Safe Treats for Dogs: What to Hand Over, What to Skip, and How Much Is Too Much

The average treat jar holds more calories than anyone guesses. A couple of dental sticks and a handful of training rewards can quietly out-eat a dog's actual dinner. 🐕

Useful rule: treats should be around a tenth of what your dog eats in a day, with the bowl adjusted to match. The easiest fix is size. Dogs count pieces, not grams, so a pea-sized crumb lands exactly as well as a whole biscuit.

Your fridge is already stocked. Carrot sticks, green beans, cucumber, a few blueberries, plain cooked chicken with no skin or seasoning. The hard nos: grapes and raisins in every form, chocolate, onion and garlic, macadamia nuts, and anything sweetened with xylitol, sometimes labelled birch sugar. Peanut butter is the one that catches people out.

On chews, try the thumbnail test. If you can't dent it with your thumbnail, it's hard enough to crack a tooth, which rules out antlers, hooves and nylon bones for most dogs.

Full guide has the complete safe and unsafe lists, plus how to handle treats if your dog is on a diet or a prescription food.