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Enter your values and press Calculate.
Enter your dog weight in kilograms, pick the life stage, and enter the kcal per cup from your food bag. The calculator first finds resting energy requirement, RER = 70 × weight⁰.75, then multiplies by the life-stage factor to get the daily calorie target, MER, then divides by kcal per cup for cups per day and cups per meal. These are starting estimates, not veterinary advice: individual dogs vary by about 25 percent or more, so feed the calculated amount for 2 to 3 weeks, check body condition, and adjust by about 10 percent if weight trends the wrong way.
Veterinary feeding starts from two numbers. Resting energy requirement, RER = 70 × (weight in kg)⁰.75, is the calories a dog burns at complete rest. Maintenance energy requirement, MER = RER × a life-stage factor, is the practical daily target. Cups per day = MER / kcal per cup, and cups per meal = cups per day / 2 for the usual two meals a day.
Worked example: a 20 kg neutered adult dog has RER = 70 × 20⁰.75 = 662.02 kcal, and MER = 662.02 × 1.6 = 1,059.23 kcal per day. At 350 kcal per cup that is 3.03 cups per day, or 1.51 cups per meal. A second example: a 5 kg senior dog has RER = 234.06 kcal, MER = 234.06 × 1.4 = 327.68 kcal, which is 0.94 cups per day at 350 kcal per cup. The same 20 kg figure appears in competitor worked examples, which is a good cross-check that the formula is applied correctly.
The multiplier has the biggest effect on the result, so choosing the right category matters more than fine-tuning weight.
| Life stage | Factor × RER | |---|---| | Puppy, weaning to 4 months | 3.0 | | Puppy, 4 months to adult size | 2.0 | | Adult, spayed or neutered | 1.6 | | Adult, intact | 1.8 | | Senior, 7 years and over | 1.4 | | Sedentary, obesity-prone | 1.2 | | Weight loss, at target weight | 1.0 | | Highly active, working | 2.5 |
Spayed or neutered adults are the most common pet dogs, and their factor of 1.6 is roughly 60 percent more than pure rest. Intact adults need 1.8 because reproductive hormones slightly raise metabolic rate. Puppies need roughly twice the calories per pound of adult dogs because they are building bone, muscle and organs. For weight loss, use 1.0 times RER at the target ideal weight, and confirm with your vet before restricting calories.
For neutered adult dogs eating standard dry kibble at about 350 kcal per cup, daily amounts look like this. These are total daily amounts, split across two meals.
| Dog weight | Daily calories | Cups per day | |---|---|---| | 5 kg | 374 kcal | 1.07 cups | | 10 kg | 630 kcal | 1.80 cups | | 20 kg | 1,059 kcal | 3.03 cups | | 30 kg | 1,430 kcal | 4.09 cups | | 40 kg | 1,776 kcal | 5.07 cups |
Small dogs under 10 lb typically need 200 to 400 kcal per day. Medium dogs at 25 to 50 lb need roughly 600 to 1,000 kcal per day. Large dogs at 70 to 100 lb need about 1,100 to 1,500 kcal per day. Giant breeds and working dogs can need 2,000 to 4,000 kcal or more per day. A typical adult dog needs roughly 25 to 30 calories per pound of body weight per day, so a 50 lb dog needs about 1,000 to 1,100 calories, or around 2.5 cups of standard kibble.
Weigh your dog, or use the target ideal weight if your dog is overweight. Pick the life stage that matches your dog today, not the one you hope for. Find the calorie density on your food bag: look for metabolizable energy, usually listed as kcal per kg and kcal per cup for dry food, or kcal per can for wet food. A typical dry kibble runs 300 to 500 kcal per cup, and a typical 12.5 oz wet food can runs 150 to 400 kcal per can.
Enter those three numbers and press Calculate. The result shows resting calories, daily calories, cups per day, and cups per meal for two meals. If you feed wet food, divide daily calories by kcal per can instead to get cans per day. Always use the actual number from your specific food, not a general estimate, because a 20 percent error in calorie density leads to a 20 percent error in portion size.
Dry food is more calorie-dense, while wet food contains more moisture. Raw feeding is often based directly on body weight: adult dogs usually eat about 2.5 percent of body weight per day, lower at 2 percent for weight loss or low activity, and higher at 3 percent or more for highly active dogs or dogs that need to gain weight. Puppies need more, from 4 to 10 percent of current weight depending on age, tapering down as they grow.
For mixed feeding, split the daily calories between the foods: for example, a 1,000 kcal day can be 750 kcal of kibble (about 2 cups at 375 kcal per cup) plus 250 kcal of wet food (about half a 13 oz can). Weigh food in grams rather than scoops where you can: scoops routinely over-pour, and a standard cup of kibble is roughly 113 grams but varies by kibble size. Treats count toward the daily total and should stay under 10 percent of daily calories.
This dog feeding guide covers small, medium, large and giant breeds alike, and the wet vs dry dog food portions comparison above shows how to split calories between kibble and cans.
Most adult dogs do well with two meals, roughly 8 to 12 hours apart, which reduces hunger and limits the risk of bloat, especially in large deep-chested breeds. Puppies generally need three to four smaller meals per day because their stomachs are small and blood sugar is less stable. Seniors do well with two to three meals.
Judge the portion by body condition, not by hunger: at a healthy score of 4 to 5 on the 1 to 9 scale, you should be able to feel the ribs easily with light pressure but not see them. If the score creeps above 5, reduce portions by 10 to 15 percent; below 4, increase by the same amount. Weigh your dog every 2 to 4 weeks and adjust by 10 to 15 percent if weight changes more than 2 percent. If your dog seems hungry all the time, check body condition first: many dogs beg out of habit, not hunger.
It depends on weight, life stage, spay or neuter status, and activity. The vet approach is RER = 70 × weight in kg⁰.75, then MER = RER × a life-stage factor (1.6 for a neutered adult). A 20 kg neutered adult needs about 1,059 kcal per day, or 3.03 cups of 350 kcal per cup kibble.
Divide daily calories by your food kcal per cup. At 350 kcal per cup, a 10 kg neutered adult needs 1.80 cups per day, a 20 kg dog needs 3.03 cups, and a 30 kg dog needs 4.09 cups, each split across two meals.
Most adult dogs do well with two meals, roughly 8 to 12 hours apart. Puppies under 6 months need three to four smaller meals. Seniors do well with two to three meals. Once-a-day feeding raises hunger and bloat risk in large deep-chested breeds.
Use the rib and waist check: at a healthy body condition score of 4 to 5, you should feel ribs easily but not see them. If ribs are hard to feel, reduce portions by 10 percent; if ribs are prominent, increase by 10 percent. Re-weigh every 2 to 4 weeks.
Yes, roughly twice the calories per pound. Puppies under 4 months use a factor of 3.0 times RER, and puppies from 4 months to adult size use 2.0, against 1.6 for a neutered adult. Split puppy portions into three to four meals.
Bag charts are one-size-fits-all ranges and tend to run high, because manufacturers cannot account for spay or neuter status, individual metabolism, or activity. This calculator adjusts for those factors, so neutered or less active dogs usually need noticeably less than the bag mid-range.
Yes. Treats should stay under 10 percent of daily calories, because most treats are calorie-dense and nutrient-poor. Subtract heavy treat days from the kibble portion so the daily total stays honest.
Look for metabolizable energy, or ME, on the bag, usually near the guaranteed analysis. It is listed as kcal per kg and usually as kcal per cup for dry food, or kcal per can for wet food. Typical dry foods run 325 to 450 kcal per cup.
Wet food is about 75 to 80 percent water, so it carries far fewer calories per gram. A 13 oz can holds roughly 250 to 400 kcal, against 350 to 450 kcal per cup of dry kibble. Divide daily calories by kcal per can to get cans per day.
Convert pounds to kilograms first by multiplying by 0.4536, then use the kilogram figure. For example, 50 lb is 22.7 kg. The RER formula uses kilograms, so entering pounds directly gives a wrong answer.