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
Shar Peis are one of those breeds where the skin is genuinely the first thing to protect — and at five months you're right to be thinking about this before problems start rather than after. The best training treats are pea-sized, smelly, high in protein, and eaten in one gulp so your pup stays focused — they need to feel like a bigger reward than everyday food. To point you to the right thing: how much does your puppy weigh roughly, what are you training for right now, and do you already know which specific ingredients are a concern — chicken, wheat, dairy, beef?
She's about 8kg, we're working on basic obedience — sit, stay, recall. No diagnosed allergies yet but I've read Shar Peis are prone to food sensitivities so I want to avoid chicken, beef, wheat and dairy just to be safe.
inparticular.ai
That's a sensible precautionary approach for this breed — chicken and beef are the two most common triggers and cutting them early means you won't accidentally build a sensitivity through repeated exposure during training. For an 8kg puppy doing lots of repetitions in a session, you want something with a single novel protein, no grain, and strong enough smell to hold attention. Can I ask — is she food-motivated generally, or do you have to work a bit to keep her engaged?
She's pretty motivated but can get distracted easily, so something really smelly would help.
inparticular.ai
Perfect — then salmon is your best option here. It's a novel protein that avoids all the ingredients you want to skip, it has a strong oily smell that cuts through distractions, and it's naturally anti-inflammatory which is an added bonus for a breed with skin predispositions. I'd go with Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Salmon Treats — but since those aren't always easy to source in the UK, the most reliable option on Amazon UK right now is Natural Salmon Bites by Inspired Pet Nutrition. They're single-ingredient freeze-dried salmon, genuinely pea-sized, and have nothing else added — no preservatives, no fillers, no common allergens. Break them in half for a five-month-old to keep portions tiny across a long session. One bag goes a long way.
That sounds ideal. How many should I be giving per training session at her age?
inparticular.ai
At five months, keep sessions short — 5 to 10 minutes maximum — and aim for no more than 20 to 30 treats per session. Freeze-dried treats are calorie-dense, so factor them into her daily food allowance rather than adding on top. If you're training twice a day, reduce her main meals slightly on those days. The goal is that each treat feels valuable because she's not full, not because you've given her loads of them.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll order those today.
inparticular.ai
Great choice for her. One last thing worth noting — even with a clean ingredient list, introduce any new treat gradually over a few days and keep an eye on her skin and digestion. If you see increased itching or loose stools, it's useful information even if salmon is generally well-tolerated. Good luck with the training — Shar Peis are smart and she'll pick this up quickly.
