Dog calorie and food calculator
How much should your dog eat? Get daily calories from the veterinary energy equation and the exact cups per day for your food.
- Food per day at 380 kcal/cup—
- Per meal (2 meals)—
- Treat budget (10% of calories)—
- Weight-loss target if overweight (RER × 1.0 at ideal weight)—
Starting point from NRC and WSAVA energy equations. Individual dogs vary by ±20% or more. Weigh your dog every 2 to 4 weeks and adjust by 10% until the weight is stable.
How it works
The calculator uses the equation in the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats and the WSAVA nutrition toolkit: resting energy requirement (RER) = 70 × kg0.75. That is the energy a dog burns lying quietly at a comfortable temperature. Maintenance energy multiplies RER by a life-stage factor:
| Life stage | Factor × RER |
|---|---|
| Puppy under 4 months | 3.0 |
| Puppy 4 to 12 months | 2.0 |
| Adult, intact | 1.8 |
| Adult, spayed or neutered | 1.6 |
| Inactive or prone to weight gain | 1.2–1.4 |
| Senior | 1.4 |
| Weight loss | 1.0 (at ideal weight) |
| Working or very active | 2.0–5.0 |
Why this matters for lifespan: overweight dogs lived up to 2.5 years less than lean dogs in a study of 50,000 dogs across 12 breeds, and lean-fed Labradors lived 1.8 years longer than their free-fed littermates. Feeding the right amount is the cheapest longevity intervention there is. Not sure whether your dog is at a healthy weight? Use the ideal weight calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does a dog need per day?
Resting energy requirement (RER) is 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75. Multiply by a factor for life stage: 1.6 for a typical neutered adult, 1.8 intact, 1.2 to 1.4 for inactive or senior dogs, 2 to 3 for puppies. A 30 kg (66 lb) neutered adult needs roughly 1,450 kcal a day.
How many cups of dog food should I feed?
Divide the daily calories by the kcal per cup printed on your bag. Foods vary from about 300 to 500 kcal per cup, so the same dog may need 3 cups of one food and 4.5 of another. The feeding chart on the bag is usually generous; the calculation here is a starting point to adjust from.
Should I feed the amount on the bag?
Bag charts are averages for intact, active dogs and often overfeed neutered pets. Use the calculator, then weigh your dog every two to four weeks and move the amount by 10% until weight is stable and ribs are easy to feel.
How many treats can a dog have?
Keep treats and chews under 10% of daily calories so the main diet stays balanced. For a dog eating 1,000 kcal a day, that is 100 kcal of treats, about two medium dental chews.
Sources
- National Research Council. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2006. nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10668
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee. Global Nutrition Guidelines and calorie requirement charts. wsava.org/global-guidelines/global-nutrition-guidelines/
- Salt C, Morris PJ, Wilson D, Lund EM, German AJ. Association between life span and body condition in neutered client-owned dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2019;33(1):89-99. doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15367
- Kealy RD, Lawler DF, Ballam JM, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. JAVMA. 2002;220(9):1315-1320. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11991408/