Your Shih Tzu doesn’t need fancy store-bought training treats loaded with mystery ingredients and palm oil. Three simple ingredients, one afternoon, and you’ll have enough peanut-butter biscuits to last through weeks of training sessions—and they cost less than a single premium treat pouch. Here’s how to make them right.
Why homemade treats work for training a Shih Tzu
Shih Tzus are food-motivated little dogs, which is a genuine blessing when you’re working on recall or sit-stay. But because they’re small—typically between 9 and 16 pounds—commercial training treats are often portioned for medium dogs. One Milk-Bone is half a Shih Tzu’s daily treat allowance. Homemade biscuits let you cut them to thumbnail size, so you can reward frequently without derailing their waistline. Plus, you control every ingredient, which matters if your dog has a sensitive stomach (a complaint you hear often in Shih Tzu communities).
Real talk: if your Shih Tzu’s training isn’t progressing or they’re resource-guarding, homemade treats won’t fix that. Talk to a certified trainer. But for basic obedience, impulse control, and building positive associations—these biscuits are gold.
Step 1 — Gather your ingredients and check the label
Before you start, here’s the non-negotiable rule: never use peanut butter containing xylitol. Xylitol is toxic to dogs, even in tiny amounts. Check the label of whatever peanut butter you grab. Most conventional brands (Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan) are safe and use sugar instead; natural brands sometimes use xylitol as a sweetener, so read carefully. A 16-ounce jar runs about $3–5 at any grocery store.
Grab:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (you probably have this)
- 1 cup natural peanut butter (stir it well first; the oil separates)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup honey or unsweetened applesauce (honey adds a touch of sweetness; applesauce keeps them less rich)
That’s it. You’re not making a gourmet bakery item; you’re making functional dog biscuits. The ingredient list is shorter than most human snacks.
Step 2 — Mix and knead the dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter and eggs together until well combined—this takes about a minute with a fork. The mixture will be wet and slightly glossy.
Add the honey or applesauce. Stir again.
Now add the flour in two batches, stirring between additions. Once the dry ingredients are roughly combined, use your hands. The dough will be stiff and a bit crumbly at first—that’s normal. Knead it for about two minutes until it comes together into a cohesive ball. You’re not making bread dough; it shouldn’t be elastic or silky. It should hold together and feel slightly sandy.
This part takes about five minutes total. If the dough is too dry and won’t come together, add a tablespoon of water and knead again. If it’s too sticky (rare, but happens), sprinkle a bit more flour and knead.
Step 3 — Roll and cut to Shih Tzu portions
Here’s where breed awareness matters. Your Shih Tzu is small. A training treat should be roughly the size of your thumbnail or a pea—something they swallow almost immediately so you can mark the behavior and move on. Anything bigger is wasted calories and slows down your training session.
Lay a sheet of parchment paper on your counter. Dust it lightly with flour. Place your dough ball on top and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick. You’re aiming for even thickness so everything bakes at the same rate.
Now cut. A small dog-bone-shaped cutter works great if you have one (about $6 on Amazon), but honestly, a sharp knife and a free-form approach is fine. Cut pieces roughly 1 to 1.5 inches long. You’re not plating for Instagram; you’re making efficient training rewards.
Place each piece on a fresh sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet, leaving an inch between them. This batch should yield 60–80 tiny biscuits, depending on how small you cut them.
Step 4 — Bake and cool completely
Slide the baking sheet into your 350°F oven. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the edges are light golden and the biscuits feel firm to the touch (not hard yet; they’ll firm up as they cool). Don’t overbake. A slightly underdone biscuit is better than a hard, mouth-shredding brick.
Remove the sheet and let the biscuits cool on the parchment for at least 15 minutes. While they’re still warm, they’ll be a bit soft; that’s fine. Once they’re room temperature, transfer them to an airtight glass container.
Pro tip: if you’re batching, double or triple this recipe while your oven is already hot. Three batches takes maybe an extra 20 minutes of prep and costs you almost nothing extra in ingredients.
Step 5 — Store properly and portion for the week
Airtight glass containers ($12–15 for a set of three) keep biscuits fresh for about two weeks at room temperature. Some people refrigerate them; it doesn’t add much value unless your house is very warm. Don’t freeze them in bulk; they’re dry enough that freezing wastes space and makes them harder to grab during training.
Here’s the math: your Shih Tzu should get no more than 10% of their daily calories from treats. For a 12-pound Shih Tzu eating roughly 400–450 calories per day, that’s about 40–45 treat calories. Each of these tiny biscuits is roughly 5–7 calories, so you’re looking at 6–8 biscuits per day maximum. Put a small handful in a treat pouch and leave the rest in the container at home. This keeps you honest and prevents treat creep.
Common mistakes that derail the project
Using the wrong peanut butter. Again: check for xylitol. Call the manufacturer if the label is unclear. When in doubt, use Jif or Skippy—they’re reliably safe.
Cutting pieces too large. Oversized training treats slow training down and add unnecessary calories. Thumbnail-sized is your target.
Not letting them cool before storing. Warm biscuits trapped in a container sweat and get soft. Wait until they’re completely room temperature, or they’ll get moldy.
Adding extra ingredients. Pumpkin, banana, coconut oil—all tempting, all fine, but they change bake time and moisture. Stick to this recipe the first time. Once you’ve made it three times, experiment.
What it costs you
Ingredients for three batches (240+ tiny biscuits): roughly $12–15. Parchment paper, if you don’t have it: $3. Glass storage containers, if you don’t have them: $10–12 for a useful set. Total one-time spend: under $20, assuming you have flour, eggs, a baking sheet, and basic kitchen tools.
Per-batch cost after that: about $4–5. A single premium training treat pouch of comparable size runs $12–18.
Your actual training investment is time on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The payoff is weeks of reliable, portion-appropriate rewards for a dog who lives to please—and the satisfaction of knowing exactly what’s going into their mouth.
Start your first batch this weekend, and by next week, you’ll have three containers ready to rotate through training sessions, car rides, and vet visits. That’s the practical magic of homemade treats: they’re cheap, fast, and they work.
