We are a nation of indulgent dog parents, giving our dogs treats in much the same way as we like to spoil ourselves. However, when you do, it’s important to give them a treat that’s both healthy, and appropriate to the situation; perhaps they’ve responded well to training whilst on a walk and you want something small and quick that rewards behaviour; or maybe you are desperate to get some work done and need a good vegan dog chew that’s going to keep them occupied for a while.
The problem is, there are just so many treats and chews to choose from, and not all of them are healthy. Many contain meat and fish products too, so here at Vegan Mum, we have tried out a variety of products so that we could compile this list of the best vegan dog treats, and help you to select the one that’s right for your dogsbie.
Please note that this guide is not sponsored.
Vegan Mum’s Top Picks
- Best natural chews: Soopa Natural Chews
- Best for bedtime: Omni Treats for Peaceful Dogs
- Best for bad breath: Hownd ‘Yup you Stink’ Wellness Treats
- Best dental stick: Soopa Dental Sticks
- Best rawhide alternative: Benevo Pawtato Large Knots
- Best homemade dog treat kit: Fleetful Dog Treat Kits
- Best for puppies: Soopa Banana & Pumpkin Training Bites for Puppies
- Best for itchy skin: Hownd ‘Got an Itch?’ Wellness Treats
- Best value: Forthglade Natural Dog Dental Sticks
- Best vegan dog chew for gut health: Lily’s Kitchen Woofbrush
Here are the Best Vegan Dog Treats
OK, let’s take a look at all the different vegan dog chews and treats that have made our list – all tested by Coco and her canine pals for healthy ingredients, suitability, and perhaps most importantly, tastiness! Price is indicated by £, ££, and £££, with £ being the lowest price range.
Soopa Natural Chews
- Price: ££
- Type: dried fruit/vegetable chew
These Soopa chews are extremely popular with Coco. There are 3 different packs – papaya, sweet potato, and coconut – all of which are completely natural, and with absolutely no other ingredients or additives at all. They are simply dehydrated strips that contain lots of nutrients, and because they are human grade, you could even give them a go yourself! I would, except that Coco keeps a very close eye on hers and knows exactly where they are kept. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew how many were in each pack…
Being dehydrated, they are great for dogs to chew on and, depending on your dog, can keep them occupied for quite some time – and there are plenty in each pack too which makes them good value for money. Soopa are also reviewing their packaging, with a number of their products already in paper-based, fully recyclable and environmentally-friendly wrappers and boxes.
The other real bonus from our perspective is that Soopa uses a star rating system on the packaging to illustrate how appropriate the contents are for different medical conditions that dogs commonly have, and to be honest, they are suitable for most of them. Coco has previously had pancreatitis and so needs low fat foods – even her treats – so these Soopa Natural Chews fit the bill perfectly. And I think they get a 4 paws up from Coco on tastiness too; she loves them.
These are so natural, and clearly tasty, I think perhaps they are the best vegan dog treats available.
Use exclusive Soopa discount code WY6X0J64CTXV for 15% off
Omni Treats for Peaceful Dogs
- Price: £££
- Type: small baked biscuits
These vet-formulated treats are a regular part of Coco’s bedtime routine and she has 2 most evenings (we live in the countryside and the muntjac deer make unsettling noises at night when they wander through the garden that can wind her up to fever pitch)! They contain valerian root and lemon balm, both ingredients that can help calm anxiety and nervousness, so you might also find these useful when travelling with your dog in the car for example, or on the way to the groomers. I guess you can think of these as treats with a purpose – and they’re suitable for pups too (from 8 weeks).
At first glance they do seem expensive, but there are plenty in the pack – it lasts Coco for about 4-6 weeks – and you can save money in a couple of ways:
- make significant savings if you set up a subscription
- use Vegan Mum’s exclusive discount code below
Also, if you subscribe you become eligible for Omni’s free online vet consultations so when you look at the price in the round, these treats start to look like better value for money. To find out more about their full range of treats, you can also check out my Omni vegan dog treats review.
Use exclusive discount code veganmum50 for significant savings
Hownd ‘Yup you Stink’ Wellness Treats
- Price: ££
- Type: soft, chewy morsels
These 100% hypoallergenic, gluten-free treats contain herbs like lovage, parsley and mint to help combat the whiff that is your dog’s breath. They are soft, chewy bites about the size of a 50p piece (for those of you still able to remember what cash looks like!) and I tend to break them up into smaller pieces for Coco, but they would be perfect left intact for bigger dogs too.
Whilst they are formulated to help your dog’s breath from within by soothing the digestive tract, I do find the effect tends to be fairly short-lived – but it’s nice while it lasts! And to be honest, I may not have given them to Coco for long enough to know if there would be any longer-term improvement in the breath department. However, she enjoys them, they are ethically made, with good quality ingredients, and are very suitable for sensitive tummies. You can give them to puppies too from 8 weeks.
Subscription is available through their store on Amazon so you can save some money doing that.
Soopa Dental Sticks
- Price: ££
- Type: dental stick
This is a great range of dental sticks with an option to suit almost every dog, including specific formulations for adults, puppies and seniors respectively. Soopa dental sticks come in 7 great flavours too, from apple & blueberry, to cranberry & sweet potato. But Coco’s particular favourite is banana & peanut butter (is there a dog in the world that doesn’t follow you round the kitchen when you put peanut butter on your toast)? She adores these and has even been known to become temporarily compliant if there is a chance of getting one.
On the serious side, these dental sticks are hypoallergenic, grain-free, nutritious, and with a reassuringly short list of ingredients. They are also suitable for dogs with a range of medical conditions including pancreatitis and kidney problems, so overall, a great choice.
Soopa are also reviewing their packaging, with a number of their products already in paper-based, fully recyclable and environmentally-friendly wrappers and boxes which makes them even more appealing.
Use exclusive Soopa discount code WY6X0J64CTXV for 15% off
Benevo Pawtato Large Knots
- Price: £££
- Type: vegan chews
These low fat, sweet potato chews are probably one of the best vegan alternatives you’ll get to rawhide, but to manage your expectations, they will not last anywhere near as long. I have not found any vegan products that will. That said, Pawtato knots will still give your dog a really good ‘chew’ experience and all the smaller members of our doggie tester panel thoroughly enjoyed them.
However, I would say these are best kept for small to medium sized dogs, not bigger breeds. The knots, whilst labelled large, are not really suitable for big dogs because they don’t present much of a ‘chew’ challenge and they might even just try to swallow them – we certainly didn’t feel confident giving one to the large labradoodle on our panel. Soopa’s Jumbo Sticks might be a better option for bigger dogs.
Benevo’s Pawtato Knots are a bit pricier than some other chews, but make a nice occasional treat.
Fleetful Dog Treat Kits
- Price: £££
- Type: homemade baked dog biscuits
This fabulous dog treat kit makes the tastiest, and possibly healthiest, dog biscuits ever. The organic ingredients included in the kit are brimming with protein and nutrients, meaning that they are a treat for your dog’s tummy as well as their taste buds. With prebiotics to support a healthy gut microbiome (yep, dogs have them too!), these home-baked biscuits are naturally anti-inflammatory, and will support their skin and bone health too.
The kit also makes a lovely gift for the dog lovers in your life – baking your dog’s treats yourself is very satisfying and can make you feel pretty smug! And because they’re easy to make (full instructions are included), it can be a nice way of getting kids involved too.
So, if you’ve never cooked for your dog before, this could be a great place to start – having done it myself, I can really recommend it.
Use exclusive discount code veganmum10 for 10% off
Soopa Banana & Pumpkin Training Bites for Puppies
- Price: ££
- Type: soft, chewy bites
These low calorie, grain-free dental bites are the perfect size for little pups and are suitable from 3 months onwards. They are soft and chewy, with a reasonably short list of ingredients that all look very natural, and with no unrecognisable additives or flavourings. These make great training treats and a small dog can have up to about 5 a day (bigger dogs can have up to 10-15).
With the banana and pumpkin flavour that dogs seem to love, because these are human grade ingredients, you might even want to treat yourself – not a recommendation, obviously! But it does give you a level of confidence about the quality of these treats – particularly important when giving them to your precious pup. As with all Soopa products, you can subscribe to save yourself a bit of money – and don’t forget Vegan Mum’s exclusive discount code below too.
Use exclusive Soopa discount code WY6X0J64CTXV for 15% off
Hownd ‘Got an Itch?’ Wellness Treats
- Price: ££
- Type: soft, chewy morsels
Part of Hownd’s comprehensive range of vegan dog treats, this particular product has been formulated to help dogs with itchy skin – so it’s definitely still a treat, but with purpose. Containing things like turmeric and shiitake mushrooms, the powerful antioxidants can help to promote healthy skin and provide some relief from itches and irritations.
As you’d expect, they are free from all of the known irritants – so no soy, wheat or gluten – making them very suitable for dogs with allergies. They also contain healthy levels of Omega 3 & 6 which can support your dog’s coat, helping to give it a healthy sheen.
These were a popular range with our dog-testing panel and the morsels can be easily broken into pieces for dogs with smaller mouths. But I also like them very much – Hownd seems to be a profoundly ethical company that genuinely ‘lives’ its values, and that’s important to me.
Forthglade Grain-free Natural Dog Dental Stick
- Price: £
- Type: dental stick
These grain-free dental sticks are good value for money and are available in multipacks on Amazon too, so you can make further savings. But I would recommend buying a small pack first to try them out – most of our doggie testers really enjoyed them, but there were just a couple of turned up snouts.
The ingredients look pretty natural and the list is reassuringly short, and because they are grain-free, it makes them suitable for dogs with that kind of sensitivity.
Forthglade is not a vegan company though, which makes it more difficult for me to recommend them. However, this particular product is vegan-friendly, so if the company’s ethos isn’t so important to you, or for those looking for a lower-price chew, it might be a good option.
Lily’s Kitchen Woofbrush
- Price: £££
- Type: dental stick
Quite possibly the ultimate in algae-based dental dog chews, Lily’s Kitchen Woofbrush comes in different sizes, and with a ‘gut health’ option too. But be prepared to pay for these premium dental sticks because they are most definitely not cheap!
With algae, green tea extracts, and even nutritional yeast, this grain-free, gut-friendly dental stick was universally popular with our dogs, and is definitely top of Coco’s best ever dental stick list – well, it would be if she could write. It has a knobbly sort of texture which presumably helps with teeth cleaning (although nothing will beat cleaning your dog’s teeth with a toothbrush and dog-friendly toothpaste) and although I find it incredibly unappetising to look at, clearly it has some serious canine appeal.
So you get what seems to be a very high quality chew, that lasts reasonably well (as vegan chews go) from this B-Corp brand, although again, not a vegan business unfortunately. But the cost is a bit prohibitive, so you may want to keep these for a less frequent treat – I tend to cut them in half to make them a bit more cost-effective, and what Coco doesn’t know, doesn’t bother her!
Other vegan dog articles
I hope you have found this guide to the best vegan dog treats useful. I have written extensively about caring for a vegan dog, and reviewed a number of different vegan dog products, including:
Guide to the Best Vegan Dog Foods in the UK
Omni Stress and Anxiety Supplement review
Review of The Pack vegan dry dog food
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