Treats and chews
How do I make training treats at home cheaply?
Last updated 23 September 2026 · How we write and check this
Short answer
Baking a simple oat flour and pumpkin dough, then cutting it into very small pea sized pieces before baking, produces dozens of training treats from a batch costing only a few dollars in ingredients, far less per piece than most commercial training treat bags. Cooking a large batch of plain chicken breast and freezing it in small portions is another low cost option.
Why homemade batches cost less per treat
A basic oat flour, egg, and pumpkin dough recipe can yield 80 to 100 tiny training sized pieces from ingredients costing a few dollars total, working out to a fraction of a cent per treat, compared to commercial training treats that often cost several cents to over ten cents per piece depending on the brand.
Batch cooking meat based options
Boiling or baking a large batch of plain chicken breast, then cutting it into pea sized pieces and freezing in small daily portions, gives a high value, low cost training treat that thaws in minutes and works especially well for higher distraction training where a stronger smelling reward helps.
Making a batch last through frequent training
Freezing portions in a way that lets you pull out just one day's worth, rather than thawing the entire batch each time, keeps treats fresh across weeks of regular training without waste, and a single large cooking session can realistically cover a month or more of daily training treats.
Key takeaways
- A simple oat flour and pumpkin dough can yield 80 to 100 training treats for just a few dollars.
- Homemade treats often cost a fraction of a cent per piece compared to commercial options.
- Batch cooking and freezing plain chicken in small portions gives a low cost, high value training treat.
- Freezing in daily portions keeps treats fresh across weeks without thawing an entire batch at once.