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How to interpret the 10% daily treats rule for my puppy's diet?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Maltipoo | Male | unneutered

I read that you should only treat a puppy/dog 10% of their daily diet. Does this mean 90% is normal puppy food and 10% treats, OR does it mean 100% puppy food plus an additional 10% of treats making it 110%? Sorry I’m a new puppy owner and I’m getting my 3 month old maltipoo soon, just want to be prepared.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 29th, 2018

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!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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