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How Many Treats Can a Puppy Have?
Treats should add up to no more than about a tenth of your puppy’s daily calories. Here is how to turn that into a number of treats.
The 10% guideline
Veterinary guidance commonly suggests treats make up no more than about 10% of a dog’s daily calorie intake so the diet stays balanced. Your vet can tell you your puppy’s daily calorie needs, or you can use the feeding guide on the puppy food as a starting point: the calories in the recommended daily amount of food approximate the daily total.
Worked example
| Step | Example |
|---|---|
| Daily calories (from vet or food label) | 800 kcal |
| 10% allowance for treats | 80 kcal |
| Calories per training treat (label) | 3 kcal |
| Treats per day | About 26 |
For heavy training days, use part of the daily kibble as rewards and reduce meals by the same amount, so total calories stay the same.
Tips
- Break treats into smaller pieces to double the rewards.
- Count treats into a pouch in the morning so you know the day’s allowance.
- Include chews and table scraps in the 10%.
- Recheck calorie needs as your puppy grows.