Dog feeding · daily calories
How much should I feed my dog?
Put your dog's weight and life stage in below and this calculator works out how many calories a day it needs — the way vets do, from its resting energy need, not a guess off the side of the bag. Add your food's calories to turn that into cups or grams, and pick a breed to load a typical weight.
Just to keep the body ticking over (its resting need) it burns about 495 kcal. Adult — neutered or spayed.
Treat this as a starting point, not an exact ration. Vets note a real dog can need up to about half again more or less, so watch its body shape over a few weeks and adjust — you should feel the ribs easily and see a waist from above.
Most dry foods are about 300–450 kcal a cup, or 3,000–4,000 kcal per kilogram — but the exact figure is on your bag, usually as “kcal/cup” or “ME kcal/kg”. Enter it above to turn the calories into cups or grams.
How we work it out (and why it isn't just the number on the bag)
A dog's calorie need starts from its resting energy need — the fuel it burns just lying still — which vets estimate as 70 times its body weight in kilograms to the power of ¾. That curve, not a flat “so many calories per kilo”, is used because a small dog burns more per kilo than a big one. The resting figure is then multiplied by a factor for the dog's life stage, whether it is neutered, and how active it is: a neutered adult is about 1.6 times resting, an intact one 1.8, a growing puppy two to three times, and a hard-working dog more still.
This is the method in the WSAVA and AAHA nutrition guidelines, and those guidelines are blunt that it is an estimate: an individual dog can vary by as much as half from the figure, so it is a place to start and then adjust to keep the dog at a healthy weight. It is usually closer than the feeding chart on the bag, which is printed one-size-fits-all and tends to run generous. Calories are the honest answer; cups and grams depend entirely on how energy-dense your particular food is.
Feeding charts on the bag are set high — they cover the hungriest, most active dog of a weight so nobody underfeeds, and a generous serving sells more food. Most pet dogs are neutered and far less active than that, so their real need is lower. If the calculator and the bag disagree, trust your dog's waistline over either number.
The feeding factors, by life stage
Daily calories are the resting need multiplied by one of these, set by age, neuter status and how active the dog is.
| Life stage or situation | × resting need | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy — under 4 months | ×3.0 | Growing fast — feed a puppy food split across three or four meals a day. |
| Puppy — 4 months to full-grown | ×2.0 | Still growing but slowing down; stay on puppy food until its breed's adult age. |
| Adult — neutered or spayed | ×1.6 | Most adult pet dogs. Neutering lowers the calories needed, which is why dogs so often gain weight afterwards. |
| Adult — not neutered | ×1.8 | An intact adult burns a little more than a neutered one. |
| Overweight — needs to slim down | ×1.0 | Feed for the weight it SHOULD be, not the weight it is now — and start a diet only on your vet's advice. |
| Very active or working dog | ×2.0–5.0 | Herding, sport, sledding and hard daily work push the need far higher; the top of the range is for the hardest-working dogs. |
Daily calories by weight — a quick reference
The resting need and a neutered adult's daily calories at a range of weights, worked with the same formula as the calculator. Your dog's own figure depends on its life stage above.
| Weight | Resting need | Neutered adult |
|---|---|---|
| 5 lb (2.3 kg) | 129 kcal | 206 kcal/day |
| 10 lb (4.5 kg) | 217 kcal | 348 kcal/day |
| 20 lb (9.1 kg) | 365 kcal | 585 kcal/day |
| 40 lb (18.1 kg) | 615 kcal | 984 kcal/day |
| 60 lb (27.2 kg) | 834 kcal | 1334 kcal/day |
| 80 lb (36.3 kg) | 1034 kcal | 1655 kcal/day |
| 100 lb (45.4 kg) | 1223 kcal | 1957 kcal/day |
Find your dog's breed
Pick a breed to load a typical adult weight, then set the life stage — or open its full profile.
Common questions
How many calories does my dog need a day?
Start from its resting need — about 70 times its weight in kilograms to the power of three-quarters — then multiply by a factor for its life stage: roughly 1.6 for a neutered adult, 1.8 for an intact one, and two to three times for a growing puppy. A 30 lb neutered adult, for example, needs on the order of 780 calories a day. Enter your dog's weight and stage above for its own figure.
How much of my dog's food is that in cups?
It depends entirely on the food — dry foods range from about 300 to 450 calories a cup, so the same calorie target can be anything from under two cups to nearly three. Find the “kcal/cup” or “ME kcal/kg” figure on your bag, type it into the calculator, and it will convert the calories into cups or grams for you.
Why is this less than my dog food bag recommends?
Bag charts are deliberately generous — they are set for an active, often intact dog so that nobody underfeeds, and bigger servings sell more food. Most pet dogs are neutered and less active, so their real need is lower. If the two disagree, go by your dog's body condition rather than either number.
How do I know if I'm feeding the right amount?
By feel, not just the scales. You should be able to feel your dog's ribs easily without pressing, and see a waist behind the ribs when you look down from above. If the ribs are hard to feel, cut back a little; if they are sharp and the waist is very tucked, feed a little more — and weigh the dog every few weeks.
How accurate is a dog feeding calculator?
It is a good starting estimate, not a prescription. The veterinary guidelines it uses say an individual dog can vary by as much as 50% from the calculated figure, so use it to set a starting ration and then adjust to keep your dog lean. For a puppy, a pregnant or nursing dog, or one with a health condition, ask your vet, who can weigh and examine the actual dog.
Where these figures come from
- WSAVA — Global Nutrition Guidelines — The world small-animal veterinary body's standard for how much to feed: work out the pet's calorie need and portion to it, rather than trusting the chart on the bag.
- AAHA — 2021 Nutrition & Weight Management Guidelines (calorie box) — The exact formula this calculator runs — RER = 70 × (kg^0.75) and daily calories = a life-stage factor × RER — with a worked veterinary example.
- Pet Nutrition Alliance — “Calculating Calories Based on Pet Needs” — The maintenance-energy factor table for dogs and cats used here, and its own caution that these are estimates — an individual pet can vary by as much as 50% — to be used as a starting point and adjusted to body condition.
This calculator is a guide, not veterinary advice. Puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs, and dogs with a health condition have different needs — for anything about your dog's diet or weight, ask your vet, who can weigh and examine the actual dog.
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