Dog Food Calculator
Enter your dog's weight and food label info to get an accurate daily feeding amount in cups or grams.
Food Info
About this tool
What this tool does
Enter your dog's weight and life stage, plus the calorie density printed on your food's label, and this tool works out how much to feed — in cups or grams, per day and per meal. It uses the same formula veterinary nutritionists use: Resting Energy Requirement (RER) scaled by weight to the 0.75 power, then multiplied by an activity factor for your dog's specific life stage.
Who it's for
New dog owners trying to figure out portion sizes beyond the vague "feeding guidelines" chart on the bag, anyone switching foods with a different calorie density than before, or owners adjusting portions for a puppy, a senior dog, or a dog that needs to lose weight.
How to use it
- Enter your dog's weight in kilograms or pounds.
- Pick the life stage or activity level that fits best — puppy, intact or spayed/neutered adult, working dog, weight loss, senior, pregnant, or lactating all use different multipliers.
- Enter the calorie count from your food's label and whether it's per cup, per 100 grams, or per kilogram.
- Set how many meals a day you feed, and the daily total splits automatically into a per-meal amount.
Real-world uses
Working out a starting portion when you bring home a new puppy, recalculating amounts after switching to a higher-calorie food, or setting up a weight-loss feeding plan alongside your vet.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the RER formula come from?
RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)0.75 is the standard resting energy equation used across veterinary nutrition texts and guidelines, including WSAVA's global nutrition guidelines. It estimates the calories a dog burns at rest, before any activity multiplier is applied.
Why is the multiplier so different for spayed/neutered versus intact dogs?
Spaying and neutering typically lowers a dog's metabolic rate, so spayed/neutered adults generally need somewhat fewer calories (around 1.6x RER) than intact adults (around 1.8x RER) to maintain the same weight.
My dog isn't losing or gaining weight at this amount — what should I do?
Treat the result as a starting point, not a fixed number. Check your dog's body condition every couple of weeks (you should be able to feel, but not see, the ribs) and adjust the daily amount up or down by 10% at a time until weight stays stable at a healthy condition.
Does this work for cats or other pets?
The RER formula itself is similar across species, but activity multipliers and typical calorie needs differ for cats, so this calculator's presets are tuned specifically for dogs.
What if my food's label only lists calories per bag or per kilogram?
Use the "Per Kilogram" option and enter the kcal/kg figure — most bags list this somewhere in the guaranteed analysis or feeding guide section even if cups aren't mentioned.