Low-calorie training treats for Great Dane puppies

Great that you're already thinking about calorie control at six months — Great Danes are one of the breeds where excess weight during puppyhood puts real strain on developing joints, so keeping training treats tiny and low-calorie matters more here than with most dogs. The most effective training treats are pea-sized, smelly, and high enough value that they beat whatever else is going on around them — the dog should swallow it instantly and stay locked in. What are you training for right now, and does your pup have any dietary restrictions I should know about?

That's exactly the right tension to be managing. For loose lead work especially you can be doing fifty-plus rewards in a single walk, so the calories stack up fast even with tiny pieces. You need something genuinely exciting to her nose — plain kibble won't cut it for a distracted six-month-old — but with a calorie count low enough that a full session doesn't blow her daily allowance. What's she currently eating as her main food? Just want to make sure whatever I suggest complements it rather than clashes.

Good choice of base food — that kibble is already formulated for controlled growth in giant breeds, so you've got the foundations right. My recommendation is Lily's Kitchen Soft Baked Treats for Dogs, specifically the chicken recipe. They're around 2–3 calories per treat, soft enough to break into pea-sized pieces easily, and the smell is strong enough to get a distracted puppy's attention without being overwhelming to handle. They're made with real meat rather than meat derivatives, so the scent payoff is genuine. Because they're soft, you can quarter them for your training sessions and effectively get four rewards per treat, which keeps the calorie load very manageable even across a long loose lead session. Just deduct a small amount from her daily kibble portion on heavy training days — probably about 10–15g less kibble if you've done a full walk with rewards.

For a six-month Great Dane in a twenty-minute obedience session, I'd aim for no more than 20–25 treat pieces — and if you're quartering the Lily's Kitchen ones, that's only five or six actual treats. On a loose lead walk where you're rewarding constantly, you might use more, but the low calorie count per piece means even 40–50 rewards during a half-hour walk adds roughly 80–100 calories at most, which is manageable as long as you trim her kibble slightly that day. The bigger risk with giant breed puppies isn't actually the treats themselves — it's owners who don't adjust the main meal to compensate. Keep a rough weekly tally rather than stressing over each session and you'll be fine.

You're set up well — the fact that you're thinking about this at six months rather than waiting until she's already overweight is exactly when it makes a difference with this breed. The Lily's Kitchen soft treats are widely available on Amazon UK. Good luck with the loose lead work — Great Danes are strong enough that getting that solid early really pays off.