How much should I feed my dog? Daily calories and cups, from weight and life stage
Vets compute a dog's daily energy as RER x activity factor, where RER = 70 x (weight in kg)^0.75. A 30 lb (13.6 kg) neutered adult has an RER of 496 kcal; times 1.6, that's 794 kcal a day, or about 2.1 cups of a typical 375 kcal/cup dry food split over two meals. The same 30 lb dog intact needs 893 kcal, and a puppy under 4 months needs 1,488. Check your bag's kcal-per-cup (most dry foods run 350-450), then adjust up or down 10% to hold a body condition score of 4-5 out of 9.
| Weight | kg | RER (kcal) | Neutered adult (x1.6) | Intact adult (x1.8) | Puppy <4 mo (x3.0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 lb | 4.5 | 218 | 348 | 392 | 653 |
| 20 lb | 9.1 | 366 | 585 | 659 | 1,098 |
| 30 lb | 13.6 | 496 | 794 | 893 | 1,488 |
| 40 lb | 18.1 | 615 | 985 | 1,108 | 1,846 |
| 50 lb | 22.7 | 727 | 1,164 | 1,309 | 2,182 |
| 60 lb | 27.2 | 834 | 1,335 | 1,501 | 2,502 |
| 70 lb | 31.8 | 936 | 1,498 | 1,685 | 2,809 |
| 80 lb | 36.3 | 1,035 | 1,656 | 1,863 | 3,105 |
| 100 lb | 45.4 | 1,223 | 1,958 | 2,202 | 3,670 |
RER = 70 x kg^0.75. Factors follow the conventions used by veterinary nutrition centers (Ohio State's veterinary medical center chart, the Merck Veterinary Manual): neutered adult 1.6, intact adult 1.8, weight loss 1.0, weight gain 1.7, active/working dog 2.0, puppy under 4 months 3.0, puppy 4-12 months 2.0. Many vets drop seniors to roughly 1.4 as metabolism slows.
Bag feeding charts are averages, and two dogs at the same weight can need very different amounts. The veterinary approach starts from resting energy requirement (RER), the calories a dog burns at rest, then multiplies by a factor for life stage and activity. It's the same method your vet uses when they build a weight-loss plan.
RER = 70 x (body weight in kg)^0.75. Convert pounds first: kg = lb x 0.4536. Daily calories (kcal) = RER x factor. Cups per day = daily calories (minus any treat allowance) divided by your food's kcal per cup.
Enter your dog's weight and pick the life stage that fits. The kcal-per-cup field matters most: it's printed on every bag (sometimes as kcal ME/kg and kcal ME/cup). Most dry foods run 350-450 kcal per cup, so the 375 default is only a stand-in. Set a treat percentage if you hand out snacks during the day, and the calculator carves those calories out of the food portion automatically.
Take a 30 lb beagle mix, neutered, eating a 375 kcal/cup food. That's 13.6 kg. RER = 70 x 13.6^0.75 = 496 kcal. Multiply by 1.6 for a neutered adult and you get 794 kcal a day, which is 2.1 cups, or about 1 cup per meal twice daily. If the beagle gets a 79 kcal biscuit (10% of the day), the food drops to 715 kcal, or 1.9 cups.
Now a 70 lb intact Labrador. Weight in kg is 31.8, RER = 936 kcal, times 1.8 = 1,685 kcal a day. On the same 375 kcal/cup food that's 4.5 cups daily. And for a weight-loss case, an 80 lb dog fed at factor 1.0 gets 1,035 kcal a day regardless of what the bag says for 80 lb dogs.
Feed the calculated amount for two to three weeks, then judge by rib check and waist, not the bowl. You should feel ribs under a thin fat layer and see a waist from above. Off by more than that? Adjust the food 10% and reassess. This calculator gives a starting point, not a prescription, and a vet should sign off on any big change or weight-loss plan.
Vets calculate it as RER times an activity factor, where RER = 70 x (weight in kg)^0.75. A 30 lb (13.6 kg) neutered adult dog has an RER of about 496 kcal, times 1.6 = 794 kcal per day. At 375 kcal per cup of dry food, that's roughly 2.1 cups split between two meals.
Most dry dog foods land between 350 and 450 kcal per cup, but the spread across brands runs from about 300 to 500. The number is printed on the bag or the manufacturer's feeding guide, usually as kcal/kg and kcal/cup. Use that exact number in the calculator, because assuming 400 when your food is 320 oversizes a meal by 25 percent.
It's the standard veterinary starting point, not a prescription. Individual metabolism, breed, neuter status, and body condition all shift real needs by 10 to 20 percent in either direction. Use the result for two to three weeks, then adjust by 10 percent based on your dog's body condition score, which should sit at 4 to 5 out of 9.
Use a factor of 1.0, which is RER alone. An 80 lb dog that should weigh 65 lb gets fed toward the target: RER at 65 lb (29.5 kg) is about 886 kcal, so feed roughly 886 kcal per day of the weight-loss food, not the 1,656 kcal a neutered 80 lb dog would maintain on. Weigh every two weeks; aim for 1 to 2 percent of body weight lost per week.
Twice a day for most adults, splitting the daily total evenly. Puppies under four months do better on three to four smaller meals. Once-a-day feeding works for some adults but doubles the risk of bloat in large, deep-chested breeds, so twice daily is the safer default.
Yes, and vets recommend keeping them under 10 percent of the day's total. For that 794 kcal dog, that's a 79 kcal treat budget, which is one medium biscuit. Enter a treat percentage in the calculator and it subtracts the allowance from the food cups so the daily total stays on target.