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

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I actually think that is way too many treats. Treats should be used as reward or training. Those treats have a lot of calories in them and with 3 small dogs that’s an excess of calories. I would relate that to a human eating a doughnut. Three humans should not eat 40 doughnuts daily. I suspect your dogs are only picking at their dry food because they are eating mainly treats as their diet. Treats also do not have the right vitamins and minerals to promote proper bodily functions. I would recommend 1 snack per dog per day. If you would like for them to find food while you are at work, I would use their regular dog kibble. I hope this helps. Kisses to your pups!

I would say more along the lines of 1-2%. Treats should only be given occasionally, as too many treats leads to obesity. Obesity predisposes pets to many health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, and joint problems.

Hello, thank you for your question about Loki. Congratulations on being a new puppy owner! You are correct in that most veterinarians say that puppies (and adult dogs) should not receive more than 10% of their daily calories from treats. What that means is that you should 90% of Loki's calories from his puppy food and 10% from treats. Ultimately in a young growing puppy like Loki, if you feed 100% puppy food and an extra 10% from treats, it should be just fine since he has higher calorie needs while he's growing. What's most important and the reason most veterinarians make this recommendation is to ensure that we don't give TOO many treats to dogs as these often have many calories and can make animals prone to obesity. Hope this helps, good luck!

No more than 10% of the dog's total daily calories should come from treats. Those two biscuits equal around 7% perfect of her daily calories, which is perfect! It's fine that 15% of her diet is the supplements, treats, and chews, keep up the good work!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. Dog treats need to be given in moderation. The standard recommendation is that treats should only comprise 10% of a dog's diet. Personally, I think they should be less as so many dogs struggle with weight problems. This being said Pedigree treats are fine to give in small amounts. I hope this information helps!

Ideally, a high-quality commercially-prepared diet should make up 90% of a dog’s diet, with nutritious treats making up no more than that last 10%. Commercially-prepared foods are formulated to provide proper balances of vitamins and minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Nutritional deficiencies or imbalances can lead to a host of health conditions. There are some dogs or pet parents who prefer home cooked diets over the commercially available options. In these cases, the recipe for the home cooked food must be carefully balanced to account for any lacking nutrients, and are best formulated by specialists in veterinary nutrition. Examples of such recipes can be found at www.balanceit.com. However, occasional treats of people foods, such as boiled white meat chicken, cooked sweet potatoes, turkey, green beans, or carrots are perfectly fine!

No, that is too many treats and extras for a dog's diet. At most, they should only get between 5-10% of the diet in treats and extras. Too many treats and extras leads to dogs gaining weight. You can could a scrambled egg as a treat once a week.