Regardless of whether you’re using them for training or to simply reward good behavior, every owner wants to feed their Great Dane good treats! However, finding both a tasty and delicious treat is easier said than done.
With that, let’s take a look at some of our favorite treats for Great Danes.
1. Zuke’s Natural Training Dog Treats
Zuke’s tasty treats are the perfect low-calorie option for training! At only 3 calories per treat, they’re a great way to use a reward-based training system without the fear of increasing their daily calories by too much. They come in a variety of flavors and are also formulated with turmeric and cherries to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.
2. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Trail Treats
Next up in the lineup of training treats are the Blue Buffalo Wilderness Trail Treats. In addition to being made from real ingredients, I love that they have added Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids to help promote a healthy coat and skin. Your Great Dane will go crazy for these flavors!
3. ZIWI Peak Air-Dried Rewards
Leave it up to the Kiwi’s to come up with a unique dog treat! These “rewards” are preserved through a gentle air-drying technique and have no artificial fillers. All proteins used are from grass-fed and grass-finished and sourced from their ethical and sustainable farms in New Zealand.
4. Canidae Grain Free Pure Heaven Biscuits
Sometimes a treat just isn’t enough – that’s where a biscuit comes to the rescue! These healthy and great-tasting biscuits are formulated from natural ingredients to provide your Great Dane with just the snack that they deserve.
5. Wellness Core Marrow Roasts Natural Grain Free Dog Treats
From perhaps my favorite dog food brand comes these delicious Marrow Roasts! These tasty grain-free treats are made from all-natural jerky and contain only premium and natural ingredients. These are made in the USA and backed by Wellnesses guarantee and quality assurance. Your Great Dane will go absolutely nuts for their crunchy biscuit exterior and real marrow center!
6. Rachael Ray Nutrish Real Meat Dog Treats
Getting tired of your Great Dane sniffing around the kitchen or grill while you’re cooking? Well, you can put a stop to it by distracting them with these Burger Bites from Rachel Ray. Yes, that Rachel Ray! She took her love of making good food in the kitchen and extended it to our pups to keep them happy as well. These treats are cooked in the United States and have no ingredients sourced from China.
7. NUTRO Natural Crunchy Dog Treats
These crunch treats from Nutro come in a wide variety of flavors, all made from non-GMO ingredients and contain no chicken by-product, no artificial flavors or colors, and no artificial preservatives. They make for another excellent low-calorie training treat as well!
8. Old Mother Hubbard Classic Crunchy Natural Dog Treats
If there’s one thing that my Great Dane goes nuts for it’s the smell and taste of peanut butter! Old Mother Hubbard clearly knows this as they chose to make it a main focus point in their tasty crunch biscuits. They are also flavored with molasses, apples, and carrots to enhance its taste while also adding some healthy nutrients to the mix.
9. Full Moon All Natural Human Grade Dog Treats
One of the primary things that I look for in dog treats is a simple ingredient list – and Full Moon knocks this out of the park! Containing just 4 all-natural ingredients, this treat is as simple as they come. The fewer number of ingredients, the less risk of upsetting a pup’s stomach. As you probably already guessed from the title, these ingredients are quite literally fit for human consumption, and manufactured to the same standards as human food.
10. Rocco & Roxie Gourmet Jerky Dog Treats
These aren’t any old dog treats! Rocco & Roxie smoke their All-American meat treat for 10 hours to bring out that tender delicious
11. Nudges Homestyle Chicken Pot Pie Dog Treats
This dog treat features a home-style recipe of real chicken and vegetables but without the hassle of having to make it yourself! It’s made in the USA and contains no animal by-products. These tender treats are a great way to show your dog some love.
12. Merrick Power Bites – Big Bites
These tasty oversized morsels are the perfect fit for big dogs like Great Danes! We love that their number one ingredient is deboned chicken and that their healthy and wholesome ingredient list is conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Did I mention that our Great Dane (Gus) goes nuts for these? 😉
What to look for in a high-quality dog treat
Finding a high-quality dog treat is not that different from picking their normal food. You should place a large emphasis on the inclusion of natural products, that have minimal preservatives and additives.
The larger the number of ingredients, the higher the likelihood that it will upset your Great Dane’s stomach.
For this reason, we choose to completely avoid the use of any treat involving rawhides. The risk simply does not equal the reward of using this style of treat.
Furthermore, we have found time and time again that they result in cases of diarrhea for our Great Danes. For more information about why we do not like rawhides for Great Danes, make sure to watch our video below.
Weight Management Considerations for Great Dane Treats
For weight management reasons, you should also be careful to not feed your Great Dane too many treats. While their treats should still be made of quality food, they should not represent a significant portion of their daily calories.
Because the calories in each dog treat will vary, most include instructions detailing the maximum number of treats that you should feed your dog in one day based on their weight.
Make sure to take note of these limits and abide by them!
You can make treats last longer by breaking them into smaller pieces and feeding them to your Great Dane as needed. Doing so ensures that they don’t upset the balance of their overall diet, while also keeping the added calories in check.
In the event that you notice your Great Dane starting to put on unnecessary weight, take stock of their treat intake. It’s very possible that too many treats are the source of the weight gain.
If you expect to use a large number of treats for training purposes, your best bet will be to select a low-calorie treat. While they may be small in calories, they can still have plenty of taste to help reinforce training behavior!
If you found this article helpful, make sure to take a look at my other Great Dane food-related posts below!
My husband and I have decided to welcome a Great Dane into our home for our 3 children and us to enjoy! We have picked a puppy and will be able to pick him up in about 5 more weeks.
I just want to say thank you for your hard work and dedication to your love for Great Danes! I have watched your YouTube videos every day for nearly 3 weeks and have discovered that learning new things is endless about this breed. I also purchased your book and have read all of it and will keep it on stand by for a convenient reference.
I cant imagine how lost I would be without your videos and information! You’ve given me a confidence in being a new Dane owner that I didn’t have 3 weeks ago and although it’s still slightly intimidating, I believe I have learned a lot and I am ready to journey forward with excitement with our new puppy!
Thank you again for your dedication and in depth information! Can’t wait to learn even more!
I am a new Great Dane owner and working with a trainer to help me with my now 5-month-old Dane puppy.
The trainer turned me on to Charlee Bear treats. They are low in calories and grain free.! They come in several flavors, and you can get them on Amazon for a great price. The best part is that my dog, Dusty, loves them. I would certainly add them to your list of treats.
I would also like to thank you for your newsletter! I look forward to it every week and get a lot of info from it.