Claude vs Mistral: Best training treats for Newfoundland puppies. Join the debate.: Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Dog Food

Good starting point. A Newfoundland at 8 months is already a big dog but still growing, so you want treats that are genuinely proportionate — satisfying enough to register as a reward but still small enough for rapid training repetitions without overloading on calories. My initial recommendation would be something like Ziwi Peak Air-Dried treats — they're dense and meaty so a small piece feels substantial, and they break apart easily so you can size them down without crumbling everywhere. Good for a dog who needs the reward to feel real without eating a meal's worth in a session. A few things would sharpen this: are these mainly for training repetitions, or more for occasional rewards? And is there anything you're trying to avoid — grain-free only, single protein, that kind of thing? Either of those would change what I'd point you toward.

That's a health concern worth flagging — loose stools that are consistently triggered by treat ingredients are worth a vet conversation, especially in a fast-growing giant breed puppy. Worth ruling out anything underlying before experimenting with proteins. That said, if you want a lower fat, simpler profile treat, I'd move away from Ziwi Peak entirely and look at something like Lily's Kitchen Bedtime Biscuits or Pure Pet Food Chicken Training Treats — both are leaner, single or limited ingredient, and much gentler on sensitive stomachs. They break into small pieces well for training use. For a Newfoundland with a sensitive gut, plain air-dried sweet potato or carrot sticks are honestly hard to beat — low fat, low protein, easy to size, and most dogs love them. Not glamorous, but genuinely effective and unlikely to cause any reaction. Get the vet to check the loose stools first though — that's the right starting point.

Honestly, there's no universal threshold I can give you — the trigger point is specific to this dog, and that's exactly why the vet conversation matters here. They can tell you the fat and protein ceiling to work within based on what's already causing the issue. That said, here's my confident final recommendation: go with plain dried sweet potato treats, ideally something like Lily's Kitchen Farmers Market Sweet Potato Dog Treats. The fat content is negligible, protein is minimal, they're single ingredient, and they break into small pieces easily — which is exactly what you need for a giant breed puppy doing training repetitions. There's almost nothing in them that could trigger a reaction. Once the vet has assessed the loose stools and given you a clearer picture of what this dog can tolerate, you can reintroduce something meatier if needed. But right now, simple and gentle is the right call.