Did you know that pet treats are one of the reason why pet obesity exists?
Treats should be given in moderation and with caution. It is called TREATS for a reason.
Some of the pet treats list calories of each treat on their packaging.
But we found many that do not list the calories.
There’s an easy way to calculate how many calories are in a treat.
This calculation is also helpful especially if you make homemade treats for your dog.
The origin of this calculation is from a book,
Feed Your Pet Right written by a nutritionist Marion Nestle.
It is a simple calculation.
1) You can calculate how many calories in a treat based on its weight in grams.
2) Assume that there are 3-4 calories per gram in a treat.
3) FORMULA: 1 Treat weight in grams x 3 or 4 = #calories/treat
Invest on a food scale and apply this simple calculation. A food scale is an inexpensive kitchen gadget that is beneficial for both you and your dog.
Lots of Golden Thanks,
Happy Tasty Tuesday!
Lots of Golden L♥VE n Woofs
SUGAR
We are not allowing mom to read this
Benny & Lily
What a great tip. I’ve always wondered how many calories are in one of our homemade treats. Thank you Sugar and Sugar’s mom!
NO way, Am I showing this post to my Mom. Me and Addi LOVE our treats way too much!!
wags
Jazzi and Addi
What a great tip!
Great reminder: treats are special! Woofs from Jeffie, Rudy and Rosie
Thanks so much for this handy tip! We do make a lot of treats at home so it’s great to know how many calories are in those treats.
very very true, we break all treats into little bits partcularly for our small guys
urban hounds
We have a food scale. Don’t think MOM has used it for my treats but looks like she is very curious as to the calories in my treats so…. Happy Tuesday Sugar.
Blessings,
Goose
Great info Sugar. People do tend to forget to factor in all the treats they give their dogs in their overall calorie totals and then wonder why their dogs are overweight…duh!
Very good information! I did not know this. Weight is a challenge for our Nikki.
That’s a great tip! Now I just need a tip on how to resist the pleading eyes!
Our MOM is NOT gonna be allowed to see THIS… BUTT I am gonna make ERNIE read it 87 times.
great info here. i wish i could control my weight as easily as we control the dogs weight… my friend has a dog that should way 12 pounds and it ways 25, it can hardly walk. she give him a treat everytime he goes out and comes back in and all day long. i told her the calories in the one treat, which was 20 each. i said do the math, you give an extra 200 calories to a 12 pound dog, that is like us eating 5 burgers a day. give him green beans or carrots…. she still gives the poor dog the treats.
We agree with Benny and Lily, Mom does NOT need to see this, but we all know it is for our own good. Mom actually tries to keep our treats to a minimum but Dad isn’t quite so thrifty:)
Woos – Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning
Thanks for the information, Sugar. My vet said that treats are not good for me, they are the reason for diabetes and bad teeth. Mom tried to replace the treats with whole carrots, but after my carrot-battle we need always the crime scene cleaners from csi miami :o)
Thanks for this info, Sugar! Ducky only gets training treats — either Charlee Bear or Pet Botanics minis, and the calories per treat are shown right on the front of the bags — Callie & Shadow get treats made by WellPet (2 per day). I have to watch their weight, so I limit their treats for extra special times. They think of the canned organic pumpkin I give them every other day as a special treat.
I’m definitely not letting mummy read this or I’ll never get any treats bol
We better not let peeps read this. Yikes it will be rations. Have a terrific Tuesday.
Best wishes Molly
I neeeeed my Sugar pics!!!
Great tip Sugar. I have to always be watching my weight, so treats and me have to be on friendly terms.
Treats can be detrimental to a dog’s waistline, I agree. Or their health. One a day is our limit. Usually. I think I need to go find a PopTart now …
Excellent post Sugar and right on the money. Our Little Bit is not overweight one bit and that’s because we monitor her occasional treats.
Have a woof woof day. My best to your mom. 🙂
less treats – more exercise – all things in moderation 🙂
Great formulation Sugar!!! I weigh my food, so I should probably start weighing the dogs treats too!
Happy Tasty Tuesday!
Oh my goodness…this sounds like a lot of work. I think I will just walk a bit more if I want an extra treat. I would say as well, never feed treats as it says on the package…they always post portions for elephants!
What a nifty calculation, Sugar. We had no idea how to figure that out but now we do! And you are absolutely right…too many treats leads to chubby puppies!
*Cairn cuddles*
Oz
What a helpful post! I always think about this when I’m giving Smoosh treats. If he’s had a lot of treats, I don’t give him as much dinner.
xoxo,
Jules of Canines & Couture
It’s sad that so many pet are overweight and I think this is a good way for people to figure out how to help keep their pets healthy. If you like to give your pet treats, just be sure to decrease their food portion by the same number of calories. Since Ty and Buster eat The Honest Kitchen dog food (which looks like oatmeal after we mix it up) they think that kibble is a treat. It’s handy for us, because each piece of kibble is pretty small and doesn’t have a lot of calories – perfect for training!
Now we know why treats are so good!
That’s so cool, Sugar! So far, Mom has figured out a perfect balance between exercise, treats and my food, but I know that day will come…..
A great post with helpful information! The pack always, always gets a measured amount of kibble and healthy treats. I think it is unfair to have an overweight dog. They can’t control it, the human has to!
We’re always amazed by the calories in things. We find the cheaper the treats, the worse the calorie count. (Did you know a large milkbone has 115 calories?! That’s like 1/6 of what Koly can eat ALL DAY!
Great tips, Sugar! Thank you!
Thanks for that, SHE is always wondering how many calories are in our treats.
XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
I love Charlie Bears. They’re 3 calories and they come in different flavors. The only down side is that they are small so sometimes I get more than one.
Hugs and Licks, BJ