Quick answer: Most dogs should get no more than 10% of their daily calorie intake from treats and chews. For a 10 kg dog eating around 480 kcal a day, that's roughly 48 kcal of treat budget. One Fangz Medium chew (roughly 100 g, ~93% protein, ~1% fat) is low-fat enough to fit that window across a day, and it occupies your dog for hours at minimum (often days to weeks across sessions) rather than the 30 seconds a soft dental stick burns through.
Most owners have no idea how many treats their dog actually eats in a day. A dental stick after breakfast, a training reward mid-morning, half a pig ear in the afternoon, a biscuit at dinner. It adds up fast. And for a small dog, it can add up past their entire daily maintenance requirement before you notice.
The fix is a single rule: 10% of daily calories, maximum, from treats. Here's exactly how to apply it, plus how different chew types stack up against the budget.
What is the 10% treat rule for dogs?
The 10% rule is the standard nutritional guideline used by vets and pet dietitians across Australia: treats (including chews, dental sticks, training rewards, and anything that isn't your dog's primary complete food) should make up no more than 10% of total daily calorie intake.
The remaining 90% needs to come from a complete, balanced food. That 90% is where your dog's vitamins, minerals, and macro ratios are calibrated. Treats typically aren't formulated to balance nutrition, so if they crowd out the base diet, deficiencies develop over time.
This is not a "no treats" rule. It's a budget rule. Use the budget wisely.
How to calculate your dog's 10% treat allowance
You need two numbers: your dog's daily calorie requirement and 10% of that.
A simple field guide by weight (approximate maintenance calories for a healthy adult dog at moderate activity, using the standard RER formula):
| Dog weight | Approx. daily kcal (adult, moderate activity) | 10% treat budget |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | 290 kcal | ~29 kcal |
| 8 kg | 400 kcal | ~40 kcal |
| 10 kg | 480 kcal | ~48 kcal |
| 15 kg | 620 kcal | ~62 kcal |
| 20 kg | 780 kcal | ~78 kcal |
| 30 kg | 1,060 kcal | ~106 kcal |
| 40 kg | 1,310 kcal | ~131 kcal |
These are ballpark figures for an adult dog. Puppies, seniors, and working dogs have different requirements. If your dog is overweight or underweight, ask your vet for a personalised REME calculation.
How do different chews compare against the treat budget?
This is where chew choice starts to matter. High-fat chews burn through the treat budget fast. High-protein, low-fat chews stretch it further.
| Chew type | Approx. kcal per chew | Fat content | Chew duration | Fits 10kg dog budget? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fangz collagen chew (Medium, ~100g) | Low (very low fat, ~1%) | ~1% fat | Hours per session; one chew lasts days to weeks | Yes, especially when given across multiple sessions |
| Bully stick (6-inch, ~30g) | ~90 kcal | ~2 to 5% fat | 20 to 40 min (varies) | Yes, once (smaller dogs tighter) |
| Yak chew (large, ~100g) | ~300 to 400 kcal | ~5 to 8% fat | Varies widely | Marginal for smaller dogs |
| Pig ear (~35g) | ~100 to 200 kcal (varies by size) | ~25 to 35% fat (dehydrated) | 10 to 30 min | Stretches the budget for smaller dogs |
| Dentastix (medium stick) | ~75 to 82 kcal | ~1 to 2% fat | 5 to 10 min | Yes, tight for small dogs |
| Rawhide chip (small) | ~60 kcal | ~1 to 3% fat | Variable, poorly digestible | Not recommended on digestibility grounds |
| Training treat (small biscuit) | ~5 to 10 kcal | Varies | N/A | Eats budget fast in training sessions |
A few clarifications on the Fangz row: at ~93% protein and ~1% fat, the calorie density per gram is lower than a fatty chew like a pig ear. A Fangz chew lasts hours at minimum, and a single chew often lasts days to weeks depending on how hard your dog goes at it. Many owners spread one chew across multiple sittings, which keeps the daily intake lower still.
How many Fangz chews per day?
One per day is the starting point. For most dogs, one Fangz chew (matched to their size) is the right daily serving. You can build your Fangz pack by size and flavour to keep a rotation on hand. Here's why one per day works:
- It fits the calorie budget without blowing it, especially at the Small and Medium size.
- Collagen supports joint mobility and skin and coat health, so there's a functional reason to keep it consistent rather than sporadic.
- Chewing is mentally stimulating. The goal is a settled, occupied dog, not an overfed one.
For smaller dogs (under 8 kg), a Small Fangz chew given in a single session, or halved across the day, keeps everything inside budget. For larger dogs over 15 kg, the Large chew is sized for them and still sits comfortably within a bigger calorie envelope. See the Fangz Build Your Pack page to choose the right size and flavour for your dog.
One honest hedge: Fangz is not designed for dogs that gulp-swallow large pieces rather than chewing properly. If your dog bolts food without chewing, supervise carefully. This applies to any long chew, not just ours.
What about puppies? Is the 10% rule the same?
Puppies need more calories per kilogram of body weight than adult dogs because they're growing. That means their absolute treat budget in kcal is higher per kilo, but the 10% ratio still applies relative to their total daily intake.
Fangz chews are suitable for puppies from 4 months old. For a puppy, use the Small size regardless of breed, and supervise the first few sessions to see how they handle it. Start with half a chew if they're young or a very light breed.
What about training days with lots of small treats?
Training sessions are where the 10% rule gets quietly broken most often. If you're doing a 15-minute recall session with 40 small treats, that alone can hit or exceed the daily treat budget for a small dog.
The fix is simple: use lower-calorie training treats (most are 3 to 5 kcal each), and count them. If you know you have a training session scheduled, skip or halve the daily chew. The budget is the budget, regardless of what type of treat fills it.
Can a dog have more than one chew a day?
Technically yes, if the total stays inside the 10% window. Practically, one substantial chew per day is the right target for most dogs. Giving multiple chews to hit a number misses the point: the goal is a settled dog with good teeth, joints, and coat, not maximum chew volume.
The other consideration is digestive load. Even a clean, digestible chew adds protein and collagen to the gut. One well-matched chew is plenty.
Does a chew count as a meal?
No. A chew is a treat. It doesn't replace a balanced meal and shouldn't be used as one. Even a very nutritious chew (high protein, functional collagen, clean ingredients) isn't nutritionally complete in the way a formulated dog food is.
The practical implication: if your dog refuses their dinner after a chew, the chew was probably too large, too calorie-dense, or given too close to meal time. Adjust timing or size down.
The bottom line: treat budget math in 30 seconds
- Find your dog's daily calorie requirement (roughly: body weight in kg × 30 + 70 for adults, but ask your vet for anything precise).
- Take 10% of that number. That's your daily treat budget in kcal.
- Match your chew to that budget and their weight class (Small under 8 kg, Medium 8 to 15 kg, Large over 15 kg). Try a Fangz chew in the right size and see how long it lasts.
- One Fangz per day, matched to size, fits the budget for most dogs. It lasts hours, not minutes, and a single chew typically stretches across multiple sessions, often days to weeks.
For more on how chew choice affects teeth, see our guide to how chewing cleans a dog's teeth. For a full rundown on what's actually in a Fangz chew, see what's actually in Fangz chews: the 3-ingredient label. If you're choosing between chew types, the complete collagen for dogs guide covers the mechanism in detail.
Try a Fangz chew
If you're after a chew that earns its place in the treat budget, three ingredients is the whole list. Build a Fangz pack at fangz.com.au.
Sources
- National Research Council (NRC), Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, 2006. Basis for RER (resting energy requirement) calculations used widely by Australian vets.
- The 10% treat guideline is widely cited in veterinary practice across Australia and internationally; it appears in guidance from the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee and is endorsed by multiple national veterinary bodies including VCA Animal Hospitals and the Australian veterinary community.
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee guidelines on pet nutrition: recommends body condition scoring combined with calorie calculation for appropriate treat portioning.
- Veterinary nutrition consensus on energy requirements and treat management in practice. Widely documented in peer-reviewed small animal nutrition literature including the Australian Veterinary Journal and AAHA guidelines.