This is a specific conversation about Dog training treats — high value, small size — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Excessive thirst and frequent urination after treats is a real red flag — that pattern often points to a high-sodium ingredient list, which some cheaper training treats are guilty of. The most effective training treats anyway are pea-sized, smelly, and high in protein — gone in one bite so your dog stays focused, and more exciting than their regular food. Before I point you in the right direction: how much does your Maltese weigh, what are you training them on, and aside from avoiding whatever caused those symptoms, any other dietary restrictions I should know about?
She's about 4kg, we're working on recall and basic commands. No other restrictions but I want to avoid anything with high salt or artificial additives. The vet said her bloods were fine but to switch treats immediately.
inparticular.ai
Good that the vet cleared her — and smart to act fast. For a 4kg Maltese doing recall and commands, you need something tiny, soft, and genuinely appealing, but with a clean ingredient list. What brand were you using before? That'll help me rule out anything similar.
It was Wagg Training Treats. They were convenient but clearly not agreeing with her.
inparticular.ai
Wagg uses a lot of cereal filler and the sodium levels are higher than they look on the pack — not ideal for a small dog. Here's what I'd switch to: Lily's Kitchen Chicken and Turkey Trainers. They're organic, made with over 50% meat, no added salt, no artificial anything. Each piece is already pea-sized and soft, so perfect for a Maltese. The chicken smell is strong enough to hold her attention during recall, which is the hardest exercise to treat-train reliably. They're well within the clean-ingredient brief and a complete contrast to what she was on.
That sounds good. How many should I be giving her per session without overdoing it?
inparticular.ai
For a 4kg dog, keep sessions to around 20–30 treats maximum and treat that as roughly 10% of her daily calorie intake — so reduce her main meal slightly on heavy training days. Lily's Kitchen Trainers are low-calorie per piece, which helps, but the 10% rule is the one to stick to regardless of brand. Short, frequent sessions — five minutes, several times a day — will get you faster results than one long session anyway, especially for recall.
Perfect, that's really helpful. I'll order those today.
inparticular.ai
Good call. Keep an eye on water intake for the first week just to confirm the old treats were the culprit — you should see it normalise quickly. If it doesn't settle within a few days of switching, worth a follow-up with your vet just to be thorough. Good luck with the training.
