Healthy treats for dogs: how much to give and what to avoid

Treats are useful for training and handling, and they are also an easy way to add calories a dog does not need. The usual limit is 10% of the daily diet, with the rest coming from a complete food. Long-lasting chews and table food are where those calories add up fastest; pea-sized training rewards add up far more slowly.

The 10% guideline

Treats and chews are normally sold for intermittent or complementary feeding, meaning they are not nutritionally complete. The WSAVA guidelines on selecting pet foods say products labeled this way should make up only a small portion of the diet, 10% or less. Beyond that, treats start to crowd out the food that supplies protein, vitamins and minerals in the right balance.

To turn that into calories, start from an estimate of the dog's daily needs. Using the resting energy formula and the 1.6 factor for a neutered adult dog given in the Merck Veterinary Manual:

These are starting estimates for healthy, neutered adults. Less active or weight-prone dogs need less, so their treat allowance shrinks too. WSAVA notes that calorie information is only required on pet food labels in the US. Where a treat pack does not show it, the manufacturer should be able to provide it.

Where the hidden calories are

Long-lasting chews are the usual culprits. An analysis of bully sticks bought in the United States and Canada found an average of 15 kcal per inch, ranging from 9 to 22 kcal per inch. A 6-inch (15 cm) stick therefore carries roughly 90 kcal, more than the whole daily treat allowance of a typical 10 kg dog. The same study found one stick contaminated with Clostridium difficile and one with MRSA among 26 tested, a reason to wash hands after handling them.

Pig ears, large biscuits and dental chews vary widely by brand and size, so check the label rather than guessing. A dental chew given every day counts toward the treat allowance like any other treat.

Low-calorie options

Vegetables

Plain vegetables add crunch or volume for very few calories. Serve them unsalted and without butter, oil, garlic or onion.

• Carrots: raw or lightly cooked, cut to a size the dog cannot swallow whole.
• Green beans: fresh or frozen, plain.
• Cucumber: sliced; mostly water.
• Broccoli: small florets in small amounts.
• Sweet potato: cooked and plain, in small cubes. It is starchier than the others, so portions stay small.

Fruit

• Blueberries: small enough to use as training rewards.
• Watermelon: seedless flesh only, no rind.
• Apple: slices without the core or seeds.
• Banana: thin slices, occasionally, as it is higher in sugar.

Grapes and raisins are an important exception to "fruit is fine". The ASPCA lists them among people foods to keep from pets because they can cause kidney damage in dogs. The same list includes xylitol, the sweetener in many sugar-free products, which can cause low blood sugar and possible liver damage; onions, garlic and chives; chocolate; macadamia nuts; and salty snacks. If a dog eats any of these, call a vet or a poison control line straight away rather than waiting for signs.

Training treats

Good training rewards are small, soft enough to eat in a second, and strong-smelling. Pea-sized pieces let a dog earn dozens of rewards in a session without a large calorie load. Freeze-dried liver or plain cooked chicken breast can be broken into crumbs. Setting aside part of the day's kibble as rewards costs no extra calories at all.

Treats to avoid or limit

• Bones. Bones are a frequent cause of foreign bodies in dogs. In a review of 129 dogs with swallowed bones, every bone lodged in the esophagus had to be dislodged by pushing it into the stomach, removing it with an endoscope or operating, although most bones in the stomach were left to dissolve, with no complications reported. Cooked bones can also splinter.
• Rawhide and other hard chews. Supervise chewing and take away pieces small enough to swallow whole.
• Fatty table food. Bacon, fat trimmings, sausages and similar scraps are high in calories. In a case-control study, dogs with pancreatitis were more likely to have eaten table scraps, unusual foods or trash than control dogs; being overweight was also associated with higher odds.
• Human snacks. Chips, cookies and bread add salt, sugar and calories without much else.

Vomiting, a painful or hunched belly, repeated retching, or refusal to eat after a dog has eaten a bone or fatty scraps needs prompt veterinary attention.

Treats for an overweight dog

Treats do not have to go entirely, which would make training harder. Three changes help:

• Count every treat, chew and scrap toward the day's calories, and reduce the meal portion to match.
• Swap calorie-dense chews and biscuits for vegetables and pea-sized training pieces.
• Break treats into smaller pieces, so the number of rewards stays the same while the calories fall.

Weigh the dog periodically and check its waist and ribs. If the weight does not move, the treats and extras are the first place to look.

Sources

1. Guidelines on Selecting Pet Foods. WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee, 2021.
2. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.
3. Nutritional and microbial analysis of bully sticks and survey of opinions about pet treats. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 2013.
4. People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.
5. Outcomes of esophageal and gastric bone foreign bodies in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2022.
6. Associations between dietary factors and pancreatitis in dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2008.