Best Dog Biscuits: How to Choose Healthy, High Value Treats Your Dog Will Love

Like us, our pups deserve a treat every now and then too. In the same way we might reach for something sweet after a long day, our dogs deserve something special when they’ve been well behaved, learned something new or maybe just because we love spoiling them a little.

Treats aren’t just for spoiling your dog either. They’re incredibly useful when it comes to training and keeping dogs engaged throughout the day. Most owners end up relying on them for everything from teaching basic commands and recall to rewarding good behaviour around the house. They’re also handy for enrichment, especially if you use things like puzzle toys or treat dispensers to keep your dog mentally stimulated.

And as you’ve probably noticed yourself, there’s no shortage of choice out there. Whether you’re browsing supermarket shelves or scrolling online, there are now hundreds of different low fat dog treats and natural dog biscuits all claiming to be the healthiest, tastiest or most natural option. Some look fancy and come with a much higher price tag, while others are far more affordable. But does spending more actually mean better ingredients or a treat your dog will truly enjoy?

To help make things easier, we’ve compared some of the best dog biscuits and treats currently available by taking a closer look at ingredients, nutritional value, price and of course, the most important opinion of all… our dogs. Here’s what we thought after putting some of the most popular options to the test with our own furry best friends.

Dog owners are becoming much more aware of what goes into their dog’s treats, especially now that things like weight gain, allergies, sensitive stomachs and ingredient quality are everyday concerns for so many pups. It’s not really enough anymore to grab the first box of biscuits from the shelf because they look nice or promise to be tasty, especially when treats can become such a large part of your dog’s routine.

Treats are meant to be fun, but they still count towards your dog’s diet, and those extra biscuits can add up over time even when their main meals are healthy and balanced. Most vets suggest keeping treats to around 10% of your dog’s daily calories, which is worth remembering when you’re training, filling enrichment toys or being emotionally blackmailed by the world’s largest puppy eyes while you’re enjoying your own snack.

A good dog biscuit should balance:

• Taste: It needs to be tempting enough to keep your dog interested, especially during training or recall practice when you’re competing with sounds and smells that are just too tempting to ignore.
  
  
• Nutritional value: Better biscuits usually include useful protein, natural ingredients and fewer unnecessary fillers, so you’re not just giving your dog something crunchy with very little benefit behind it.
  
  
• Safety: Dog treats should never contain ingredients like xylitol or chocolate. It’s also worth avoiding excess sugar, artificial colours and anything that feels more like a human sweet than something made for dogs.
• Practicality: Size, texture, packaging, price and feeding guidelines make a difference too because the best treat in the world becomes far less useful if it crumbles into dust in your pocket or takes your dog five minutes to chew during training.
  
  
• Your dog’s needs: Puppies usually need tiny rewards they can chew easily with their growing teeth, adult dogs may enjoy crunchy everyday biscuits, senior dogs often prefer softer textures, and dogs with allergies or sensitive stomachs often do better with grain-free, hypoallergenic or single-protein options.

As tempting as it can be to share a little corner of your biscuit with your dog, human biscuits are made for human taste buds and not canine digestion. Even the ones that aren’t considered toxic in small amounts, like plain digestive biscuits or some ginger nut biscuits, are often higher in sugar and fat than anything your dog needs, and too many “just this time” moments can lead to more problems than they’re worth.

Take ginger biscuits, for example. A tiny bit of ginger isn’t usually the issue, but the biscuit itself is packed with things dogs don’t really need like sugar and butter. Digestives are much the same. They might look plain enough, but they’re still made for people, not dogs, and some dogs can struggle with the wheat or grains in them.

Then there are the human biscuits that should be avoided entirely. Anything with chocolate, like a bourbon biscuit or a chocolate-covered digestive, should never be given to dogs because chocolate is toxic to them. Anything containing xylitol or sweeteners can be extremely dangerous for dogs as well.

That’s why dog-specific biscuits are always the safer option. The best dog biscuits are designed for dogs from the start, with ingredients, texture, portion size and feeding guidance to suit their needs rather than ours. They also work better as training rewards or enrichment treats since they avoid all the sugar, butter and unnecessary extras commonly found in human biscuits.

Now we’ve covered what to look for and what to avoid, it’s time to get into the treats themselves. We compared a mix of crunchy biscuits, softer training treats, grain-free options, calming treats and more natural snacks to see how they stack up on ingredients, value, practicality and the only test that really matters at home: whether our dogs licked their lips and came back for more.

Lily’s Kitchen Breaktime Dog Biscuits are a good option if you want a crunchy biscuit made with natural ingredients without lots of heavily processed fillers. They’re oven-baked and include banana, peanut butter and cinnamon, giving them a flavour combination that’s suitable for adult dogs from 4 months old. 

Because they have a crunchy texture, they work well as an occasional snack after a well-behaved day or tucked inside certain treat dispensers for a little extra enrichment, and with a feeding guide of up to two biscuits a day, they’re easy to portion without overdoing it.

For training, softer treats are often much easier to work with, and the Arden Grange Grain Free Superfoods range fits nicely into that category. 

Suitable for puppies over eight weeks old as well as adult dogs, these naturally hypoallergenic treats come in flavours like chicken, lamb and duck, and they’re made without wheat gluten, soya, dairy, added sugar or artificial colours, so they can suit dogs with more sensitive stomachs. The grain-free recipes also include a superfood blend with ingredients such as sweet potato, chia seeds, spirulina and dark-skinned berries, giving them a slightly more wholesome feel than a standard training treat.

For puppies and smaller dogs, tiny training treats are usually much more practical than big crunchy biscuits, especially when you’re doing regularly daily sessions and need to reward quickly. Denzel’s Salmon, Peanut Butter & Sweet Potato Puppy Bites are made for this kind of training, with small, low-calorie, grain-free pieces that are easy to keep in your pocket for walks, puppy classes and even those at-home session where you need to rescue your slippers from their needle teeth. 

They’re baked in the UK using 100% natural ingredients like salmon, peanut butter, sweet potato, linseed and coconut oil, giving them Omega-3s to support growing pups while still feeling like a proper treat.

For dogs who need their treats to do a little more than simply taste good, Pooch & Mutt’s Probiotic Meaty Treats are a really good option. Each recipe is designed to support a different area of canine health too.

You’ve got Calming flower-shaped treats that fit nicely into a bedtime routine after that final toilet break of the night, Skin & Coat treats with a clever shrimp and coconut combination for dogs prone to dry skin or dull coats, and Dental treats made with duck and rosemary in little tooth shapes to help support teeth and gums. These are a strong contender for the best dog biscuit if you want something that feels more targeted to your pup’s health rather than a standard everyday reward.

Forthglade Soft Bites are a nice middle ground between a training treat and a softer everyday biscuit, especially for dogs who prefer something a little easier to chew. They’re hand-baked, grain-free and made with natural ingredients, with no artificial flavours or unnecessary fillers. 

They’re available in flavours like turkey, lamb, chicken with liver and honey with banana giving you a good mix of meaty and sweeter options depending on what your dog tends to enjoy most. The heart-shaped pieces are suitable from two months old and can be broken in half for smaller dogs or puppies.

For nervous dogs, excitable pups and those that just seem to take a little longer to switch off no matter how long they’ve been walked, the HOWND Keep Calm Hypoallergenic Wellness Calming Treats are a lovely option to have in the cupboard.

These soft and chewy treats are plant-based, grain-free and naturally hypoallergenic so they’re an easy choice for dogs with sensitive stomachs, meat protein allergies or dairy intolerances, while the calming blend of lavender, chamomile and valerian root is designed to help support relaxation.

Cooper & Co Air Dried Treats are a good choice if your dog loves a high-value meaty snack and you’re looking for the best dog biscuits with a higher-protein recipe. Each pouch is made with high-meat sausage slices that are shaped and slowly air-dried over several days to help keep the flavour and nutritional value locked in, with some recipes containing up to 90% meat or fish protein. 

What we like here is that the range is built around different needs, so there are options for fussy dogs, active dogs, sensitive stomachs, calming support and even skin and coat care. They’re made in Britain too using natural ingredients, with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and many recipes are grain-free too.

The Innocent Hound Picnic Bars are a bit different to your usual dog biscuits because they’re larger and shaped more like a little muesli bar than a classic treat. Made with British venison, British duck, sweet potato, cranberry and rosehip, they feel like a lovely option for more active dogs or longer walks where you want something a bit more substantial in your pocket. 

We also like that they’re easy to break into smaller pieces as you go, so instead of having loads of tiny treats loose amongst the poo bags and keys in your coat pocket, you can take one bar out with you and use it for rewards along the way.

A problem many pup owners run into is finding treats that suit dogs who seem a little sensitive to grains, but Walker & Drake make things easier by focusing entirely on grain-free dog treats. 

Their recipes are baked for a softer texture and made with protein as the number one ingredient. They’re also suitable for all breeds from eight weeks old and include nourishing ingredients, superfoods and botanicals like peanut butter, blueberry, lamb, sweet potato, beef, chicken, carrot and kale.

To finish off our list of the best dog biscuits, we have Soopa Healthy Bites, vegan, grain-free and hypoallergenic treats made with simple plant-based ingredients. They’re made using natural human-grade superfoods rather than meat proteins which is often a good choice for dogs with allergies, dietary sensitivities or pups who need low-fat treats. 

The flavour range is much more fun than you might expect too, with options like banana and peanut butter, carrot and pumpkin, coconut and chia seed, cranberry and sweet potato, kale and apple, plus puppy and senior-friendly banana and pumpkin recipes too. They also come in adorable little flower shapes!

The right dog biscuit depends on what you’re using it for, because the treat you’d give after a long walk isn’t always the same one you’d use for puppy training or enrichment toys. Some treats need to be tiny and quick to eat, others need to be softer, and some are better saved for the moments where you need your dog’s full attention.

• Best for training: Arden Grange Grain Free Superfoods treats and Denzel’s Puppy Bites are all good choices for training because they’re soft, easy to break up and quick for dogs to eat without losing focus. This makes them handy for recall practice, loose-lead walking and puppy training when you need to give lots of small pieces in a short space of time.
  
  
• Best for puppies: Denzel’s Salmon, Peanut Butter & Sweet Potato Puppy Bites are one of the strongest puppy options because they’re small, low-calorie, grain-free and suitable from eight weeks old.
  
  
• Best for sensitive stomachs and allergies: Walker & Drake Grain-Free Dog Treats and Arden Grange Grain Free Superfoods treats are all worth considering if your dog struggles with grains, dairy, meat proteins or more sensitive digestion. These options focus on grain-free and hypoallergenic recipes so never have to second guess what’s inside.
  
  
• Best for nervous or excitable dogs: HOWND Keep Calm Hypoallergenic Wellness Calming Treats are the most obvious choice here because they include calming botanicals like lavender, chamomile and valerian root. Pooch & Mutt’s Calming Probiotic Meaty Treats are another nice option for dogs who need a little help winding down, especially around bedtime, travel, fireworks or anything else that tends to make them a little nervous or overexcitable.
  
  
• Best for active dogs and longer walks: The Innocent Hound Picnic Bars and Cooper & Co Air Dried Treats are both great for dogs who need something a little more substantial than a tiny training treat. Picnic Bars are easy to carry whole and break up as you go, while Cooper & Co’s high-meat air-dried slices are a strong choice for dogs who need something high-value to come back to while off lead.
  
  
• Best for enrichment toys: Forthglade Soft Bites and Soopa Healthy Bites all work well for enrichment depending on the toy you’re using. Crunchier biscuits can be tucked into treat dispensers while softer bites can be broken into smaller pieces for puzzle toys.
  
  
• Best for everyday treating: Lily’s Kitchen Breaktime Dog Biscuits and Walker & Drake Grain-Free Treats are good everyday options when you want something tasty without going too rich. They still need to be fed in moderation, of course, but they’re the kind of treats that feel easy to fit into normal routines without making treat time too complicated.

We’ve all been guilty of giving our pups one extra treat simply because they looked a little too cute in the moment. But it’s important to remember that treats are still extra calories, no matter how small they might be to us. It helps to be a little intentional with how often you use them, especially if your dog is small, less active or already prone to gaining weight.

A helpful rule to follow is keeping biscuits and other treats to around 10% of your dog’s daily calories. That doesn’t mean you need to obsess over every crumb, but it does mean treats should stay as a small part of their overall diet rather than slowly becoming half their food for the day. If your dog is having lots of rewards during training, it may be worth giving slightly smaller meals or choosing lower-calorie treats to balance things out.

We also know that when you’re training, it’s easy to get through a lot of treats. It’s part of the reason training sessions should remain short – that and to avoid overloading your pup’s brain too quickly. In this case, the best dog biscuits can be broken into smaller pieces. We guarantee your dog will care less about the size they get and more about being rewarded with something tasty in the first place.

It can also be tempting to use higher-value treats like cheese, cooked chicken, freeze-dried meat or peanut butter-based snacks when you really need your dog’s attention. And while this is fine sometimes, they can again add up quickly. We suggest using these for harder tasks and sticking to lighter biscuits or smaller pieces for everyday rewards.

Keeping an eye on your dog’s body shape is a good way of spotting whether treats might be creeping up too much. You should be able to see their waist from above and feel their ribs without having to press hard, but those ribs shouldn’t be sharply sticking out either. If your dog needs to lose weight, has a medical condition or is on a specific diet, your vet is always the best person to ask before changing their treat routine.

Homemade dog biscuits can be a really lovely thing to make, especially if you enjoy baking and want full control over what goes into your dog’s treats. Ingredients like plain flour, wholemeal flour, oats, egg, banana and dog-safe peanut butter are often used in homemade recipes, and making them yourself means you can tailor the size and ingredients around your dog’s needs.

That said, it’s important to be careful with homemade dog treats because not everything we can eat is safe for dogs. Peanut butter, for example, should always be xylitol-free, and ingredients like chocolate, raisins, onion, garlic, too much salt and unsafe sweeteners should be kept well away from your pup’s tummy. Online recipes can be great, but they’re not all created with canine digestion in mind, so it’s worth checking every ingredient before you start baking.

Shop-bought dog biscuits have the benefit of being consistent and easy to understand. You can check the label, follow the feeding guide, know roughly how many treats your dog should have and choose options designed around things like training, sensitive stomachs, puppies, calming support or enrichment. That kind of reliability is handy when you’re using treats every day and want something that fits into your dog’s routine without too much guesswork.

A bit of both is probably the most realistic option for many owners. Homemade biscuits are fun for the odd baking session, but they’re not always quick, and we all know good intentions can disappear pretty fast once work, walks, washing and everything else gets in the way. So even if you love the idea of making treats yourself, it’s still worth keeping a supply of some of the best dog biscuits in the cupboard for when you need them.

In the same way we like to have a bit of fun with the treats we eat, it’s completely fine to have fun with the treats your dog gets too. Treats should be enjoyable and something your dog looks forward to, but they also need to be safe and made with their bodies in mind rather than ours.

As we’ve covered, the best dog biscuits aren’t always the fanciest-looking ones or the most expensive ones. Some are brilliant for training, some are better for puppies, some suit sensitive stomachs, and others are simply best for when your pup has been the good-est boy or girl and knows it!

What matters most is choosing treats that fit your dog’s needs by checking the ingredients properly and remembering that even healthy biscuits still count as part of their daily diet.

Here at WOOOF, you can shop some of the best dog biscuits, natural dog treats and low fat dog treats on the market, with plenty of natural, dog-specific treats designed for pups and pups only, so there’s never any temptation to share your human biscuits with them again.

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