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Is giving my dog too many treats bad for their nutritional balance?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 5 years and 11 months old | 17 lbs

Can my dogs diet be 20% treats? Is this ok? Why or why not? Please explain. would her diet be nutritionally unbalanced if she got this amount coming from her treats? I would be giving her 1/2 cup of kibble per day and 4 milk bones. The most she would ever be able to eat is 2/3 cup per day but I wouldn't be able to give her as many treats.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Rebecca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 2nd, 2018

Thank you for using PetCoach. Treats should make up no more than 10% of a dog's diet. Think of it this way - treats are like cookies - they taste good and may have some nutritional value, but overall are empty calories. Dog treats are similar. You can use smaller treats, or training treats to be able to give her a treat more frequently, but no more than 10% (or less) of her diet needs to be treats. This article has some more info https://www.preventivevet.com/dogs/how-many-treats-you-can-give-your-dog-during-training

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on September 30th, 2017

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I understand you completely. Treats are a perfectly ok and recommended way of improving or correcting behavior. However, it is important to not give so many that that becomes the base of the diet and nutritional intake. I would recommend limiting them a bit but mainly getting the small low calorie treats. Good luck and have a great day!

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