Treats & chews / best of
Treats we rate Limited, and why.
The treats that land in our lowest band, with the specific, deterministic reason each one does. Limited is not a safety verdict.
We publish our lowest-rated treats on purpose. A rating site that only shows its winners is doing marketing; the more useful list is the one that says, in plain terms, what drops a treat to the bottom and why. Everything here scores below 6.5 on our composite, which is the floor of the Limited band.
The reasons cluster. The most common is an unbacked dental claim: a 'helps clean teeth' line with no VOHC seal behind it. Close behind are the Ingredient Clarity penalties: artificial colors, synthetic preservatives like BHA and BHT, added sugar or propylene glycol, and an unnamed by-product or corn-gluten filler base. A few land here for a quieter reason: a clean single-ingredient chew that simply does not state calories and costs a lot per piece, which caps two sub-scores at once. Each entry below names its own reason in the summary.
Limited is not a safety warning. Our rubric scores transparency, claim honesty, calories, brand record, and value, not whether a treat will harm an individual pet, which is a question for you and your veterinarian. A Limited treat can be perfectly fine to give occasionally; the score reflects what the label proves and what the claims promise, not a clinical verdict.
6 treats
Lowest band first, with the reason for each.
- Dingo Chip Twists with Chicken
A made-in-China rawhide twist colored with FD&C Red 40 and sweetened with sugar, claiming to 'promote clean teeth' with no VOHC backing, no calorie statement, and no disclosed chew-risk caution; cheap, and the weakest profile in the set.
DogsNo VOHC sealSupervise chew5.3Limited - Milk-Bone Flavor Snacks Biscuits (Small/Medium)
An unnamed meat-and-bone-meal and by-product-meal base preserved with BHA and BHT, with added color and a helps-clean-teeth line that has no VOHC backing; cheap and recall-clean, but the ingredient base and unbacked dental claim land it low.
DogsNo VOHC seal5.9Limited - Best Bully Sticks XL Split Elk Antler
A single split elk antler sold as a long-lasting, single-ingredient chew; its teeth-cleaning claim is not VOHC-backed, so we treat that benefit as unverified. The label discloses a supervise-and-remove-pieces caution, which matters because hard antlers carry a population-level tooth-fracture and choking risk, and the maker had a 2024 foreign-metal recall.
DogsNo VOHC sealSupervise chew6.1Limited - Milk-Bone Original Biscuits (Medium)
An unnamed meat-and-bone-meal base preserved with BHA, plus a 'helps clean teeth' line with no VOHC backing; cheap and recall-clean, but the dental promise is marketing.
DogsNo VOHC seal6.3Limited - Friskies Party Mix Original Crunch
Chicken is the first ingredient and it is cheap, but the crunchy bits carry four artificial colors and both BHA and BHT, and the 'helps clean teeth' claim has no VOHC backing; the additives and unbacked dental claim drag it down.
CatsNo VOHC seal6.4Limited - Himalayan Dog Chew Original Yak Cheese Dog Chew (Large, 3-Count)
A rock-hard yak and cow milk cheese chew with a clean four-ingredient label and no preservatives; its oral-health claim is not VOHC-backed. The page discloses a supervise-and-discard-splintered-pieces caution, which matters because very hard chews carry a population-level tooth-fracture risk; calories per chew are not published, so we did not estimate them.
DogsNo VOHC sealSupervise chew6.4Limited
FAQ
Frequently asked
Does a Limited rating mean the treat is unsafe?
No. Limited is a transparency-and-claims verdict under our rubric. It means the treat lost points for things like an unbacked dental claim, artificial colors, a by-product or corn filler base, added sugar, or undisclosed calories. Whether a specific treat suits your pet is a separate question for you and your veterinarian.
Why is a popular, widely sold treat rated Limited?
Popularity and cost are not inputs to the score. A best-selling supermarket treat can land in Limited because it pairs an unbacked 'helps clean teeth' claim with artificial color and a by-product base, even though it is cheap and sells well. The rubric scores the label and the claims, not the sales rank.
Can a Limited treat still be okay to give?
Often, yes, in moderation. A treat is a snack, not a meal, and an occasional Limited treat is a small share of the diet. The score is there to tell you what you are actually buying, so you can decide how often it belongs in the rotation.
This ranking is our opinion under a published rubric, not veterinary advice. Affiliate links on individual scorecards never affect the score. See the affiliate disclosure and medical disclaimer.