Your results will appear here.
Enter your values and press Calculate.
The calculator follows the two-step formula used by veterinary nutritionists, aligned with Pet Nutrition Alliance and NRC guidance. First it computes the Resting Energy Requirement: RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)⁰.75, the calories your dog burns doing nothing. Then it multiplies RER by a life-stage factor: 3.0 for young puppies, 2.0 for older puppies, 1.6 for neutered adults, 1.8 for intact adults, 1.4 for seniors, 1.0 for weight loss, 1.7 for weight gain. That gives the daily calorie target, and 10 percent of it is set aside as the maximum treat budget. For overweight dogs, run the calculation at the ideal (target) weight rather than the current weight. These are estimates for planning, not veterinary advice. Consult your veterinarian before changing your dog's diet, especially for puppies, pregnant dogs, or dogs with thyroid, diabetes or other health conditions.
A cup of dog food is not a fixed unit of nutrition: kibble typically runs anywhere from about 300 to 450 calories per cup, so one brand's cup can pack nearly 50 percent more energy than another's. The most common feeding mistake is switching brands cup-for-cup and accidentally overfeeding or underfeeding for months. Thinking in calories also fixes the treat problem, the age problem and the two-dogs problem: two dogs of the same weight can easily need 300 calories apart if one naps all day and the other runs trails. Get the calorie number right and everything else, portions, treats, food swaps, gets simple.
Enter your dog's weight in kilograms and pick the life stage or goal that fits: young puppy, older puppy, neutered adult, intact adult, senior, weight loss or weight gain. The calculator computes the Resting Energy Requirement (RER), applies the right multiplier to get the daily target, and splits out a treat budget of up to 10 percent. If your dog is overweight, use your vet's target (ideal) weight rather than the current weight. Results are instant, the full arithmetic is shown, and nothing is stored or signed up for.
Step 1, Resting Energy Requirement: RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)⁰.75. This is the calories your dog burns breathing and staying warm, doing nothing else. Step 2, daily target (MER/DER) = RER × life-stage factor. Multipliers used here, aligned with Pet Nutrition Alliance and NRC guidance: puppy under 4 months 3.0, puppy 4 months to adult 2.0, neutered adult 1.6, intact adult 1.8, senior 1.4, weight loss 1.0, weight gain 1.7. Treat budget = daily target × 0.10, the common veterinary rule that treats and extras stay at or under 10 percent of daily calories.
A 20 kg neutered adult dog: RER = 70 × 20⁰.75 = 662 kcal; daily target = 662 × 1.6 = 1,059 kcal/day; treats up to 106 kcal. A 10 kg dog on a weight-loss plan: RER = 70 × 10⁰.75 = 394 kcal; daily target = 394 × 1.0 = 394 kcal/day. A 5 kg neutered small dog: RER = 209 kcal; daily target = 334 kcal/day. A large 36.3 kg (80 lb) neutered dog: RER = 1,200 kcal; daily target = 1,920 kcal/day. In each case the same two steps apply: RER first, then the multiplier for the dog in front of you. In short, a 20kg neutered adult dog needs about 1,059 kcal per day.
Approximate daily targets for a moderately active, neutered adult, shown as a dog calorie chart by weight in pounds and kilograms, computed from the same formula: 10 lb (4.5 kg) about 300 to 390 kcal; 20 lb about 510 to 660; 30 lb about 690 to 890; 40 lb about 860 to 1,110; 50 lb about 1,020 to 1,310; 60 lb about 1,170 to 1,500; 70 lb about 1,310 to 1,690; 80 lb about 1,450 to 1,860; 100 lb about 1,710 to 2,200. Use the low end for couch-potato tendencies and the high end for dogs that never sit still. Puppies can need two to three times the RER; seniors usually need 10 to 20 percent less than adults.
Yes, but safely: feed roughly 1.0 × RER (at the ideal weight) for weight loss, never below RER, and aim for a gradual change rather than a crash diet. Every two to four weeks run the hands-on check: ribs should be easy to feel under a thin fat layer but not visible, with a visible waist from above. If weight creeps up more than a couple of percent, trim portions by 10 to 15 percent and reassess in two weeks. For dogs with thyroid issues, diabetes or anything that affects metabolism, calorie changes are a conversation with your vet, not a chart.
Turn the daily target into food in one step: check the kcal per cup or per can in the small print near the guaranteed analysis, then divide the target by that number. Split the total across two meals for most adult dogs (puppies under 4 months: 3 to 5 meals; seniors: 2 to 4 smaller meals). Weigh the food for a week on a kitchen scale, since a scooped cup can vary 20 percent from an actual measuring cup. Set aside part of the meal kibble for training treats, so rewards come out of the same budget. Recalculate with every new bag, formula or treat brand.
RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)⁰.75. It is the calories a dog burns at complete rest, just breathing and staying warm. Because metabolism does not scale linearly with weight, the 0.75 power is used: larger dogs need more total calories but fewer per kilogram than small dogs.
RER (Resting Energy Requirement) is the resting baseline, the calories burned at rest. MER (Maintenance Energy Requirement) and DER (Daily Energy Requirement) are the practical daily feeding targets after multiplying RER by a factor for life stage, activity and weight goal. Calculate RER first, then apply the multiplier.
A moderately active, neutered adult dog needs about 1.6 × RER per day. A 20 kg (44 lb) neutered dog, for example, has an RER of about 662 kcal and a daily target of about 1,059 kcal. The calculator gives the exact number for your dog's weight and life stage.
Yes, significantly. Growing puppies are building a whole skeleton and muscle system, so they can need two to three times the RER: 3.0 × RER for puppies under 4 months, 2.0 × RER from 4 months to adulthood. That is also why puppies eat three to four smaller meals a day and why puppy formulas are more calorie dense.
Puppies under 4 months: 3 to 5 meals a day. Puppies 4 months and up: 2 to 4 meals a day. Most adult dogs: 2 meals a day (larger adults do well on 2 to reduce bloat risk). Senior dogs: 2 to 4 smaller, more frequent meals. Consistency at the same times each day helps digestion.
Yes, but safely. Feed roughly 1.0 × RER per day at the ideal weight, never below RER, and aim for gradual loss with vet supervision if the dog has a health condition. Recheck body condition every 2 to 4 weeks and adjust portions by 10 to 15 percent at a time.
No more than about 10 percent of total daily calories, the rule most veterinary nutritionists use. A large biscuit can run 100 or more calories, which is a third of a small dog's day. The simplest fix: set aside part of each meal's kibble to use as training treats, so the calories stay in the same budget.
Sudden weight change, a chronic health condition, homemade or raw diets, a puppy whose growth does not match curves, breeding or pregnancy management, or a high-performance athlete. A veterinary nutritionist can design a customized feeding plan for all of these, starting from the RER baseline this calculator gives you.
How much to feed your dog depends on weight, life stage and activity level, which is exactly what this calculator combines. Enter those three and you get a daily calorie target; then divide it by the kcal per cup on your food's label to get the portion. A moderately active neutered adult dog typically needs about 1.6 times its RER per day.
A 75-pound adult German Shepherd with moderate activity needs roughly 1,700 to 1,800 calories a day. Active or working Shepherds can push past 2,000, while a neutered couch-loving adult may need closer to 1,400. Start with the formula for the dog's weight, then adjust by body condition.
Find your daily calorie target for weight loss, maintenance or gain, with macros.
See how old your dog really is in human years - size-adjusted, myth-free.
Daily calorie needs for your cat from weight and life stage, with a safe weight-loss target and treat budget.