training" treats that claim to be perfect for small dogs. But when your puppy is 4 pounds soaking wet, a single "training" biscuit the size of a quarter is basically a full meal, and you're blowing your calorie budget before you've even taught them to sit.

I’m Marcus, and I’ve been running my puppy kindergarten for four years now, graduating over thirty puppies a month. I’ve seen more 3-pound Yorkies and 5-pound Chihuahuas than I can count, and I’ve watched owners struggle with treats that are too big, too crumbly, or too rich. I’ve been through the wringer with my own dog, Waffles, who was a 12-week-old golden retriever mix with a bottomless stomach. But the tiny-dog owners have it harder. They need treats that are smaller than a pea, low enough in calories that you can use twenty in a session, and soft enough that a teething puppy doesn't need to chomp down and break focus.

I've tested a lot of junk in the last few years. I’ve bought bags that were too hard, too greasy, and one brand that turned to dust in my pocket before we even got to the park. So, I've narrowed it down to the ones that actually survive the week-six test with a small-breed puppy.

Here’s the short list for the best puppy training treats for small dogs I’d actually feed my own dog:

How I test this stuff

Honestly, I don't do lab tests. I do the "week-six test." That's the point in my 8-week class where the novelty of training has worn off. The puppy is a teenager, the owners are tired, and the treats have been sitting in a hot car or a sweaty pocket. I see which treats survive that. Do they stay soft? Do the puppies still go nuts for them when a skateboard rolls by? Do they break into pieces small enough for a 3-pound Morkie to chew without pausing?

I also count calories. For a small dog, a treat that's 5 calories is a huge deal. A 5-pound puppy might only need 200 calories a day. If you use 20 treats in a session, and they're 3 calories each, that's 60 calories, or 30% of their daily intake. That's the math I'm doing, not the marketing on the front of the bag.

Zuke's Mini Naturals

Let's start with the biggest flaw: they are not the cheapest option on the shelf. A bag costs around $7, and if you have a dog that eats like a lab (like Waffles), you'll blow through it in a week. But for small dogs, this is a non-issue. The bag lasts forever because you're only giving them one or two pieces at a time.

These are the treats I recommend to every owner in my class who has a dog under 15 pounds. They're about the size of a pea, which is perfect. You don't have to break them, and they don't crumble into a pile of dust in your pocket. I had a student with a 5-month-old Papillon who was a notorious treat snob. She turned her nose up at everything. I gave the owner a handful of my Zuke's, and the dog did a double-take, then sat perfectly for ten minutes straight. The owner looked at me like I was a wizard. I'm not a wizard. I just know the texture is right.

The duck flavor is the one I buy. It's soft enough that a teething puppy doesn't have to work hard, but firm enough that it doesn't smear all over your fingers. They're 3 calories per treat, which is low enough that you can use them liberally. I keep a bag in my car, a bag in my treat pouch, and a bag in the kitchen. They're worth every penny. If you have a small dog, just buy these. You can stop reading now if you want.

Vital Essentials Minnows

Now, these are the opposite of the Zuke's. They smell. They smell a lot. My wife refuses to let me keep the bag in the house, so it lives in the garage. But I have never, in four years of teaching, seen a puppy turn these down. Not once. Not even the picky, sickly, "I only eat chicken breast" puppies.

They are freeze-dried whole minnows. They are crunchy, which is great for the velociraptor phase when the puppy wants to gnaw on everything. The crunch satisfies that urge. They're also a single ingredient, which is a huge plus for owners with sensitive stomachs. I had a student with a 4-pound Maltese who had diarrhea on every store-bought treat. We switched to these, and the problem vanished.

The downside, besides the smell, is the size. They're not uniform. Some are tiny, some are a bit longer. You might need to break the bigger ones in half for a 2-pound puppy. But they are so high-value that they're perfect for the dreaded walk or for distracting a puppy during the witching hour. They're about $12 a bag, which sounds steep, but a little goes a long way because you only use them for the big stuff. This is the nuclear option. Use it sparingly.

Blue Buffalo Blue Bits

These are the treats I keep in my pocket for when I run out of Zuke's. They're a close second, and for some puppies, they're actually the winner. The texture is softer than the Zuke's, almost like a little piece of bread. The peanut butter flavor is a huge hit with the majority of my students. I had a 9-week-old Shih Tzu mix in class last month who would start drooling the second the owner opened the bag. It was gross and adorable.

The issue here is the calories. They're a bit higher than the Zuke's. I think they're around 4 calories per treat. That doesn't sound like much, but when you're training a toy breed, it adds up. For a 3-pound Yorkie, that's a significant chunk of their daily intake. So, I tell owners to use these for the low-stakes stuff, like practicing "sit" in the living room, but switch to the Zuke's for the high-repetition sessions.

They also tend to dry out if you leave the bag open. I've had owners complain that they turn into little rocks after a week. I haven't had that issue because I go through them fast, but it's a real complaint. At around $6 a bag, they're a solid budget option, but not the absolute best.

Fruitables Skinny Minis

These are the wildcard. They're sweet potato and pumpkin flavored. They smell like a bakery, not like meat. I was skeptical when a student first brought them in, but they work for a specific type of dog: the puppy who is not food-motivated by meat. I get the occasional puppy who just doesn't care about chicken or beef. They're usually the ones who will eat anything sweet.

These are the lowest calorie treats on this list, which is a huge win for the small dog crowd. They're also very crunchy, which is good for dental health, but they can be a bit hard for a very young puppy. I had a student with a 10-week-old Pomeranian who struggled with them because they were too hard. We had to break them into pieces, which created crumbs.

The crumbs are the thing that kills me. They crumble in your pocket. You'll pull out your hand and find a pile of orange dust. That drives me insane. But, they're cheap, they're low-cal, and they work for the weird picky eaters. If your puppy doesn't like meat, these are worth a shot. Just keep them in a baggie, not loose in your pocket.

The decision, in prose

So, here's the honest bottom line. If you have a small dog and you want one bag of treats that does everything, get the Zuke's Mini Naturals. They are the best puppy training treats for small dogs because they tick every box: size, texture, calorie count, and palatability.

If you have a puppy who is a picky eater or gets easily distracted on walks, get the Vital Essentials Minnows. They're the secret weapon for the hard cases. They smell like a fish market, but the training results are undeniable.

Choose the Blue Buffalo Blue Bits if you're on a budget and your puppy isn't a picky eater. Choose the Fruitables if you have a puppy who is obsessed with sweet stuff and you need the lowest calorie option out there.

I don't track prices day to day, so I won't pretend to know next week's exact cost, but these are all in the $6 to $12 range, and they all last a while for a small dog.

Look, at the end of the day, I just want you to have a puppy who looks at you when you say their name. And the fastest way to get there is with a treat they're willing to work for. These four are what I use, what I recommend, and what I'd feed Waffles if he wasn't a 65-pound vacuum cleaner who inhales them by the handful. Start with the Zuke's. You won't be disappointed.