Dog Food Calculator

How much should you feed your dog a day?

There is no single number that fits every dog. The right amount depends on weight, age, whether they have been neutered, how active they are, and the calorie content of the specific food you buy. Two dogs that both weigh 15kg can have quite different needs if one is a calm older dog and the other is a young working dog out running all day.

For complete and dry foods, the calculator works out your dog’s daily calories using the resting energy requirement formula vets use, then applies a life-stage factor. For raw feeding, it uses the percentage-of-bodyweight method that most UK raw feeders follow. Both are shown as a range rather than one exact figure, because your dog is an individual and the goal is to keep them at a healthy body condition rather than hit a precise number.

Reading the amount against your food packaging

Every complete food sets out its own feeding guide on the pack, usually as a table of grams per day by bodyweight. That guide is a good cross-check against the calculator. If the two are miles apart, it is usually down to the calorie content of the food, which is where entering your food’s calories into the calculator gives you a far more accurate portion.

You will find the calorie content on the back or side of the pack, often under “typical analysis”, “energy” or “ME”. It is shown either as kcal per 100g or kcal per kg. If your pack shows kcal per kg, just divide by 10 to get kcal per 100g. For example, 3,500 kcal per kg is the same as 350 kcal per 100g.

What the daily amount looks like in the bowl

Grams on a label do not mean much until you can picture them. Here are some rough real-world anchors to help.

A level mug of typical dry kibble weighs roughly 100g. So a dog needing around 200g of dry food a day is eating about two mugs, split across the day. Kibble varies in size and density, so weigh a mug of your own food once to get your exact figure, then you can measure by eye after that.

A standard UK tin of wet food is 400g, but wet food is mostly water, so it holds far fewer calories than the same weight of dry food. A typical 400g tin contains only around 370 kcal, compared with roughly 1,400 kcal in 400g of dry kibble. That is why a dog fed only on wet food gets through noticeably more by weight. If you mix wet and dry, count the calories from both, not the weight.

Treats count too. Vets advise keeping treats to no more than 10 percent of your dog’s daily calories, so if your dog needs 700 kcal a day, that is about 70 kcal of treats at most. It is easy to undo a carefully measured bowl with a few dental chews and training rewards on top, so factor them in.

Feeding amounts by dog size

As a rough orientation before you use the calculator, smaller dogs need fewer total calories but more per kilogram of bodyweight, because little bodies burn energy faster relative to their size. A toy breed of 4 to 5kg might need only 250 to 350 kcal a day, a medium dog of around 15kg often sits near 700 to 900 kcal, and a large 30kg dog can need 1,200 to 1,500 kcal or more. Working and very active dogs sit at the top of these ranges or above them. Use the calculator for a figure tailored to your own dog rather than relying on size alone.

Feeding a dog raw

Raw feeding works differently. Instead of counting calories, most UK raw feeders give a percentage of the dog’s ideal bodyweight each day. The widely used guide is 2 to 3 percent for adult dogs, leaning towards 2 percent for less active or overweight dogs and up to 3 percent, occasionally 4 percent, for very active or working dogs. Puppies need a much higher percentage of their current weight because they are growing fast, and that percentage drops steadily as they mature.

Home baking counts towards that too. Our homemade dog treats guide with the calorie maths worked out shows that a 20 kg dog’s 10% comes to roughly two banana and oat biscuits.

Switch the calculator to raw mode to get a daily gram range for your dog. If you are moving from kibble to raw, introduce it gradually over a week or two, handle it hygienically, and keep an eye on your dog’s body condition rather than the scales alone.

When to check with your vet

The calculator gives a healthy starting point for a typical dog, but some situations call for tailored advice. If your dog needs to lose weight, is a fast-growing or large-breed puppy, is pregnant or nursing, or has a health condition such as diabetes or a heart problem, your vet or a veterinary nurse can set a precise plan and a target weight. Weighing your dog regularly and checking their body condition every few weeks is the best way to know whether the amount is right.

If you are budgeting for a new dog, it is worth remembering that food is only one part of the picture, alongside routine veterinary care, preventative treatments and the cost of looking after them if they fall ill. Many owners choose pet insurance to help manage unexpected vet bills.

This article provides general guidance on feeding dogs and is not a substitute for advice from your own vet. Always read your food’s packaging and speak to a veterinary professional about your individual dog.