Beggin' Strips vs Homemade: What the Label Says
Alex WillenTL;DR: Beggin' Strips list pork, five different grains, and glycerin before bacon shows up on the ingredient panel, plus a small set of synthetic preservatives and dyes. At $17.99 to $22.29 for a 25-ounce bag, that works out to roughly $0.72 to $0.89 an ounce for a 35-calorie treat. Our Beef and Cheddar Pupsicle Mix is the closest thing we make to a meaty, training-style treat: freeze-dried beef, whole wheat flour, cheddar cheese powder, and whole egg protein, about 20 calories per treat, no dyes and no BHA. Neither product is unsafe. The real differences are what's filling out the recipe and what you're paying for it.
Beggin' Strips have been a training-treat staple for decades, mostly because dogs go a little wild for the bacon smell. That reputation is well earned. But "bacon flavored" and "made of bacon" are two different claims, and the only way to tell which one you're getting is to read the actual ingredient panel.
Here's what's on the label, what's in our Beef and Cheddar Pupsicle Mix as the closest homemade comparison, and the math on price and calories for both.
What's Actually on the Beggin' Strips Label
Purina's Beggin' Strips Original with Bacon lists ingredients in this exact order:
Pork, Barley, Oat Meal, Brewers Rice, Soybean Meal, Ground Whole Wheat, Glycerin, Sugar, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Flour, Wheat Gluten, Water, Ground Yellow Corn, Bacon, Soy Protein Concentrate, Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavor, Sorbic Acid (preservative), Bacon Fat (preserved with BHA and Citric Acid), Natural Smoke Flavor, Calcium Propionate (preservative), Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6.
Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first, which is a standard pet food labeling rule. That means pork is the single largest ingredient, and five separate grains (barley, oat meal, brewers rice, ground whole wheat, ground yellow corn) show up before "bacon" itself appears at position 14. The bacon flavor comes through a combination of the actual bacon, the bacon fat, and natural smoke flavor further down the list.
The panel also includes four synthetic dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6), plus BHA as a preservative in the bacon fat. BHA is FDA-recognized as safe for pet food at low concentrations, and it's a common preservative across the treat aisle, not something unique to this brand. Some health-advocacy groups have raised long-term concerns about it, which is worth knowing, but it isn't a settled safety issue the way something like chocolate or xylitol is.
Guaranteed analysis: 15% crude protein minimum, 3.5% crude fat minimum, 3.5% crude fiber maximum, 27% moisture maximum. Calories run 35 per treat, or about 2,907 kcal/kg. A 25-ounce bag runs $17.99 to $22.29 depending on retailer, which puts it around $0.72 to $0.89 an ounce.
What's in Our Beef and Cheddar Pupsicle Mix
We don't make a bacon-flavored treat, so the fairest comparison isn't flavor for flavor, it's "meaty training-style treat" for "meaty training-style treat." Our Beef and Cheddar Pupsicle Mix is a freeze-dried, just-add-water powder. The full ingredient list:
Freeze dried beef, whole wheat flour, cheddar cheese powder, whole egg protein.
A grain-free version swaps the wheat flour for cassava flour, almond flour, and coconut flour, keeping the freeze-dried beef and cheddar cheese powder.
That's the whole list, four ingredients either way. You mix it with water, pour it into a mold or ice cube tray, and freeze it. No dyes, no BHA, no added sugar, salt, or artificial flavors. Ingredients are sourced and made in the USA, and the label follows AAFCO guidelines. A 4.3-ounce jar runs $12.49 and yields about 25 treats at roughly 20 calories each, less if you add extra water when mixing.
Price and Calories, Side by Side
| Product | Price | Size / Yield | Price Per Ounce or Treat | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef and Cheddar Pupsicle Mix (Cooper's) | $12.49 | 4.3 oz jar, about 25 treats | $2.90/oz as dry mix, about $0.50/treat once made | About 20 cal/treat |
| Beggin' Strips Original | $17.99-$22.29 | 25 oz bag | $0.72-$0.89/oz | 35 cal/treat |
These aren't quite apples to apples. Beggin' Strips is priced by the ounce of finished treat, ready to hand over. Our mix is priced by the ounce of dry powder, and you're adding water for free before it becomes a treat, which is why price per treat is the more honest number on our side. Once made, a Pupsicle costs about half what a Beggin' Strip costs, at just over half the calories.
The Bacon Flavor Question
If what you actually want is bacon flavor specifically, we don't have an answer for that, and we're not going to pretend our beef and cheddar mix tastes like bacon because it doesn't. What we can say is that most dogs respond to "meaty and savory" more than to any one specific flavor, and freeze-dried beef delivers plenty of that smell and taste without needing bacon fat or smoke flavor to get there. If bacon is non-negotiable for your dog, Beggin' Strips does that job well.
A Note on Bacon Itself
Plain, unseasoned bacon in small amounts isn't toxic to dogs, but it's high in fat and sodium, which is part of why bacon fat and bacon flavoring show up carefully dosed and preserved in a treat recipe rather than as the leading ingredient. If you want the full rundown on feeding real bacon to your dog, see our guide to bacon for dogs.
If you're weighing training treats generally, not just this one matchup, our roundup of the best training treats covers more ground than a single brand comparison can.
Buy Beggin' Strips If...
- You want a shelf-stable, ready-to-hand-out treat with zero prep.
- Your dog specifically loves the bacon flavor and you haven't found a substitute they like as much.
- You want something available at nearly any grocery store, no ordering required.
- Your dog has no known grain or dye sensitivity.
Go Homemade If...
- You want a shorter ingredient list you can read in one breath.
- You're doing high-repetition training and want more treats for the same calorie budget.
- You'd rather skip synthetic dyes and preservatives, even at GRAS levels.
- You don't mind adding water and a short freeze in exchange for a lower cost per treat.
The Cooper's Treats Approach
We started with the idea that a training treat shouldn't need a long ingredient panel to taste good to a dog. Maple, our resident golden retriever mix, will eat almost anything that isn't nailed down, so she's a terrible judge of quality control, but even she goes straight for the freeze-dried beef treats over anything sweeter. That's the whole premise behind the Beef and Cheddar Pupsicle Mix: real meat as the first ingredient, a short list behind it, and portion control that's actually in your hands since you're the one filling the mold. If you want to try it, the Pupsicle Starter Kit comes with two jars of mix and a paw-and-bone silicone mold to get started.
