Boston Terriers might be small dogs, but they have a voracious appetite. To augment their hunger in between meals, you need to get the best treats for Boston Terriers with an irresistible flavor and excellent nutritional value. Such treats will also come in handy during training.
Dog treats play an integral role both in your Boston Terrier’s physical and mental health. A nutritious treat can fill the gap in your pet’s diet. Meanwhile, you can also use it to reinforce positive behavior.
The key here is finding the treat that your dog will like. Below, I reviewed three dog treats that have been approved by my spunky Boston Terriers:
DOG TREAT | BRAND | EXPERT RATING | CHECK PRICE |
---|---|---|---|
Our Top Pick! Blue Buffalo BLUE Bits Training Dog Treats | Check Price | ||
Old Mother Hubbard P-Nuttier Dog Treats | Check Price | ||
Stewart Pro-Treat Freeze-Dried Dog Treats | Check Price |
3 Best Treats For Boston Terriers
OUR #1 CHOICE
OUR TOP PICK: Blue Buffalo BLUE Bits Moist Training Dog Treats
Product Name: Blue Buffalo BLUE Bits Moist Training Dog Treats
Product Description: When it comes to the best treats for Boston Terriers, I swear by the Blue Buffalo BLUE Bits Moist Training Dog Treats. These are easy-to-eat treats that come in handy for training or casual feeding. It’s also available in yummy flavors like chicken, salmon, beef, and turkey. One thing I like about this dog treat is the bite-sized morsels, which are like tiny nuggets. There’s no need to slice it into small pieces since it’s already sized well for Boston Terriers. It even comes in a cute heart shape! Aside from that, this dog treat doesn’t have corn, meat by-product, wheat, soy, and artificial additives. Every bite is guilt-free and safe for canines.
Offer price: $$$
Availability: InStock
-
Ingredients
-
Flavor
-
Smell
-
Value for Money
Overall
Summary
Moreover, this dog treat has oatmeal, brown rice, potatoes, flaxseed, fish oil, and rosemary oil. All of which boost your dog’s health
This treat is packed with DHA that supports the cognitive development of dogs. With that, this might be the perfect training treat to get.
Each piece of this dog treat contains 10% protein, 7% fat, and 4% fiber. Also, each piece only has 4 calories, so you can feed your dog more without ruining its diet.
Pros
Free from by-products
Available in various meat flavors
All-natural ingredients
Cons
Make sure you seal the container because this is prone to molds.
RUNNERS-UP
Old Mother Hubbard Classic P-Nuttier Baked Dog Treats
Another dog treat my Boston Terriers like is the Old Mother Hubbard Classic P-Nuttier Baked Dog Treats. It’s a yummy biscuit made of real peanut, whole wheat flour, chicken fat, apples, carrots, and eggs. It’s also blended with spearmint extract for added fresh breath.
Aside from that, the Old Mother Hubbard biscuits are available in small sizes suitable for Boston Terriers. Each piece has a bone shape, which makes it easy to chew on the part of your dog.
Moreover, this dog treat has no artificial preservatives or by-products, so it remains gentle for dogs with sensitive stomachs. The ingredients are also natural for topnotch nutrition.
These biscuits are slow-baked to preserve the flavors your dog will love. The fact that Old Mother Hubbard has been baking dog treats since 1926, this product proves their pledge to quality.
Each piece of this dog biscuit contains 12% protein, 7% fat, and 5.5% fiber. Take note that each bone biscuit also contains 10 calories, so always be modest on the number of treats you’re going to feed your dog.
Overall, these treats are available in 20-lbs. boxes or 20-ounce pouches. You can buy a small pouch first to see if your dog will like it. But if you want to save money, I recommend buying in bulk.
Stewart Pro-Treat Freeze-Dried Dog Treats
For finicky Boston Terriers, I highly recommend the Stewart Pro-Treat Freeze-Dried Dog Treats. It’s made of one ingredient alone, which is 100% chicken liver. This is also available in beef liver, pork liver, turkey liver, wild salmon, and more flavors. Whatever flavor you choose, the sole ingredient is USDA-certified to be human-grade.
This treat is made of the high-quality animal liver that provides loads of protein. In fact, each piece of this dog treat contains 70.45% of protein with 15.38% fat. Your Boston Terrier will enjoy all of these for just 5 calories apiece.
The process of freeze-drying these treats retained the aroma and flavor of raw liver. All its nutritional content is also intact for clean, satisfying, and healthy bites.
I also like that these freeze-dried treats are already sized small. But if you want to stretch the day’s serving during training, you can slice it into tiny nuggets. You can also crumble it as a topping on your dog’s meals.
The only thing you have to deal with is the strong odor of this treat. This isn’t surprising for a treat that uses real meat. Just keep the container sealed to trap the odor and to prevent the formation of molds.
How to choose the best treats for Boston Terriers
There are many dog treats in the market, so choosing one for your Boston Terrier isn’t an easy task. To help narrow down your options, you should consider the following:
✔️Choose the right type
Dog treats fall into different categories based on their form and texture. The following are the most common options:
- Soft treats. Soft treats are one of the top choices among Boston Terrier owners. This is a moist treat with a nice flavor, odor, and very easy to eat. The only challenge to soft treats is that you have to store them well to prevent molds.
- Crunchy treats. Crunchy treats are also a good choice for Boston Terriers. Some dogs prefer crunchy treats like biscuits over soft treats. These aren’t prone to molds, but they can crumble if you don’t handle the container well.
- Freeze-dried treats. Pet owners with picky dogs often choose freeze-dried treats. These are made of raw animal organs, mostly liver. The meat morsels underwent low-temperature dehydration to eliminate the excess moisture without damaging their nutritional profile.
- Dental chews. Dental chews help reduce the formation of plaque on your dog’s teeth. However, it should only be given to Boston Terriers once a day and not as a training treat.
- Hooves and real bones. Cow hooves and real bones are best reserved for bigger dogs with a habit of aggressive chewing. This isn’t suitable for Boston Terriers as it can damage the canine’s teeth, not to mention the risk of choking due to splinters.
- Rawhide. Rawhide is often seen as alternatives to real bones for small dogs. It’s more teeth-friendly, but it’s also a choking hazard. If your dog happened to consume large chunks of shredded rawhide, the material could block its throat or stomach.
✔️Low-value vs. high-value treats
Another thing you should consider is whether you want a low-value or high-value treat for your Boston Terrier.
Low-value treats are easy-to-eat and ideal to use while training your Boston Terrier. It prevents your dog from getting distracted mid-training. Some of the good choices here are soft treats, biscuits, and freeze-dried treats.
On the other hand, high-value treats take time to consume. After a training session, pet owners give this to serve as a grand prize for the dog after following commands. An example of a high-value treat is a dental chew or rawhide bone.
✔️Check the ingredients
When buying dog treats, it’s very important to check the ingredients. Always aim for natural and non-GMO ingredients since these are safer and healthier for canines.
Avoid treats loaded with artificial preservatives, coloring, and other additives. Your dog doesn’t need these, and for the likes of Boston Terriers, it would likely trigger tummy problems.
Aside from that, you should steer clear of dog treats with meat by-products as the first ingredient. While it contains protein, by-products are low-quality meat.
Meanwhile, if your Boston Terrier has sensitivities, it’s best to avoid corn and soy as these are notorious for triggering allergies and digestion problems.
✔️Read the nutritional info
It’s not enough that you check the ingredients list of the dog treat. You should also read the nutritional info to know how many calories each treat piece contains. This is important to prevent overfeeding your Boston Terrier.
Aside from the calories, you should watch out for the amount of fat. Protein should also be the main component of the treat.
✔️Consider the treat size
Boston Terriers are small dogs, so you should also look for equally small treats. This will keep the treat easy to consume without becoming a choking hazard.
If the dog treats you bought are a bit larger for your Boston Terrier, you can always slice them into smaller pieces.
✔️Pick the right flavor
While Boston Terriers have a big appetite, some of them can still be finicky. In this case, you need to get a dog treat with irresistible flavor and odor. Those made with real meat are often foolproof options for most canines.
Take note that you may have to deal with a stinky odor for the sake of enticing your dog to eat the treat. Nevertheless, this can be your advantage during training.
✔️Consider getting more than one treat
Whether your dog is picky or not, it’s best to get at least two treats for your Boston Terrier. This will let you check what your dog likes best. And if you’re in the training phase, alternating with multiple treats will help keep the sessions interesting for your dog.
✔️Mind the price
Lastly, consider the price of the dog treat you’re going to buy. It doesn’t have to be expensive but avoid dirt-cheap options. Most of these extremely cheap treats use low-quality ingredients with poor nutritional value.
Tips when giving dog treats to your Boston Terrier
If you’re a first-time dog owner, you should keep in mind these tips whenever you’re giving treats to your pet.
- Make your dog work for the treat. You can ask your dog to sit or perform a trick before giving the treat. This way, your dog works for the yummy reward while keeping its command recall in check.
- Mind the amount. It’s easy to overfeed a dog with treats, so always watch out for the number of treats you’re tossing. I suggest sticking to a daily serving and spreading it throughout the day.
- Don’t use it as a bribe. When using treats as a training reward, you should consider it as an initial encouragement only. Over time, you need to shed the treat to prevent your dog from considering it as a bribe to follow a command.
- Hand it out instead of tossing it. I make it a habit to hand out the treat to my dog instead of tossing it to the ground. This is also an important tip if you have multiple canines in the house. Tossing one treat may end up in a dog fight as everyone tries to get it.
- Variety is important. Can you imagine eating the same snack every day? Dogs can also get tired of eating the same treat. Giving 2 to 3 varieties on different days will help solve this problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can Boston Terriers eat peanut butter?
A: Peanut butter is usually safe for Boston Terriers, but you should watch out for xylitol-sweetened peanut butter products in the market. Xylitol is a highly toxic substance to dogs, that a small amount is enough to kill a small breed. If you wish to give your Boston Terrier some peanut butter, opt for unsweetened and natural options.
Q: How many treats should I give my Boston Terrier?
A: The number of treats to give your Boston Terrier depends on the calorie content of the treat product you’re going to buy. For low-calorie treats with 3 calories apiece, feeding up to 10 pieces a day is considered modest. You should always calculate the overall calorie content so that you can adjust the amount of treats as well as the food servings of your pet.
Q: Can I give cheese as a treat to my Boston Terrier?
A: Cheese is safe for most dogs, but you should remember that it’s high in fat. You should only give it in small amounts. Also, you should tear the cheese into small pieces as it can be a choking hazard on small dogs like Boston Terriers.
Q: What are the most unsafe treats for dogs?
A: Rawhide and jerky treats have a higher choking risk to dogs. You can still give these treats to your dog, but close supervision is necessary. This way, you can intervene the moment your dog chokes or swallows a large part.
Q: Are Milk-Bone treats fattening for dogs?
A: The Original Milk-Bone Biscuits only contain 5 calories. As long as you don’t give too many pieces to your dog, this treat won’t be a cause of obesity. It’s also important to adjust your dog’s meals when integrating a new treat on its diet.
Final words
The best treats for Boston Terriers will give your dog an added dose of nutrition. It’s also an excellent reward for training and performing various commands. Just make sure that your choice of dog treats has healthy ingredients and a reasonable number of calories. You should also consider the flavor your dog likes.
What do you think of these dog treats? Share your thoughts below!