Is It Bad to Give My Dog Treats for No Reason?
Your dog looks up. You have nothing to train, nothing to reward, no occasion. You hand over a biscuit anyway.
Is that a problem? For most dogs, no. But "for no reason" hides something worth looking at, and it is not the biscuit.
So is it actually harmful?
Food, simply. Given out of affection, it is not toxic and does not cause a disease by itself.
What can go wrong is the total. The unprompted biscuit is usually one nobody wrote down, and unlisted calories are how a dog drifts a little heavier each month.
The guidance from VCA Animal Hospitals is plain: "90% of your dog's daily calorie intake should come from their complete and balanced food, and the remaining 10% of calories can come from treats and snacks." The same page says too many treats can contribute to overweight and obesity, "both conditions are now afflicting family dogs at epidemic rates", and that "calories in" is by far the most important part of the equation.
So the test is not why you gave the biscuit; it is whether it fits inside that 10%.
How common is it?
Very. In a 2016 study, White and colleagues interviewed 280 dog owners at two locations in the East Midlands (Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2016). 96% fed their dogs treats, and 69% gave shop-bought treats every day.
The owners' reasons were not careless ones. They talked about positive reinforcement, about responsibility, and about the bond with their dog. Some were already worried about weight gain; others saw treats as doing good.
That tells you something useful: giving treats is a normal way of caring, not a failing. It also means the people at risk are not neglectful owners. They are attentive ones, loving their dogs with food.
The study was small and local, and it was a questionnaire about attitudes. It did not weigh the dogs.
Does the frequency matter?
A 2025 online survey of 890 dog owners in Western Romania, run between June and November 2023, looked at exactly this (Frontiers in Animal Science, 2025). More frequent treat-giving was significantly associated with dogs being overweight or obese (p<0.003). Of the owners surveyed, 84% did not account for the caloric value of treats in their dog's daily diet.
Two cautions go with that. Everything was reported by the owners, who were self-selected volunteers answering online. And an association is not a cause: owners of heavier dogs may give more treats because the dog begs, or the other way round. The survey cannot sort that out.
What it does show is the gap that matters. Most of these owners were not counting.
Why does a little extra weight matter?
The strongest evidence here comes from a lab study, and it is about overall food, not treats.
Kealy and colleagues followed 48 Labrador retrievers from puppyhood, half of them fed 25% less than the others for life. The restricted dogs had a median lifespan of 13 years, against 11.2 for the dogs fed freely, as Penn Today reported (the paper is in the JAVMA, 2002).
Take it with the right salt. These were research Labradors in controlled conditions, and the study was about total food, not treats. It does not say your dog will live a given number of years less if you hand out biscuits. It supports the narrower point that how much a dog eats over a lifetime can matter.
What should I do instead?
You do not have to stop. Change the arithmetic.
Count them. Decide on the day's treats in the morning, put them in a small container and when it is empty, it is empty. Everyone in the house uses the same container.
Make them smaller. Most dogs care that a treat arrived, not how big it was. Break each into pieces.
Take them out of meals. If treats are going to be frequent, subtract some food from the measured meal. This is our practical suggestion; we did not find a study of it, and your vet can set the amount. For the reverse case, where treats are being used to replace meals, see [can treats replace a dog meal](/blogs/news/can-treats-replace-a-dog-meal).
Offer something that is not food. A game, a scratch behind the ears or a short walk costs nothing in calories and your dog will often take it.
For how many treats suit your dog, [how often should I give my dog treats](/blogs/news/how-often-to-give-dog-treats) goes through it.
When should I see a vet?
Ask your vet about weight if your dog is gaining, if you cannot easily feel the ribs under a layer of fat, or if exercise seems harder than it used to be. A vet can assess body condition and set a calorie target that is specific to your dog.
Book a visit sooner for vomiting, diarrhoea or a drop in appetite after any change in diet. For the signs that should not wait, see [when to see a vet](/blogs/news/when-to-take-dog-to-vet-digestive-problems).
Where ChewCheer fits
Loosely. ChewCheer is a daily chew, not a reward for no reason: a soft chew of about 2 g, 60 to a 120 g pack, chicken and pumpkin flavour, made with chicory root fibre and inulin. It contains chicken.
It still counts. Anything your dog eats every day belongs in the 90 and 10 sum, so tell your vet what your dog gets and do not treat it as free. We make no claim about weight either way.
The short version
One unprompted biscuit does no harm; an uncounted pile of them can. Keep treats to about 10% of daily calories, as VCA advises, and count them as you would a meal. The surveys we read show that most owners give treats and many do not count them, but they cannot show cause. If your dog is gaining weight, ask your vet to look.
Frequently asked questions
Is it harmful to give my dog treats for no reason?
Not by itself. A treat is food, and a small one given out of affection is a normal part of living with a dog. The harm comes from the running total: extra calories that nobody counted. VCA Animal Hospitals puts the usual limit at 10% of daily calories from treats and snacks.
How many treats a day is too many?
There is no single number of treats, because treats differ hugely in size and energy. The workable limit is VCA's: 10% of daily calories, with the other 90% from complete and balanced food. Ask your vet to translate that into pieces for your dog's weight and treat.
Do treats really make dogs overweight?
They can contribute. VCA says too many treats can contribute to overweight and obesity, and that calories in is by far the most important part of the equation. A 2025 survey of 890 Romanian owners found more frequent treat-giving significantly associated with overweight dogs, but that was owner-reported and shows an association, not cause.
Is giving treats a bad habit?
Treat giving is commonplace. In a 2016 interview study of 280 owners in the East Midlands, 96% fed treats and 69% fed shop-bought treats daily. Owners linked it to positive reinforcement and to the bond with their dog. The habit is only a problem when the calories are ignored.
What can I give instead of a treat?
Attention, a short game or a walk costs no calories. If you want food, take the treat from your dog's measured daily meal rather than adding it on top. That last point is our practical suggestion rather than something we found tested in a study.
When should I talk to a vet about my dog's weight?
If your dog is gaining weight, you cannot feel the ribs easily, or your dog tires quickly, ask your vet to assess body condition and set a daily calorie target. Sudden loss of appetite, vomiting or diarrhoea alongside any diet change is a separate reason to book a visit.