Quick answer
The Treat Index scores every product on ingredient purity (0-10) and calculates true price-per-ounce across all treat formats. Scores are algorithmic, not subjective. No brand pays for placement.
How We Score Treats
Two numbers matter when you're choosing a treat: what's in it and what it actually costs. We built a system that turns both into comparable data so you can stop guessing.
Ingredient Purity Score (0-10)
Every treat enters our system at a baseline score of 5.0. From there, the algorithm reads the ingredient list and applies bonuses and penalties based on what it finds. No human opinion enters the calculation.
Quality bonuses (+0.3 each)
- Named single-protein source— "beef liver" scores; "meat by-products" does not
- Recognizable whole foods— sweet potato, blueberries, pumpkin
- Functional supplements— glucosamine, probiotics, omega-3 oils from named sources
Simplicity bonus (+0.5)
Treats with five or fewer ingredients get an extra half point. Single-ingredient treats (freeze-dried liver, dehydrated chicken breast) earn the full bonus on top of their quality bonuses, which is why they often land in the 8-10 range.
Filler penalties (-0.5 each)
- Cheap grain fillers— corn, wheat, soy
- Artificial preservatives— BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin
- Artificial colors or flavors— Red 40, "natural flavoring" without a named source
- Unnamed meat meals— "animal meal" or "poultry by-product meal" (-0.3)
- Added sugars— cane sugar, corn syrup, molasses as a top-5 ingredient
What the ranges mean
9-10
Exceptional. Single or minimal ingredients, named proteins, zero fillers.
7-8.9
Strong. Clean ingredient list with minor additions like natural preservatives.
5-6.9
Average. Decent base ingredients offset by some fillers or vague sourcing.
Below 5
Poor. Multiple fillers, artificial additives, or unnamed protein sources.
True Price-Per-Ounce
Comparing a 4 oz bag of freeze-dried liver to a 24 oz box of biscuits is meaningless unless you normalize the price. We divide the one-time retail price by total weight in ounces for every product. That single number — $/oz — is what appears on each card.
For products sold exclusively through subscriptions, we use the subscription price. For products available in multiple sizes, we display the best-value variant (lowest $/oz) and note the size. This means a small trial bag won't artificially inflate a brand's price in the rankings.
We re-scrape prices regularly and flag products that go out of stock. If a treat's price changes, the index updates automatically during the next ingestion cycle.
What We Don't Do
- ✗No paid rankings. A brand cannot pay to move up. Scores are calculated from ingredient data and price data. Period.
- ✗No subjective reviews. We don't rate treats on taste, smell, or how much a dog "liked" them. Those variables aren't reproducible.
- ✗No gating. Every score, every price, every ingredient breakdown is visible without an account or paywall.
- ✗No manufactured urgency. We don't run countdowns, fake "limited time" labels, or dark patterns. The data speaks.
How We Make Money
When you click through to buy a product, some of those links are affiliate links. If you complete a purchase, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That commission is the same regardless of which product you pick, so we have zero incentive to push one brand over another.
We also surface promo codes from brands that offer them. We never charge brands to list their codes, and we never charge you to use them. If a brand offers a discount, you see it.