Dog Food Portion Calculator
If you've ever asked yourself "how much should I feed my dog?", this free calculator gives you a vet-formula-based answer in seconds. Enter your dog's weight and life stage, and you'll get a daily portion in cups — plus a suggested feeding schedule — based on the resting-energy formulas veterinarians use to set feeding guidelines.
Enter your dog's details
Your results
Bowl shows your dog's full daily portion.
| Meal | Suggested time | Portion |
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How to use this calculator
Enter your dog's weight (in pounds or kilograms), pick their life stage — puppy, adult, or senior — and set the activity level. If your dog is an adult and has been spayed or neutered, leave the default on, since fixed dogs burn slightly fewer calories. Finally, enter the kcal per cup printed on your dog food's bag so the answer is measured in your food's cups, not a generic estimate.
You'll get a daily calorie target, the total portion in cups, and a meal-by-meal feeding schedule. The calculator updates instantly as you change anything, so you can experiment — for example, see how the portion changes if your dog gains or loses a few pounds.
How it works
Veterinarians start from your dog's resting energy requirement (RER): the calories a body needs at rest. It follows an allometric scaling law:
RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)0.75
The RER is then multiplied by a life-stage MER factor to get daily calories (maintenance energy requirement):
- Puppy: 2.5 (flat — puppies' needs are driven by growth)
- Adult, spayed/neutered: 1.6
- Adult, intact: 1.8
- Senior: 1.4
For adult and senior dogs, an activity multiplier adjusts the total: 0.9 for low activity, 1.0 for normal, 1.2 for high (working or sporting dogs). Dividing daily calories by your food's kcal-per-cup gives cups per day, rounded to the nearest quarter cup. The daily total is split into 3 meals for puppies and 2 meals for adults and seniors.
These are estimates built on published veterinary formulas, not a prescription. Individual dogs vary: giant breeds, very lean or overweight dogs, pregnant or nursing females, and dogs with medical conditions can differ substantially. Treats and table scraps should stay under 10% of the daily calories shown here, since they quietly add up. When in doubt — especially with puppies, seniors, or any health issue — confirm the portion with your veterinarian.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I feed my puppy vs. an adult dog?
Puppies need roughly twice the calories per pound of body weight that adults need, because they are still growing. This calculator uses an energy multiplier of 2.5 for puppies, compared with 1.6 for neutered adults and 1.8 for intact adults. Puppies also do best on three meals a day, while adult dogs usually eat twice a day.
What does kcal per cup mean?
Kcal per cup is the calorie density of your dog's food — how many calories are in one standard 8-ounce measuring cup. It is printed on the food bag's label or nutrition panel, and usually falls between 200 and 700 kcal per cup. Because foods vary widely in density, entering the value from your own bag makes the cup measurement much more accurate.
Should I feed my dog once or twice a day?
Most adult dogs do best with two meals a day — one in the morning and one in the evening. Two meals are easier on digestion, help manage hunger between meals, and reduce the risk of bloat in deep-chested breeds. Puppies under six months should eat three times a day. The feeding schedule above reflects this: three meals for puppies, two for adult and senior dogs.
How do I know if I'm overfeeding my dog?
Watch the ribs and waistline, not just the scale. You should be able to feel your dog's ribs easily under a thin layer of fat, and see a visible waist when viewed from above and the side. If the ribs are hard to feel or the waistline disappears, cut portions back by about 10% and recheck in two to three weeks.
Do I need to ask my vet before changing my dog's portions?
This calculator gives a solid starting point based on standard veterinary energy formulas, but it is still an estimate. It is wise to check with your vet — especially for puppies, seniors, pregnant or nursing dogs, very active working dogs, or dogs with health conditions like diabetes, kidney disease, or obesity. Your vet can fine-tune the portion for your individual dog.