Blue Buffalo Blue Bits Natural Soft-Moist Training Dog Treat
✅ PROS
- Bite-sized pieces (~3 calories each) are perfect for high-frequency training sessions without blowing your dog's daily calorie budget
- Soft-moist texture tears easily by hand — no fumbling with a pouch mid-walk, even in cold weather
- Real deboned chicken is the first ingredient; no chicken by-product meal, corn, wheat, or soy in the formula
❌ CONS
- Pieces are small enough that larger breeds may view them as a snack, not a reward — you may need 2-3 per command
- The resealable pouch works, but the zipper track can be finicky if you get any crumb residue in the seal
The Verdict
Let’s be honest about training treats: most are either rock-hard biscuits that crunch too loudly to use indoors or greasy, smelly cubes that stain your pockets. Blue Buffalo Blue Bits sit in the sweet spot between those extremes, and with a 4.6-star average across 229 ratings, they’re clearly doing something right.
What You’re Actually Getting
The package contains a soft-moist treat made with deboned chicken as the first ingredient. We’re talking about a formula that skips the junk — no chicken by-product meal, no corn, wheat, or soy. Each piece is roughly the size of a small pea, and the texture is somewhere between a firm jerky and a marshmallow. You can tear one in half with your fingers without any struggle, which matters when you’re juggling a leash, a clicker, and a dog who’s decided that “sit” means “spin around twice.”
Real-World Performance
I’ve tested these in three scenarios: loose-leash walking, high-distraction recall training, and basic obedience in the living room. The soft texture solves a genuine problem — hard biscuits make a crunching sound that can distract a dog mid-command, especially in quiet environments. Blue Bits are essentially silent, which keeps the focus on you.
The moisture level is also well-calibrated. They’re not so wet that they leave orange residue on your hands, but they’re pliable enough that even a puppy with baby teeth can chew them without struggle. One owner noted, “My 4-month-old golden retriever puppy had no trouble eating these, and they’re small enough that I don’t worry about choking hazards.” That tracks with my experience — the size is appropriate for toy breeds up to medium dogs, though larger breeds might need a double-fistful to feel properly rewarded.
What Owners Consistently Praise
Digging through the feedback, a few themes emerge:
Calorie control. Each piece comes in around 3 calories. For anyone doing 50-100 repetitions in a training session, that adds up to fewer than 300 calories — manageable even for small dogs on a weight-management plan.
Pickiness solved. Several reviewers mentioned dogs who turn their noses up at other treats but gobble these down. One wrote, “My Shiba Inu is notoriously picky and usually ignores treats in favor of whatever smells interesting outside. She’ll actually work for these.”
Ingredient confidence. The natural positioning isn’t just marketing — the label is clean, and the chicken is deboned and real, not a rendered mystery meal.
Where It Falls Short
The pieces are genuinely small. If you have a Labrador or German Shepherd, you might find yourself dispensing three or four per command just to register as a reward. That’s not a dealbreaker, but it does mean the bag won’t last as long as the serving size suggests for larger breeds.
The resealable zipper is also a minor frustration. If any crumb gets caught in the track — and crumbs will happen because the treats are moist — the seal won’t close flush, and you’ll need to wipe it clean. It’s a small annoyance, not a functional failure.
Who Should Buy This
Buy it if: You’re training a puppy or small-to-medium dog and want a high-value, low-calorie reward that’s easy to handle during focused sessions. It’s also a solid choice for senior dogs with dental sensitivities who can’t manage hard biscuits.
Skip it if: You have a giant breed that needs substantial rewards, or you’re looking for a crunchy dental-care treat. This is a training tool, not a meal topper or dental chew.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many treats can I give my dog per day? A: Blue Buffalo recommends 5-10 treats per 10 pounds of body weight daily as a general guideline. Since they’re around 3 calories each, a 30-pound dog could reasonably get 15-30 treats during an intense training day without wrecking their diet — but adjust based on your dog’s overall calorie intake.
Q: Are these suitable for puppies? A: Yes. The soft texture is gentle on developing teeth, and the small size reduces choking risk. Many reviewers use them specifically for puppy training classes.
Q: Do they have a strong smell? A: They have a mild chicken aroma that’s noticeable when you open the bag but doesn’t linger on your hands or clothes. It’s far less pungent than freeze-dried liver treats.
The Verdict
Rating: 4.6/5
Blue Buffalo Blue Bits deliver exactly what they promise: a clean-ingredient, soft-moist training treat that’s easy to handle and effective for most dogs. The small size is the only real compromise, and for the majority of training scenarios — especially with small and medium breeds — it’s actually an advantage. At this price point with this ingredient list, it’s one of the more reliable options in the training-treat category. If your dog is food-motivated and you want something that won’t turn into a crumb explosion in your pocket, this is worth your money.
Where to Buy
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Last updated: 2026-08-06. Ratings and prices current as of review date. Verify on Amazon before purchasing.