In this article, I will help you pick out the best treats for eight week old puppy. My top recommendations are given in the table below.
Table of Contents
I am the proud parent of an eight-week-old lab. He is going through his growth phase and is entirely dependent on us for his nutritional needs. While the puppy foods he eats are enough for his growth, we like to give him treats as a way of training for good behavior and also as a nutritional supplement.
We are in the process of home training him. However, since he is so tiny, I wanted to be very sure of which treats to give him. He is not picky and eats almost everything. I wanted something that he not only enjoys but is also healthy for him.
I talked to some other dog parents and researched a bit on my own. I spent almost a week reading the ingredient list and customer reviews of more than twenty treats for puppies and shortlisted the best eight. If you also have eight-week-old puppies and are looking for the best treats for them, then I hope my list will help you too.
In this review, I will share:
- How to choose the best treats for 8 week old puppy
- Eight of the best treats for eight-week-old puppy, based on my personal research
- Answers to other questions on the health and nutrition of your 8-week old puppy.
How To Choose Perfect Treats For a Puppy
Nutritional Value
An essential factor in choosing a treat for your eight-week-old puppy would be the nutritional value of the treat. Dogs have different nutrition requirements at different ages. What a puppy needs at eight weeks old is vastly different from what they need when they are all grown up.
Protein, Vitamins, minerals, DHA, fatty acids are some of the crucial nutrients a puppy requires, and you should always look for these in any treats for puppies.
Flavor
Some of the puppies are picky about the food or treats they eat. The flavor of the treats is an essential factor when choosing one, as your pup may or may not like it. You might end up with a bag of goodies that your puppy won’t eat no matter how hard you try.
If your pup has a specific taste and flavor, stick to those. If you try something new, make sure to buy a small bag first so that not much goes to waste.
Size Of Treats
Remember that puppies are smaller than adult dogs and have smaller mouths. The treats that you give them must be bite-sized.
The treat should be small enough for your puppy to chew and swallow. Smaller pieces of treats are much easier to digest too.
Calories
Another vital factor that you need to keep in mind is the calorie content in the treats. Being overweight slows down your pup, makes them inactive, and can also lead to several health issues. While you may count the calories they are getting from their food, you often don’t count the calories from their treats.
Before giving any treatment to your dogs, make sure that it is low in calories and even if the calorie content is high, limit the treats to one or two per day.
Top 8 Treat For 8 Week Old Puppy
#1 Wellness Natural Treats For Puppies: Best Overall
Features
- Nutritional Content: 9.5/10
- Flavor: 8.8/10
- Size of treats: 8.9/10
- Calories: 8.7/10
- Overall Score: 8.9/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Chewy soft bites
- Flavor: Lamb and Salmon
- Breed Recommendation: All breeds
- Age Recommendation: Puppies
- Brand: Wellness Natural
Bottomline
This treat from wellness natural is my top favorite, with it having added vitamins, DHA, and other nutrients that are essential for a puppy’s growth.
Pros
- These treats are grain-free.
- It doesn’t have any artificial flavor, color, or preservatives.
- It contains fatty acids necessary for your puppy’s development.
- The DHA from salmon oil helps in your puppy’s growth.
- It contains superfoods like sweet potatoes and blueberries.
Cons
- The treats are a bit large for puppies, and you may have to cut them into small pieces.
- Some buyers complain that their puppies get diarrhea after eating this treat.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: This treat contains 12% crude protein, which helps with your pup’s muscle growth. It also has 0.05% DHA from the salmon oil, which is essential for their brain development.
Flavor: These treats have a lamb and salmon flavor, which my pup loves. With these two being the first two ingredients, you can rest assured that the taste for your pup is not compromised, and they will enjoy their treats.
Size Of Treats: These treats are soft and are bite-sized, which are great for eight-week-old puppies as they have small mouths. With the puppies in their teething phase, the chewy texture of the treats helps them.
Calories: A single piece of this treat is just 6 Kcal. Even if you give the treat to your pup twice or thrice, it won’t make them gain excess weight.
#2 N-Bone Treats For Puppies: Best for Teething Puppies
Features
- Nutritional Content: 8.7/10
- Flavor: 8.8/10
- Size of treats: 8.7/10
- Calories: 8.1/10
- Overall Score: 8.6/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Chewy sticks
- Flavor: Chicken
- Breed Recommendation: All breeds
- Age Recommendation: Puppies
- Brand: N-bone
Bottomline
These treats from N-bone are great for teething pups, with them having a pliable texture. It is excellent for soothing toothaches and sore gums.
Pros
- These treats have real chicken as ingredients.
- It has calcium which is essential for your puppy’s strong bones and teeth.
- The pliable texture of treats satisfies the urge to chew in teething puppies.
- It soothes teething pain in puppies.
- It has DHA and fatty acids, which are essential for your puppy’s growth.
Cons
- Tiny pieces of the treats might be complex for your puppies to chew or swallow.
- The treats are small and soft and won’t last long.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: This treat consists of 30% crude protein, calcium, and added minerals. Protein aids in muscle growth in puppies, and calcium enhances their teeth and bone health.
Flavor: The chicken flavor of this treat makes it an excellent choice for puppies, as they will love the taste of this treat.
Size Of Treats: This treat is in the form of a stick, making it easier for a puppy to chew upon. However, you should monitor your puppies closely when they are eating it, as the sticks are too large for them to swallow and can cause a health scare.
Calories: One stick of this treat is 14 Kcal, which is not much, but it has a high-calorie content for an eight-week-old puppy. You should not give your eight-week-old puppy more than one treat per day.
#3 Fruitable Healthy Treats For Puppies
Features
- Nutritional Content: 8.8/10
- Flavor: 8.1/10
- Size of treats: 8.4/10
- Calories: 8.3/10
- Overall Score: 8.4/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Biscuits
- Flavor: Pumpkin, Banana, Apple, Blueberry, Cranberry, Bacon
- Breed Recommendation: All breeds
- Age Recommendation: All ages
- Brand: Fruitable
Bottomline
These Fruitable treats for puppies have an incredible taste and don’t have any artificial flavors, making them enjoyable.
Pros
- These treats smell great.
- It doesn’t have artificial flavors or colors.
- It contains superfoods like cinnamon, banana, and pumpkins.
- The treats have a crunchy texture and a distinct flower shape.
- The pumpkin in these treats helps keep the calories in check.
Cons
- It is not grain-free.
- Some of the puppies might be allergic to some of the ingredients.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: This treat has 29% of crude protein. Eight-week-old puppies are in the growth phase, and the protein content is hugely beneficial for their muscle growth. It also contains several superfoods like pumpkin, banana, and cinnamon, suitable for your pup’s health.
Flavor: With pumpkin, apples, banana, bacon, and other flavors, this treat is a hit with puppies. These treats are baked in an oven, which preserves the taste of these ingredients.
Size Of Treats: These treats are oven-baked biscuits with a distinct flower shape. The biscuits are the perfect size for eight-week-old puppies.
Calories: One single treat is less than eight calories. You can give two of these to your eight-week-old puppies without any unwanted weight gain.
#4 Pupford Treats For Puppies: Best Low-Calorie Treats
Features
- Nutritional Content: 8.5/10
- Flavor: 8/10
- Size of treats: 7.9/10
- Calories: 8/10
- Overall Score: 8.1/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Freeze-dried bites
- Flavor: Liver, Rabbit, Sweet potato
- Breed Recommendation: All breeds
- Age Recommendation: All ages
- Brand: Pupford
Bottomline
This Pupford treat for puppies is excellent with just three ingredients and is low in calories.
Pros
- The treats are small-sized, which is perfect for training your puppies.
- The calorie content in a single treat is less than 1 Kcal.
- In one bag of treats, there are more than 475 treats.
- Since the treats are freeze-dried, you can store them anywhere.
- These treats help with the problem of chewing and biting in puppies.
Cons
- The treats crumble easily, and that leads to wastage.
- These treats are costlier compared to others.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: This treat contains 35% crude protein. Protein is an essential nutrient that your eight-week-old puppy needs to have better muscle growth.
Flavor: With three different flavors- rabbit, liver, and sweet potato you don’t have to worry about your pup not liking this. Since the treat only contains three ingredients, the flavor is the main ingredient and not some added flavors that are great for puppies.
Size Of Treats: These treats are bite-sized, ideal for your eight-week-old puppies as they have small mouths. These treats are freeze-dried, which means they crumble easily, making it easier for your pup to chew.
Calories: These treats have the lowest calorie content with just 1 Kcal per treat. Such small calorie content means you can use these treats to train your pups without worrying about their calorie intake.
#5 Blue Buffalo Treats For Puppies
Features
- Nutritional Content: 8/10
- Flavor: 7.5/10
- Size of treats: 8.2/10
- Calories: 7.9/10
- Overall Score: 7.9/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Bite-sized treats
- Flavour: Beef, Chicken, Salmon, Turkey
- Breed Recommendation: All breeds
- Age Recommendation: All ages
- Brand: Blue Buffalo
Bottomline
This Blue buffalo treat for puppies is excellent for training purposes with DHA, which allows for better brain development.
Pros
- These treats are bite-sized and soft, which is ideal for an eight-week-old puppy.
- These treats are available in different-sized bags.
- There are six different kinds of flavors available for you to choose from.
- These are free from any additional preservatives.
- It contains DHA, which is suitable for puppies.
Cons
- One of the ingredients is sugar, which might make your puppy hyperactive.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: This treat contains 10% crude protein, 0.1% DHA, and 0.8% omega-three fatty acids. Proteins help with the muscle development of your puppy. DHA and fatty acids are essential for brain development.
Flavor: With six different kinds of flavors to choose from, your pup is going to like these treats. Beef, salmon, chicken, and turkey are all excellent ingredients for treats, and you can choose the one that your pup favors the most.
Size Of Treats: The size of a single treat is bite-sized. Small size treats are ideal for puppies as these are easy to chew on.
Calories: A single bit of this treat is just 4 Kcal. You can feed these treats to your puppies during training to appreciate their good behavior. With such low calories, you don’t need to worry about your puppies gaining weight.
#6 Bocce’s Bakery Treats For Puppies: Best Bedtime Treat
Features
- Nutritional Content: 7.8/10
- Flavor: 7.6/10
- Size of treats: 7.4/10
- Calories: 7.6/10
- Overall Score: 7.6/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Biscuits
- Flavor: Banana, Lavender, and Vanilla
- Breed Recommendation: All breeds
- Age Recommendation: All ages
- Brand: Bocce’s Bakery
Bottomline
This treat from Bocce’s bakery is my favorite treat to give my pup as a bedtime snack as the ingredients in this treat helps calm him down and result in a night of undisturbed sleep.
Pros
- These treats have a calming effect on puppies which helps them sleep.
- These treats only have four ingredients and no added preservatives or flavors.
- It is wheat-free.
- These treats help puppies with separation anxiety.
Cons
- Some puppies are allergic to lavender, one of the ingredients this treat has.
- The biscuits are hard and might be challenging to chew upon by small puppies.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: This treat has 9% crude protein. Protein is exceptionally beneficial for growing puppies as it aids their muscle growth.
Flavor: With just four ingredients and a slow baking method, these treats have incredible taste. Vanilla, banana, and lavender enhance the taste of these treats, and your pup will gobble these up in no time.
Size Of Treats: These treats are in the form of small biscuits suitable for eight-week-old puppies. These treats will fit nicely in their tiny mouths, and they will have no trouble eating these.
Calories: The calorie content in these treats is higher than others- 12 Kcal per treat. However, that should not cause any issue, as you would give your pup this treat only once before bedtime.
#7 Nulo Freestyle Treats For Puppies: Best Training Treats
Features
- Nutritional Content: 7.9/10
- Flavor: 7.5/10
- Size of treats: 7.6/10
- Calories: 7/10
- Overall Score: 7.5/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Mini chunks
- Flavor: Duck, Salmon, and Turkey
- Breed Recommendation: Small Breeds
- Age Recommendation: Puppies and Adults
- Brand: Nulo Freestyle
Bottomline
This Nulo freestyle treats for puppies is one of the best training treats as the treats are delicious and low in calories to reward your pup after good behavior.
Pros
- These treats are grain-free.
- These treats are low in calories.
- It comes in three delicious flavors.
- It doesn’t have any artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors.
- It has DHA and fatty acids, which are essential for your puppy’s growth.
Cons
- The treats go rancid quickly once you have opened the pack.
- Some of the buyers complain about the inconsistent quality.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: This treat contains 0.04% DHA, 2% omega 6 fatty acids, 0.5% omega 3 fatty acids and 15% crude protein. Fatty acids and DHA are essential for the neural development of an eight-week-old puppy. Protein boosts muscle growth in a puppy.
Flavor: These treats are available in three different flavors, duck, turkey, and salmon. You can choose the one which your pup prefers.
Size Of Treats: These treats are mini chunks in size and are ideal for smaller breeds. Puppies of smaller breeds are tiny compared to puppies from large breeds and require tiny treats for them to chew on easily.
Calories: With the treats being only 2 Kcal per treat, you don’t have to worry about overfeeding your pup.
#8 Old Mother Hubbard Treats For Puppies
Features
- Nutritional Content: 7.3/10
- Flavor: 7.7/10
- Size of treats: 7.2/10
- Calories: 7/10
- Overall Score: 7.3/10
Technical Specifications
- Treat Form: Biscuits
- Flavor: Natural
- Breed Recommendation: All breeds
- Age Recommendation: Puppies
- Brand: Old Mother Hubbard
Bottomline
This Old mother Hubbard treats for eight-week-old puppies is a great treat to have as these are slow oven-baked to preserve the flavor of the ingredients.
Pros
- These treats are great for training your puppies.
- The treats are oven-baked slowly to preserve the flavor.
- These treats are good for all dog breeds.
- The treats are mini bites that are easy for puppies to chew on.
- It contains several added vitamins and minerals that are essential for puppies.
Cons
- Some buyers complain about their dogs throwing up after having these treats.
- The biscuits have a strong smell.
Detailed Features
Nutritional Value: These treats have a 12% crude protein content with added vitamins and minerals. The protein in the treats helps to build your pup’s muscles, and the vitamins and minerals are essential for a healthy puppy.
Flavor: Chicken, oats, and apple are the ingredients in this treat, and the slow baking method helps preserve their taste. With good taste, these treats are highly liked by puppies.
Size Of Treats: These treats are in the form of mini-size biscuits. Small biscuits are easy for an eight-week-old puppy to chew on and enjoy.
Calories: A single treat is 10 Kcal. You can give only a single treat per day to your eight-week-old puppy to maintain a healthy weight. Overfeeding treats can cause them to gain unnecessary weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can eight-week-old puppies have treats?
Yes, an eight-week-old puppy can have treats. But there are few things that, as a pet owner, you need to keep in mind before giving any treat to your puppies. Puppies this small don’t have fully grown teeth and are not able to chew on hard treats. The treats you give them have to be small and soft enough to chew and swallow easily.
You also need to ensure that the treats don’t have ingredients that your pup might be allergic to. Another thing that you need to be very careful about is the quantity. Overfeeding treats may result in your puppy gaining unhealthy weight.
What can eight-week-old puppies chew on?
Eight weeks old puppies are going through their teething phase, and they have intense chewing needs. If not given proper chewing toys or treats, they will chew on almost anything and might destroy your favorite shoe or rug in the process.
You can give your eight-week-old puppy a chewing toy filled with peanut butter or yogurt. Freezing the toy filled with food is also beneficial as chewing on cold toys will relieve their teeth ache. You can also find several chewing treats that your pup would enjoy.
How many treats can an eight week old puppy have?
It is a general notion that you should never give more than 10 percent of your pup calorie requirement from treats.
Treats are a way to reward your pup every time they do something nice, like obeying a command or using their puppy pads for doing their business. If you give them treats excessively, they won’t know the difference between their regular food and treats. Keep the number of treats to one or two at a time.
What can I put in a Kong for an eight week old puppy?
There is an excellent variety of puppy foods that you can put in a kong for an eight-week-old puppy. You can put peanut butter, yogurt, frozen chicken or beef broth, puppy food, or treats are some of the most popular kong stuffing.
If your pup likes fruits, then apples, strawberries, and blueberries are other great options. There are several other choices too, but in the end, it all depends on what your pup prefers. Try with a few options and see what they like.
Conclusion
Finding the best treats for 8 week old puppy seems like an easy task, but it is not. Dogs have different needs and requirements throughout their life stages, and it is vital that you give them food and treats as per their requirement and not just anything.
I have researched and compiled a list of the eight best treats for 8 week old puppy. If you also are a parent to an eight-month-old pup, then you will find the list helpful.
Let me highlight three options as a final summary of my review:
The best option is the Wellness Natural Treats For Puppies. This is because it contains 12% crude protein, which helps with your pup’s muscle growth. It also has 0.05% DHA from the salmon oil, which is essential for their brain development.
The N-Bone Treats For Puppies is another great choice. It consists of 30% crude protein, calcium, and added minerals. Protein aids in muscle growth in puppies, and calcium enhances their teeth and bone health.
If you are looking for a value for money option, you can also consider the Blue Buffalo Treats For Puppies, which offers 10% crude protein, 0.1% DHA, and 0.8% omega-three fatty acids at a very reasonable price point. Proteins help with the muscle development of your puppy. DHA and fatty acids are essential for brain development.