Dog Food Calculator
Work out your dog's daily food portion from their weight, life stage, and food's calorie content.
Your dog
Food & feeding
Bowl fill shows today's portion relative to a typical large-dog daily amount.
How this is calculated
This uses the standard veterinary formula, not a made-up estimate: Resting Energy Requirement (RER) is 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75 — the 0.75 exponent reflects that smaller animals burn more energy per kilogram than larger ones (Kleiber's law). Daily Energy Requirement (DER) multiplies RER by a factor for life stage and activity — a growing puppy needs far more energy per kilogram than a sedentary senior. That daily calorie target is then divided by your specific food's calorie content (printed on the bag as "Calorie Content (calculated) ME") to get grams per day, split evenly across your number of meals.
Common questions
Where do the RER/DER formula and multipliers come from?
They're standard veterinary nutrition references, not something invented for this calculator — the same RER formula and life-stage multiplier ranges are used by veterinary schools' nutrition services and the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee's guidelines. Every dog is an individual, though, so treat the result as a well-grounded starting point.
Is this a substitute for veterinary advice?
No. If your dog has a health condition, is significantly over or under an ideal weight, or you're unsure about their body condition, talk to your veterinarian — they can account for things this calculator can't, like a specific medical diet or an accurate body condition score.
Why does "weight loss" use a 1.0× multiplier instead of the current weight's RER?
For weight loss, the calorie target should be based on your dog's target (ideal) weight, not their current weight — enter the goal weight in the weight field, not today's scale reading. Using current weight would systematically overfeed a dog that's already carrying extra weight.
Part of Pet Calculators