Why choose grain-free treats
Grain is rarely what makes a treat worth giving. For dogs with a food allergy or a sensitive stomach, however, wheat, corn and other grain sources can be a genuine trigger for itching, an upset stomach or loose stools. Grain-free dog treats remove that variable: there is no grain to react to, and the space in the treat goes to meat instead of cheap filler.
It is worth emphasising that grain is not harmful for most dogs. The vast majority tolerate grain just fine. The point of choosing grain-free is therefore not that grain is dangerous in itself, but that you rule out a known allergy source and get a treat with a higher meat content. This is especially relevant if you already feed a grain-free meal and want to keep the whole diet consistent, so that the rewards throughout the day do not pull in a different direction than the food bowl. If you want to read more about the thinking behind it, we have gathered it in the article why grain-free dog food.
Mini Delights for training and daily rewards
When you reward often, for example during puppy training or on a walk, the size and calorie content of each individual treat quickly matters for the overall day. Mini Delights are small, soft pieces designed precisely for that situation: many repetitions without filling the dog up or pushing the day's calories up.
The collection covers four protein sources, so you can vary them or choose according to what your dog tolerates best. DUCK MINI DELIGHTS with duck and SALMON MINI DELIGHTS with salmon are both light protein sources, while LAMB MINI DELIGHTS with lamb and TURKEY MINI DELIGHTS with turkey provide additional choices if the dog is to try a new protein source. If you have a puppy, it can be an advantage to start with the variants with a single simple protein source.
Dental Delights that clean teeth without grain
Treats do not only have to be a reward. Dental Delights are shaped and textured so that the chewing motion helps scrape plaque off the teeth while the dog is eating. That makes them a daily habit with an extra function rather than a pure snack.
They come in three grain-free variants with different protein sources: GRAIN-FREE CLASSIC DENTAL DELIGHTS, GRAIN-FREE BEEF & GAME DENTAL DELIGHTS with beef and game, and GRAIN-FREE BEEF & RABBIT DENTAL DELIGHTS with beef and rabbit. A dental treat does not replace brushing, but it is an easy supplement in everyday life. If you want to do more about oral hygiene, you can read how to brush a dog's teeth.
How to choose for a dog with allergies or a sensitive stomach
If your dog has a known food allergy, it is not enough that the treat is grain-free. The common allergy in dogs is most often to specific protein sources such as beef, chicken or milk, not to grain itself. The choice is therefore just as much about which protein the treat contains.
The practical advice is to stick to as few and as simple protein sources as possible, and preferably the same as in the dog's food, so you can easily work out what it reacts to. If you feed a salmon-based meal, for example, it makes sense to reward with a treat of the same protein source rather than introducing beef and game alongside it. If you are in the process of working out what your dog cannot tolerate, change only one thing at a time and give it a couple of weeks. Our article on allergy-friendly dog food goes into more depth on the approach, and you can see our entire selection of allergy-friendly gathered in one place.
How many treats your dog is allowed
Even a low-calorie treat counts towards the day's total intake. A common rule of thumb is that treats and snacks should make up no more than around 10 per cent of the dog's daily energy requirement, so the rest comes from a fully balanced meal. If you give many treats during a training day, you should cut back correspondingly on the food bowl so as not to end up with overweight.
The small formats such as Mini Delights make it easier to stay within that framework, precisely because each individual bite is small. If you want to work it out more concretely for your dog, the article how many treats a dog is allowed will help you further.
Grain-free across the whole diet, not just the treats
If you choose grain-free treats because your dog has a sensitive stomach or allergy, it makes the most sense to think the whole day through. A grain-free reward has limited effect if the main meal still contains what the dog reacts to. Our grain-free dog food is built to work together with the treats here, so you can keep the whole diet free of grain from bowl to snack.
If the dog has a delicate stomach, it may also be relevant to take a closer look at food composed for exactly that, for example our selection of dog food for dogs with a delicate stomach. And if you are looking more broadly for the right daily meals, you will find them under treats for dogs.
