Best treats for Dalmatians & urinary health

Dalmatians are genuinely different when it comes to treats — they have a unique metabolism that means high-purine ingredients, which are fine for most dogs, can lead to urate crystals and urinary problems over time. Starting early with low-purine treats is exactly the right instinct. The best treats overall are high in protein, low in additives, and appropriately sized — and single-ingredient treats are usually the safest bet. Before I point you toward something specific, a couple of quick questions: how big is your Dalmatian right now, any other dietary restrictions or sensitivities, and what are the treats mainly for — training, rewards, or just something to chew on?

Perfect — 25kg is a solid adult Dalmatian weight, and training treats need to be small, soft, and genuinely motivating without being given in huge quantities. The key thing for him is avoiding organ meats like liver, kidney, and heart, which are extremely high in purines and show up in a lot of popular training treats. Chicken, white fish, and cod skin are all low-purine and much safer for Dalmatians. What does he tend to go mad for — meat, fish, or does he seem fairly indiscriminate?

That makes this easy. My recommendation is Icelandic+ Cod Skin Rolls. They're single-ingredient — just dried Icelandic cod skin — which means no hidden organ meat, no additives, and naturally low in purines. They're also naturally lower in protein than red meat treats, which is actually a benefit for Dalmatians since it reduces the uric acid load. You can break them into small pieces for training, they're odorous enough to be genuinely motivating, and they double up as a mild dental chew. For a 25kg dog doing regular training sessions, a bag will last a reasonable amount of time if you keep pieces small. Available on Amazon UK and widely stocked. For a one-year-old Dalmatian, this is exactly the kind of habit worth building now before any issues arise.

At one year old with no existing issues, keeping treats low-purine is the main lever you can pull. The other things worth doing are making sure he always has fresh water available — hydration is genuinely protective for Dalmatian urinary health — and just keeping an eye on his urine when you can. If it ever looks cloudy or he seems uncomfortable urinating, that's a vet conversation regardless of what treats he's had. For now though, swapping to cod skin treats and avoiding organ-based ones covers the vast majority of the dietary risk. You're thinking about this at exactly the right time.