Every dog is convinced they deserve one more treat, and every owner has caved at least once. Treats are a brilliant tool — for training, for bonding, for surviving nail trims — but they add up faster than most of us think. A couple of chews and a handful of biscuits can quietly become a second dinner.

The 10% rule, explained

Most vets recommend that treats make up no more than 10% of your dog’s daily calories. The other 90% should come from their complete, balanced food. For a 20 lb dog that eats around 500 calories a day, that leaves roughly 50 calories for treats — around 15 tiny training treats at 2–3 calories each, or just two or three small biscuits, not the whole bag.

Make every treat work harder

Break bigger treats into pea-sized pieces: your dog cares far more about how often a treat appears than how big it is. Save the highest-value treats — freeze-dried meat, soft chews — for the hardest asks, like recall at the park. And on heavy training days, simply scoop a little less kibble into the bowl to keep the day’s total in balance.

Stocking the treat jar? Our treats section has single-ingredient chews and small training treats that split easily — your dog will never know they are on a budget.