A healthy, balanced diet for adult pets should consist of 90% well formulated dry or canned food and 10% from outside sources such as training treats, dental treats, toppers, table scraps and supplements.
Why is it so important to stay within this 10% rule?
Dry or canned food that is well researched and formulated to meet the standards put out by AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) and WSAVA (World Small Animal Veterinary Association) will provide all of the vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients your pet needs to thrive. When you feed your pet over 10% of outside sources you are creating an unbalanced diet, putting your pet at risk for nutritional deficiencies and obesity. Please ask your veterinarian how many calories your pet should consume daily to help determine what 10% of calories is.
For reference, if your pet’s daily calorie intake is 1000 calories, then 900 calories should come from dry or canned food and only 100 calories should be from treats. You can find the number of calories per treat on the back of a treat bag, be very diligent in doing this as it may surprise you how many calories a treat can have. Please reach out to us with your nutritional concerns so we can help your pet live their best life.
Common treats:
Pedigree Dentastix (S/M size) 54 calories/treat
Whimzees Dental Treats (Large) 173 calories/treat
Farmland Traditions Chicken Jerky 33 calories/treat
¼ cup apple 14-16 calories
1/2 cup boiled green beans 22 calories
1/2 cup air-popped popcorn (no salt or butter) provides 16 calories