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
Teaching calm-behaviour cues to a 13-year-old Poodle is genuinely lovely work — older dogs can absolutely learn new associations, but the treat needs to be gentle on an ageing gut, soft enough for older teeth, and still interesting enough to motivate. The most effective training treats are pea-sized, smelly, and high in protein — eaten in one go so focus stays on you, not on chewing. What's your Poodle's current weight, what specific calm cues are you working on, and are there any dietary restrictions or sensitivities I should know about?
She's about 28kg, we're working on settle and place — basically rewarding her for lying down calmly rather than pacing. She has a sensitive stomach and we've had issues with rich treats causing loose stools in the past.
inparticular.ai
That's really useful. Settle and place training uses a lot of repetitions in a session — you could easily go through 20 to 30 treats — so a sensitive stomach is a real constraint here. Rich liver or cheese-based treats are too dense for that volume. Can I ask what she's currently eating as her main diet? That helps me make sure whatever I suggest isn't doubling up on ingredients she might be reacting to.
She's on a plain chicken and rice wet food, vet recommended it after a stomach episode last year. No grains, no beef, no pork.
inparticular.ai
Perfect — chicken is already established as safe for her, so staying in that lane is the right move. My recommendation is Forthglade Natural Meaty Treats in chicken. They're single-ingredient, air-dried chicken breast, soft enough for senior teeth, low in fat, and genuinely smelly in a way that gets a dog's attention without being overpowering. Crucially, they're easy to break into tiny pieces — you want fragments smaller than a pea for settle work, where you're rewarding stillness rather than active engagement. They won't upset her stomach at the volumes you'll be using, and because they're not artificially flavoured, there's no sugar spike that might actually increase restlessness. You can find them on Amazon UK for around £5 to £6 for a 100g bag, which lasts a good few sessions when you're working at pea-sized portions.
That sounds ideal. Should I be doing anything differently with treat delivery for calm behaviours compared to, say, a sit or a recall?
inparticular.ai
Yes — and it matters a lot with settle work. For active cues like sit, you can deliver the treat quickly and with energy. For calm cues, you want to place the treat gently on the floor near her nose or hand-deliver it very quietly while she's still in position. No excited voice, no fast movement. The treat is a confirmation, not a celebration. With a 13-year-old, keep sessions short — five minutes maximum — and end on a success. Her brain is still sharp but she'll tire faster than a younger dog, and fatigue can look like stubbornness.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll order the Forthglade and give it a go.
inparticular.ai
Good luck with her — settle is one of the most useful things a dog can learn at any age, and Poodles tend to be very food-motivated even into old age, so she should pick this up well. If the Forthglade chicken ever goes out of stock, the same brand does a natural turkey variety that would be equally safe for her.
