Balancing your dog’s diet is critical to their overall health and longevity. Treats are a wonderful way to bond with your dog or reward good behavior, but overindulgence can upset the carefully calibrated balance of their daily nutritional needs.
This is where the 10% Rule comes into play. This widely recognized guideline in veterinary nutrition ensures that treats remain just that—treats—while the majority of your dog’s calories come from a complete and balanced diet.
Understanding the 10% Rule
The 10% Rule states that no more than 10% of your dog’s daily caloric intake should come from treats, with the remaining 90% coming from a complete and balanced diet. This ensures your dog receives all the essential nutrients they need while allowing for small indulgences.
What Does “Complete and Balanced” Mean? | Complete and Balanced Diets
In veterinary nutrition, the terms ‘complete,’ ‘balanced,’ and ‘complete and balanced‘ are used to describe pet foods that meet specific dietary standards. Here’s what each term means:
Complete
A ‘complete’ diet contains all the essential nutrients required by your pet to maintain health. This
means that the food provides adequate amounts of all the necessary vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats,
and other nutrients that an animal needs on a daily basis.
Balanced
A ‘balanced’ diet not only contains all the essential nutrients (making it ‘complete’) but also provides these nutrients in the correct proportions and ratios relative to the energy (caloric) content of the food. This ensures optimal absorption and utilization, preventing nutritional imbalances that could lead to health issues.
Complete and Balanced
“Complete and balanced” is a term used to describe pet foods that meet both of the above criteria. This
means the food:
• Contains all essential nutrients required for health.
• Provides these nutrients in the correct proportions and amounts.
In the context of pet food regulation, the “complete and balanced” designation is often verified by
adherence to nutrient profiles established by organizations like the Association of American Feed
Control Officials (AAFCO) or by passing feeding trials that demonstrate the food supports overall
health.
While this balance might seem straightforward, it’s actually a carefully orchestrated system where nutrients interact with one another in complex ways.
For example, calcium and phosphorus must be balanced to support bone health, and certain vitamins (like fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K) require proper ratios to avoid toxicity or deficiency. This is why commercially prepared diets formulated by veterinary nutritionists are often recommended to ensure optimal nutrient balance.
Why does this matter?
Imagine your pet’s diet as a completed jigsaw puzzle. Each piece represents a specific nutrient essential for their health, and together, they form a complete and balanced picture of their nutritional needs. Now, let’s say you decide to add a treat or a piece of fresh food to your pet’s diet as a topper. This is like trying to fit an extra puzzle piece into the completed jigsaw. At first, it might seem harmless, but it disrupts the meticulously arranged puzzle, distorting the once-perfect picture. Similarly, adding treats or fresh foods can upset the delicate balance of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. Over time, this imbalance can lead to deficiencies or excesses, potentially causing health problems. Treats are fine in moderation, but they should remain just that – treats! To ensure your pet’s diet stays complete and balanced, 90% of their calories should come from a complete and balanced diet, with no more than 10% from treats.
Take minerals, for example. Mulder’s Mineral Wheel is a tool often used in veterinary nutrition to illustrate how different minerals interact within the body. It shows that some minerals, like calcium and phosphorus, work together synergistically to enhance absorption and function, while others, like calcium and zinc, can be antagonistic—competing with each other and potentially leading to deficiencies or imbalances. This delicate balance is why feeding treats or toppers in excess—especially those high in certain minerals—can disrupt the harmony of your dog’s diet. For instance, a treat high in calcium could interfere with the absorption of zinc, leading to a deficiency over time. By adhering to the 10% Rule, you ensure that the majority of your dog’s diet remains complete and balanced, avoiding unintended consequences like over-supplementation or nutrient dilution. Treats, on the other hand, are typically not formulated to meet these criteria. If used excessively, they can dilute the nutrient balance of your dog’s overall diet, potentially leading to deficiencies or imbalances.
The 10% Rule
The 10% Rule is a cornerstone of pet dietary guidance, supported by extensive research and consensus among the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) guidelines. It has been widely adopted by veterinarians and pet owners alike and is further reinforced by findings in Small Animal Clinical Nutrition by Michael S. Hand, Craig D. Thatcher, Rebecca L. Remillard, Philip Roudebush, and Bruce J. Novotny. This rule underscores the importance of ensuring that each new ‘piece’—whether it’s a treat or a dietary addition—fits into the overall nutritional puzzle of your pet’s diet, helping them maintain a balanced and healthy eating routine.
Calculating the 10% Rule
To calculate the correct amount of treats for your dog, you first need to determine their total daily caloric requirement. While the back of your dog’s food bag provides a general guideline, it’s important to remember that your dog’s energy needs depend on factors like weight, age, activity level, and overall health. To apply the 10% Rule effectively, you’ll need to calculate your dog’s daily caloric needs and ensure that treats make up no more than 10% of their total intake. Here’s how:
Step 1: Calculate Your Dog’s Resting Energy Requirement (RER). RER is the amount of energy your dog needs at rest to maintain basic bodily functions, such as breathing and digestion, without accounting for physical activity. Here’s how to calculate it:
Step 1. Convert your dog’s weight to kilograms (if it’s in pounds, divide by 2.2 to convert to kg).
Step 2a: Calculate Resting Energy Requirement (RER)
The formula is:
- RER (kcal/day) = 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75
Example:
Let’s calculate RER for Baby Gentry, a growing Old English Sheepdog puppy:
First, calculate 23.18^0.75
23.18^0.75≈10.63(using a calculator with an exponent function).
- Now, multiply by 70:
RER=70×10.63≈744.1kcal/day
This means Baby Gentry needs approximately 744 calories per day to maintain basic body functions at rest.
Step 2b: Factor in Your Dog’s Activity Level to Calculate MER
The Maintenance Energy Requirement (MER) adjusts the RER to reflect your dog’s activity level and life stage. For adult dogs, MER is the total number of calories needed daily to maintain their weight, factoring in their activity level. If your dog is more active, their MER will be higher.
Here’s a guide to determine your dog’s MER based on activity level:
- Sedentary (little or no exercise): RER × 1.2
- Lightly active (daily walks): RER × 1.4
- Moderately active (active playtime): RER × 1.5
- Very active (high energy working dogs): RER × 1.8
Next, apply an Activity Factor to the RER to get the Maintenance Energy Requirement (MER). This gives you the number of calories your dog needs daily to stay healthy:
Sedentary (little or no exercise) = RER × 1.2
Lightly active (daily walks) = RER × 1.4
Moderately active (active playtime) = RER × 1.5
Very active (high-energy working dogs) = RER × 1.8
For example, if Gentry were an adult dog and moderately active, you’d calculate: MER = 744 × 1.5 ≈ 1,116 kcal/day. This means that with moderate activity, Gentry’s daily energy requirement would be about 1,116 calories. However, since Gentry is a puppy, we need to calculate his Daily Energy Requirement (DER) instead, which accounts for growth.
Step 3: Factor in Growth for Puppies (DER Calculation)
For growing puppies like Baby Gentry, we use the Daily Energy Requirement (DER), which accounts for their increased caloric needs due to growth. Puppies need more calories than adults to support their development. For large-breed puppies, the growth multiplier depends on their weight relative to their expected adult size:
- Weaning to 50% of adult weight: RER × 3;
- 50% to 80% of adult weight: RER × 2.5;
- 80% to adult weight: RER × 2.
Since Gentry is between 50-64% of his expected adult weight (estimated 80-100 lbs), his growth multiplier is 2.5.
DER = RER × 2.5.
So, for Gentry: DER = 744 × 2.5 ≈ 1,860 kcal/day. This reflects his increased caloric needs for healthy growth.
Step 4: Apply the 10% Rule
Once you’ve calculated your dog’s total caloric needs, you can apply the 10% Rule to determine how many treats you can give.
- Treats should not exceed 10% of your dog’s daily calories.
- For Gentry, with a DER of 1,860 kcal/day, 10% of that would be 186 kcal.
- Final Summary for Baby Gentry:
- RER: 744 kcal/day
- DER (Growth Factor 2.5): 1,860 kcal/day
- Treats (10% of DER): 186 kcal/day
- Final Summary for Baby Gentry:
- This means Gentry should not receive more than 186 kcal in treats each day.
The 10% Rule ensures treats don’t exceed 10% of your dog’s daily caloric intake, leaving 90% for a complete and balanced diet.
Understanding your dog’s energy requirements is essential for meeting their nutritional needs. These measurements ensure your pet gets the right amount of calories for their life stage, activity level, and health. Below is a breakdown of each energy requirement:
RER (Resting Energy Requirement)
RER (Resting Energy Requirement) is the baseline for determining energy needs. It represents the amount of energy required for basic bodily functions like breathing, circulating blood, and sleeping. RER is calculated based on body weight and measured in kilocalories (kcal). It reflects the minimum energy needed for vital functions at rest, excluding physical activity, growth, or environmental factors. While RER provides a starting point, it doesn’t account for variables like activity level, growth, or temperature. For a more accurate assessment, the Daily Energy Requirement (DER) is used. DER adjusts RER by incorporating factors like life stage, growth, and activity level, providing a more complete picture of a pet’s nutritional needs.
The amount of energy needed to perform basic functions like breathing and sleeping
Based on body weight
Measured in kilocalories (kcal)
Does not account for activity, growth, or temperature factors
For a more complete assessment, DER factors in these variables, giving a fuller picture of a pet’s nutritional needs.
MER (Maintenance Energy Requirement)
The Maintenance Energy Requirement (MER) reflects the total energy your dog needs to maintain their ideal weight, factoring in activity level, pregnancy, or lactation. Unlike RER, which focuses on basic functions, MER is higher because it accounts for additional energy needs like physical activity. MER is calculated by multiplying RER by a factor that corresponds to the dog’s life stage and activity level:
The amount of energy an animal needs to maintain their ideal weight
Includes energy for activity, pregnancy, and lactation
Higher than RER because it accounts for more than just life-sustaining functions
To calculate MER, the RER is multiplied by a factor that corresponds to the animal’s life stage and activity level:
Sedentary (little or no exercise): RER × 1.2
Lightly active (daily walks): RER × 1.4
Moderately active (active playtime): RER × 1.5
Very active (working dogs): RER × 1.8
MER is a key measurement for determining how many calories an adult dog needs to maintain their weight, accounting for daily activity and special conditions like pregnancy or lactation. This ensures your dog stays healthy, balanced, and at an ideal weight.
DER (Daily Energy Requirement)
The Daily Energy Requirement (DER) is a comprehensive measure of a pet’s total caloric needs, accounting for factors like growth, lactation, illness, and activity level. DER builds on RER (Resting Energy Requirement) and MER (Maintenance Energy Requirement) by including additional energy needs for specific life stages or conditions. It’s particularly useful for puppies, pregnant or lactating dogs, and pets recovering from illness, as it provides a more accurate reflection of their total energy requirements.
DER includes energy for basic functions (RER), daily activity (MER), and additional needs like growth, lactation, or recovery from illness. Unlike RER, which only accounts for resting energy, DER provides a more accurate measure by factoring in increased energy demands.
Each pet has unique energy requirements based on factors like size, age, activity level, and health status. Accurately calculating their caloric needs ensures they receive the necessary nutrition to maintain a healthy weight and overall health. Overfeeding can lead to obesity, while underfeeding can cause malnutrition or other health issues.
Key Takeaways:
- DER is Comprehensive: It accounts for RER, MER, and additional energy needs like growth, lactation, or illness.
- Useful for Specific Life Stages: DER is particularly important for puppies, pregnant/lactating dogs, and pets recovering from illness.
- Prevents Overfeeding and Underfeeding: Accurate DER calculation helps maintain a healthy weight and prevents obesity or malnutrition.
Don’t want to do the math? Jump right to the PNA Calorie Calculator. This veterinary professional tool is designed to assist in making precise nutritional assessments for pets and helps guide veterinary teams in creating tailored feeding plans that ensure pets receive the right balance of calories for optimal health.
Applying the 10% Rule is a simple yet effective way to ensure your pet’s treats don’t disrupt their overall nutritional balance. By accurately calculating your pet’s caloric needs through RER, MER, and DER, you can confidently determine how much to feed them—including treats—without compromising their health. This thoughtful approach promotes a balanced, sustainable diet that meets your pet’s energy requirements, helping them live a longer, healthier life. Remember, treats are meant to complement, not replace, a well-rounded diet.
Synergistically Yours
Danielle & Bugaboo Baby Gentry
Dedicated to Sheepdog Riggs
forever in our hearts
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