Dog Food Calculator
Estimate daily food portions based on your dog's weight, life stage, and activity.
Split into 2 meals per day. Adjust weekly based on body condition; ask your vet before big changes.
Everything you need to know about the Dog Food Calculator
The Dog Food Calculator estimates your dog's daily calorie needs using the standard Resting Energy Requirement (RER) formula, 70 × body-weight (kg) raised to the 0.75, and multiplies by a life-stage and activity factor to give a Maintenance Energy Requirement (MER). It then converts calories into cups of your specific kibble.
Feeding the right amount is the single most powerful health decision you make every day. More than half of dogs in Europe and North America are overweight, and the culprit is almost always well meaning overfeeding rather than genetics. This calculator translates your dog's weight, life stage, and activity into a clear daily calorie target and a portion size for the food you actually own.
The maths behind the portion
Every portion starts with the Resting Energy Requirement, which is the calories a dog burns at complete rest. The formula is seventy times body weight in kilograms raised to the power of zero point seven five. That number is then multiplied by a life stage factor. A neutered adult sits around one point six, a working dog can climb to three, a puppy sits between two and three depending on age.
Once you know the daily calorie target the grams question is simple arithmetic. Divide your calorie target by the kilocalories per gram printed on the bag or tin. Most dry foods sit between three point four and four point one kcal per gram, wet foods sit around one, and raw or fresh cooked foods vary widely.
Reading the food label without getting fooled
Bag feeding charts are famously generous. Manufacturers assume an active intact dog and often round up, which leads to slow weight gain over months. Trust the calorie density number more than the recommended cups per day box.
If the label only shows metabolisable energy per kilogram, divide by one thousand to get the kcal per gram number this calculator expects. If the label shows nothing at all, email the brand, and consider switching if they cannot answer within a working day.
Adjusting from paper to real life
Weigh your dog every two weeks for the first two months on any new portion. If the waistline is fading, drop the daily portion by ten percent and check again. If ribs start to show clearly, add ten percent back.
Treats count. As a rule keep treats and chews under ten percent of the daily calorie total, and subtract that amount from meals. A single dental chew can carry over one hundred calories, which is a huge slice of a small dog's daily budget.
- •Split the daily portion into two meals for adults and three or four for puppies.
- •Use a kitchen scale for the first week, cups are wildly inaccurate.
- •Adjust portions in ten percent steps, never big jumps.
- •Following the bag chart without weighing the dog.
- •Forgetting treats, chews, and table scraps in the daily total.
- •Keeping the same portion year round when activity halves in winter.
How to use it
- 1Enter your dog's current weight in kilograms.
- 2Choose the life stage and activity level that best matches your dog.
- 3Type the kcal per cup from your dog food bag (look for 'metabolizable energy').
- 4Split the recommended cups over two meals per day and adjust weekly based on body condition.
Frequently asked questions
What are RER and MER?+
RER is the calories a dog burns at rest. MER is total daily calories, RER multiplied by an activity and life-stage factor.
How do I find kcal per cup?+
Check the guaranteed analysis or feeding guide on your dog food bag. It is usually listed as 'ME kcal/cup'.
How often should I recalculate?+
Recheck every 4 weeks or after any life-stage change (neuter, pregnancy, weight-loss plan).