Training treats for Dachshund puppies

Dachshunds are one of the breeds most prone to obesity, and you're smart to think about this at four months — training is also when treats stack up fastest. The most effective training treats are pea-sized, smelly, and high in protein so the dog eats them in one bite without losing focus, and they need to feel more exciting than their regular food. To point you to the right option: how much does your puppy weigh right now, what are you working on (basic recall, crate training, something else?), and does your pup have any known sensitivities or food allergies?

Perfect — 2.5kg means even a standard small treat is oversized. You want something you can break into rice-grain pieces, or that comes naturally tiny. What does she eat as her main food? I want to make sure the treat protein source is different so it stays novel and exciting to her.

Good to know — so you want a non-chicken treat to keep the value high. My clear recommendation is Ziwi Peak Air-Dried Lamb. It comes as a block you can break into tiny fragments yourself, it's around 96% meat with no fillers or added sugar, and because it's air-dried it's dense in protein but very low in carbohydrates — which is exactly what you want to avoid unnecessary calorie loading. A single gram of Ziwi has real smell and flavour impact, so a rice-grain-sized piece genuinely rewards her without adding up. It's single-protein lamb, which keeps ingredients minimal and gives you a clean baseline if you ever need to investigate a sensitivity later. Available on Amazon UK. One block lasts a long time at that scale, so the cost per treat is low.

At her weight, treats should make up no more than 10% of her daily calorie intake — for a 2.5kg Dachshund puppy that's roughly 200–230kcal a day total, so treats should stay under 20–23kcal. Ziwi is around 5kcal per gram, and a rice-grain piece is well under 0.5g, so you have meaningful room. In practice, keep sessions to 5–10 minutes and aim for 20–30 repetitions maximum — that's your natural ceiling before a puppy that age loses focus anyway. If you do multiple sessions in a day, reduce her kibble portion slightly to compensate.

Good choice. Break it small, keep sessions short, and she'll pick up sit, down, and recall faster than you expect — Dachshunds are smart and food-motivated when the treat is worth it. You're setting her up well by thinking about this early.