How Many Grams of Biscuit Can a 15 to 18 kg Dog Have?
Grams are the wrong unit. Two biscuits of the same weight can differ widely in calories, and calories are what end up on the dog.
So the useful question is how many calories of biscuit a 15 to 18 kg dog can have, and then how many grams of your particular biscuit that is. Both steps take about a minute with the pack in your hand.
Where does the limit come from?
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association puts it plainly: treats should make up less than 10% of a dog's daily calorie intake (WSAVA, 2024). Biscuits count as treats. So do chews, table scraps and the paneer you wrap a tablet in.
WSAVA turns that into a table for an average healthy adult dog in ideal body condition:
- 10 kg: 47 kcal of treats a day
- 15 kg: 64 kcal
- 20 kg: 79 kcal
- 25 kg: 94 kcal
For a dog between 15 and 18 kg, that puts the daily treat allowance somewhere around 64 to 73 kcal. Not much.
How do you turn that into grams?
Find the energy figure on the pack. It is usually printed as kcal per 100 g or kcal per kg; Indian labels vary, and some leave it off entirely. WSAVA's advice for that case is to contact the manufacturer and ask.
Then divide. As a worked example, take a biscuit labelled 350 kcal per 100 g, which is 3.5 kcal per gram:
- 15 kg dog: 64 ÷ 3.5 ≈ 18 g a day
- 18 kg dog: about 73 ÷ 3.5 ≈ 21 g a day
That 350 figure is only an illustration; use whatever your own pack says. A richer biscuit means fewer grams. Weigh a few once on a kitchen scale, count how many make up the allowance, and you never have to weigh them again.
What about human biscuits?
This is where the arithmetic gets uncomfortable. WSAVA lists a single digestive biscuit, 17 g, at 75 kcal.
One biscuit. That is already more than the entire daily allowance for a 15 kg dog, and slightly over it for an 18 kg one.
Marie, glucose and cream biscuits are made for people; they carry sugar and fat a dog does not need, and cream or chocolate varieties should not be given at all. A broken-off quarter as a reward is not going to harm a healthy dog. Half a packet on the verandah every evening is a different matter.
How much does a dog of this size need overall?
The Merck Veterinary Manual gives the standard starting formula: resting energy requirement equals 70 times body weight in kilograms raised to the power 0.75 (Merck Veterinary Manual). For healthy adult dogs it then multiplies that by 1.8 if intact, 1.6 if neutered, and 1.4 if the dog is prone to weight gain.
Worked through, a 15 kg dog rests on roughly 530 kcal a day and an 18 kg dog on about 610. A neutered adult of that size needs something like 850 to 980 kcal in total.
Ten per cent of that is 85 to 98 kcal, about a third higher than WSAVA's table. That gap is normal: formulas are averages, and dogs vary a lot around them. Treat WSAVA's lower figures as the cautious default, particularly for a neutered indie who spends the afternoon asleep under the dining table.
Does the 10% rule shortchange the main meal?
For dogs, apparently not. A 2025 study checked whether diets would still meet European minimum standards for protein and fat if 10% of calories came from treats, using label data for 170 dog treats (Veterinary Sciences, 2025). All the dog diets met protein and fat minimums, for active and inactive dogs alike; the concern the authors raised was about cats.
The limits are worth stating. It relied on what labels said rather than lab testing, and it did not assess vitamins or minerals. Still, it supports the rule as a sensible ceiling rather than an arbitrary one.
Should you cut the main meal?
If biscuits are daily rather than occasional, trim the meal by roughly the same calories. Treat calories count inside the day's total, not on top of it.
What you should not do is let biscuits replace a meal. WSAVA is explicit: treats never replace a complete and balanced diet. A dog that fills up on biscuits and leaves its food is getting a lot of flour and not much else.
How do you check it is working?
Watch the dog rather than the bag.
You should be able to feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat, and see a waist when you look down from above. If you have to press to find ribs, cut treats first, because that is the easiest calorie to lose. Weigh the dog at the clinic every few months; a slow creep is easier to reverse than a large gain.
Puppies, pregnant dogs, working dogs and dogs on a special diet from the vet are outside these numbers. Ask your vet.
When is this a vet question?
Weight loss you did not plan, a dog that suddenly refuses food, repeated vomiting, diarrhoea lasting more than a day or two, or a swollen, tight belly all need a vet rather than a feeding calculation. Our guide on [when to see a vet](/blogs/news/when-to-take-dog-to-vet-digestive-problems) lists the gut warning signs.
Where ChewCheer fits
It doesn't change the arithmetic. A ChewCheer chew is a treat like any other, so it counts inside the same daily allowance as biscuits do, not on top of it. If you give both, the biscuit portion shrinks. We would rather you knew that than discovered it on the scales. For the wider question of whether treats are worth giving at all, see [are dog treats bad for dogs](/blogs/news/are-dog-treats-bad-for-dogs).
The short version
Count calories, not grams. A 15 to 18 kg adult dog has a treat allowance of roughly 64 to 73 kcal a day, under 10% of its total. Divide by the kcal per gram on the label to get grams; at 3.5 kcal per gram that is about 18 to 21 g. One digestive biscuit uses the lot.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams of biscuit can a 15 to 18 kg dog have a day?
It depends on the biscuit's calories, so the honest answer is in kcal first. WSAVA puts the daily treat allowance at 64 kcal for a 15 kg adult dog and 79 kcal for 20 kg. For a biscuit labelled 350 kcal per 100 g, that works out to roughly 18 to 21 g a day for a dog between 15 and 18 kg, less for a lazy or neutered dog.
Can I give my dog Marie or digestive biscuits?
Occasionally, in small pieces, if they contain nothing toxic such as chocolate, raisins or xylitol. They are human snacks with sugar and fat, not dog food. WSAVA lists one 17 g digestive biscuit at 75 kcal, which is more than the whole daily treat allowance for a 15 kg dog. Break one into pieces and spread it across the day, or skip it.
What is the 10% rule for dog treats?
Treats, chews, biscuits, table scraps and the food you hide tablets in should together stay under 10% of a dog's daily calories. The other 90% should come from a complete and balanced diet. A 2025 analysis found that dog diets still met protein and fat minimums at that 10% level, so the rule leaves room without starving the main meal.
How many calories does a 15 to 18 kg dog need in a day?
Using the Merck Veterinary Manual's formula, resting needs are about 530 kcal at 15 kg and 610 kcal at 18 kg. A healthy neutered adult needs roughly 1.6 times that, so about 850 to 980 kcal. These are starting points only; activity, age, coat, climate and body condition shift the real figure, and your vet can refine it.
Should I cut my dog's food if I give biscuits?
If biscuits are a daily habit, yes, slightly. Treat calories count towards the day's total, not on top of it. Trim the main meal by about the same number of calories the biscuits add. Do not let biscuits replace a meal; WSAVA is clear that every dog needs a complete and balanced diet.
How do I know if my dog is getting too many biscuits?
Look at the dog, not the bag. You should be able to feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat and see a waist from above. If the ribs are hard to find, or the weight on the clinic scales keeps creeping up, cut treats first. Sudden weight loss, vomiting or loose stools are a vet visit, not a biscuit question.