Raw Dog Food Calculator

There are two accepted ways to portion raw food, and they answer slightly different questions.

The percentage-of-body-weight method is the one most raw feeders use, because it needs nothing but a scale. An adult dog eats 2 to 3 percent of its body weight a day depending on activity; puppies eat far more, starting around 10 percent at two months and falling to 4 percent by their first birthday.

The calorie method is what vets use, and it is more accurate at the extremes. It starts from resting energy requirement, 70 times body weight in kilograms raised to the power 0.75, then multiplies by a factor for life stage and activity. That exponent matters, metabolism does not scale linearly with size, which is why a 40 kg dog needs roughly 1.7 times the food of a 20 kg one rather than twice as much.

1. Step 1 Percentage method grams_per_day = body_weight_kg × 1000 × percent Adults 2–3%; puppies 10% at 2–3 months, 8% at 4–5, 6% at 6–8, 4% at 9–12.
2. Step 2 Resting energy requirement RER = 70 × weight_kg^0.75 The standard veterinary equation. The 0.75 exponent is metabolic body weight.
3. Step 3 Daily energy requirement DER = RER × factor Neutered adult 1.6, low activity 1.4, working dog 2.0, puppy 2.0–3.0 by age.
4. Step 4 Convert calories to grams grams = DER ÷ food_kcal_per_kg × 1000 Complete raw mixes are typically 1,300–1,800 kcal/kg.
5. Step 5 Monthly planning monthly_kg = grams_per_day × 30.44 ÷ 1000

For example, a 25 kg adult dog at normal activity. The percentage method gives 25 × 1000 × 2.5% = 625 g a day. The calorie method gives RER of 783 kcal, times 1.6 for a normal adult, which is 1,253 kcal, about 835 g of a 1,500 kcal/kg raw mix.

• The percentage-of-body-weight figures are the standard raw-feeding ranges, 2% for low activity, 2.5% normal, 3% high. They are a starting point that assumes an adult dog at a healthy weight.
• Puppy percentages use published age bands and fall sharply with age. Because puppies grow week to week, any figure here is out of date within a fortnight, reweigh regularly.
• The calorie method uses RER = 70 × kg^0.75 with a multiplier of 1.6 for a normal neutered adult, which is the widely-used veterinary starting point. Individual dogs vary by 20% either way around it.
• Food energy density defaults to 1,500 kcal/kg, typical of a complete commercial raw mix. Home-prepared raw varies enormously with fat content, lean chicken is nearer 1,100, high-fat lamb can exceed 2,200.
• The two methods deliberately disagree. The percentage rule is linear and metabolism is not, so against the calorie figure it comes out low on small dogs and closes the gap as the dog gets bigger. A 3 kg dog on 2.5% lands at under half the calorie method, a 25 kg dog at about three-quarters of it, and by 60 kg the two are within a tenth. Where they differ substantially, the calorie method is the better guide.
• Nothing here addresses nutritional completeness. A portion size being right does not mean the diet is balanced. That depends on the ratio of muscle meat, bone and organ, and on supplementation.
• Pregnancy, lactation, illness, recovery from surgery and senior dogs with reduced kidney function all change requirements substantially and are outside what this calculator models.
• Cost is calculated at a flat 30.44 days per month using the price you enter.