Best treats for a Corgi
Corgis are working herding dogs at heart, bred to think fast and respond to a handler over a long day's work, which makes them highly food-motivated and genuinely easy to train with the right treats. That same food drive, combined with a long body on short legs that carries extra weight badly, means the best treats for a corgi are usually small, low-calorie and high-value, rather than large or calorie-dense.
Why corgis are more prone to weight gain than they look
A corgi's short-legged, long-backed build means extra weight puts more strain on the spine and joints than it would on a more conventionally proportioned dog of a similar size, so keeping a corgi lean matters more here than for many other breeds. Because corgis are also notoriously food-motivated, it is easy to hand out more treats than intended during a normal day of training and general fussing.
Choosing genuinely small, low-calorie training treats, and factoring treats into the dog's overall daily food allowance rather than treating them as extra, is one of the simplest ways to keep a food-driven corgi at a healthy weight.
Using food drive for training rather than just snacking
Corgis were bred to work closely with a handler and respond quickly to direction, and that same intelligence and food motivation makes them very responsive to reward-based training when the treat is small enough to give rapidly and repeatedly. Pea-sized training treats, or treats that can be broken into smaller pieces, allow far more training repetitions from the same calorie budget than a large biscuit ever could.
Because corgis pick things up quickly, treats used for training are often best reserved for that purpose specifically, with a separate, occasional treat or chew for general downtime, so the dog doesn't associate every treat with a lack of structure.
Chews and longer-lasting options for a food-focused breed
A determined, food-motivated dog like a corgi often benefits from longer-lasting chews between meals, which give the same satisfaction as a treat but take considerably longer to get through, reducing the temptation to hand out a string of quick snacks instead. Natural chews with a lower calorie density per gram are generally the better choice for a breed already prone to carrying extra weight.
As with any treat, checking the calorie content against the dog's daily allowance, particularly for a corgi already managing their weight, keeps chews from quietly undoing the rest of a carefully managed diet.
What we stock for this breed
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Pedigree Schmackos Dog Treats Meat Variety
Meat-variety dog treat sticks, 20 per pack, under 30 kcal each, banded by dog weight
£2.75
Whimzees Toothbrush Daily Dental Dog Chew
A vegetarian daily dental chew for dogs, shaped like a toothbrush
From£0.69
Pedigree DentaStix Daily Large Dog Dental Treats
Daily Pedigree DentaStix dental chews portioned for large dogs
£2.29
Pedigree Dentastix Light Daily Dental Chews Dog
Pedigree DentaStix Light daily dental chews for medium and large dogs
£2.35
Dentalife Dental Oral Care Dog Chicken Chews
DENTALIFE chicken dental chews with medium-dog and large-dog variants
£1.65
Pedigree Rodeo Dog Treats with Chicken
Pedigree Rodeo chicken twists with weekly limits for dogs over the stated weight
£2.75
Hatchwell Advent Calendar for Dogs
A carob advent calendar for dogs, breakable into 4 pieces, made in GB
£3.00
Forthglade Grain Free Soft Bites Fresh Breath Treats 90g
Chicken soft dog treats with parsley and peppermint oil for fresh breath
£2.45
Forthglade Soft Bite Grain Free Joints & Bones Treats
Grain-free salmon dog treats with salmon oil, glucosamine and chondroitin
£2.45
Forthglade Dental Calming Sticks
Dental chew sticks for dogs with added calming botanicals for evening routines
£2.99
Forthglade Soft Bite Grain Free Good Gut Health Treats
Grain-free chicken dog treats with ginger, chicory root and MOS
£2.45
Common questions
- Are corgis prone to obesity?
- Yes, corgis are widely recognised as a breed prone to weight gain, partly because of how food-motivated they are and partly because their long-backed, short-legged build carries excess weight less well than many other breeds. Managing treats and portion sizes carefully matters more for corgis than for some other breeds.
- What size treat is best for training a corgi?
- Small, pea-sized treats work best for training, since they let you reward quickly and often without adding up to a large number of calories over a session. A corgi's strong food motivation means even a tiny treat is usually enough to keep training sessions effective.
- Can corgis have dental chews?
- Yes, most corgis can have dental chews as part of a balanced routine, though because the breed is prone to weight gain, it is worth checking the calorie content of a chew and factoring it into the dog's overall daily food allowance rather than giving it on top without adjustment.
- Why does my corgi always seem hungry?
- Corgis are bred to be highly food-motivated as part of their working heritage, so a corgi asking for food frequently is often just breed temperament rather than a genuine hunger issue. If a normally settled corgi suddenly seems much hungrier than usual, it is worth mentioning to a vet in case something else is going on.
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Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.