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

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 Because puppies grow week to week, any figure here is out of date within a fortnight — reweigh regularly.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 tends to over-feed small dogs and under-feed large ones, because it is linear and metabolism is not. 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.