Best budget dog treats for Staffy

If you're spending on treats every week, the cost adds up fast — so it's worth making sure you're getting actual nutritional value rather than paying for marketing. The best treats are high in protein, low in additives, and sized right for your dog. Most popular supermarket treats are largely cereals and flavourings with very little meat. Single-ingredient or near-single-ingredient treats — dried meat, fish skin, meat sticks — are a much better use of your money. What size is your Staffy, are there any dietary restrictions I should know about, and what are the treats mainly for — training, rewarding, dental, or just something to chew on?

A 16kg Staffy is a muscular, energetic dog with a strong jaw — he'll appreciate something with real texture and taste rather than a puffed cereal biscuit. For recall training and post-walk rewards, you want something small enough to give frequently without overloading his calories, and meaty enough that he actually cares about earning it. What are you currently buying, roughly, and what does it cost you per week?

You're right to be suspicious — Bakers treats are mostly cereals, artificial colours, and sugar. He likes them because they're engineered to be addictive, not because they're good for him. You can do significantly better for the same money. My recommendation is Naturo Chicken Sticks. They're made with a high chicken content, no artificial additives, and they come in 250g resealable bags. At around £3.50–£4.50 a bag on Amazon, you'd likely get through one bag a week for a dog his size doing moderate training — so similar cost, but genuinely meat-based. They're soft enough to break in half for smaller training rewards, which stretches them further. Buying a multipack brings the per-bag price down another 15–20%, which is worth doing once you know he likes them.

Each stick is about finger-length, so for recall training you'd want to snap them into thirds or quarters — takes two seconds and means one bag goes much further. For a post-walk reward where he's just getting one treat, you can give half a stick and it still feels substantial to him. Staffies are food-motivated dogs so he won't be fussy about the size as long as the smell is good, and these smell strongly of meat which helps with recall work outdoors where there are distractions.

Good call. Start with a single bag to confirm he likes them before buying a multipack — though most dogs take to them immediately. If you find he needs something harder and longer-lasting for settling periods rather than training, dried sprats are worth looking at as a second option. Cheap, single-ingredient, and Staffies usually go mad for them.