Dog Food Calorie Calculator

The complete dog calorie calculator

Let’s calculate your Dog’s daily calorie needs (for all age groups with any activity level)

How many calories a day does your dog need?

Understanding calories and dog energy needs will help you feed your dog healthy.

Dog energy needs

How many calories is enough?

Do you wonder what the exact energy your dog needs? what to feed them on a daily basis?

No worries, you can determine the calorie your dog needs on a daily basis by knowing how active they are (e.g. are they a working dog), how old they are (energy requirements are different between puppies and fully grown adult dogs) and also whether they are neutered or spayed.

We have written an in-depth article that covers all about energy requirements in dogs.

Current weight and ideal weight

You will also need to consider their current weight and ideal weight. If their current weight is above their ideal, you will need to reduce their calorie intake and vice versa.

Caloric requirements will fluctuate based on a number of other factors, including breed, size, coat length, health status, and environmental temperature.

For example, assume an environmental temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21.111°C), caloric requirements rise by 7.5% for every 10 degree drop in temperature and fall 7.5% for every 10 degree rise in temperature.

That means you’ll need to adjust your dog’s food intake as he/she matures or energy needs change.

Small breed dogs are those whose adult body weight is less than 20 pounds. Adult small breed dogs require about 50 kilocalories per pound of body weight each day.
Medium breed adult dogs are those weighing 20 to 50 pounds. Adult medium breed dogs need approximately 30–40 kilocalories per pound of body weight each day.
Large breed dogs weigh 50 to 100 pounds, while the giant breeds exceed 100 pounds as adults. They need 20 to 30 kilocalories per pound of body weight each day.

Calculate the calorie need for dog

You can use the above calculator to find the average calorie your dog needs on a daily basis, there will be a plus or minus 100 to 200 Kcal difference in real-world condition the value the above calculator gives is only the average calorie.

Calculate the calorie content of dog food

But geneticists digging into the mysteries of aging have developed a new calculation to understand how our canine companions’ ages correspond to our own.

Some dog food labels include a statement of caloric content in the food. A calorie is a measure of energy produced by eating a specific food.

A single calorie is a unit of measure for the energy in a unit of 1,000 calories, termed a “kilocalorie” (or interchangeably as a calorie).

You won’t always see the disclosure of calories on the dog food label. When it appears, it’s stated as “kilocalories per Kg of food.” It’s also often labeled as “calories per cup” or “per unit” of food.

Dry dog food generally contains 1,400 to 2,000 metabolizable kilocalories per pound of diet (3,080 to 4,400 Kcal/Kg)

Semi-moist dog food have 1,200 to 1,350 metabolized kilocalories per pound of diet (2,640 to 2,970 Kcal/Kg)

Canned dog food only provide 375 to 950 metabolized kilocalories per pound of diet (825 to 2,090 Kcal/Kg)

A large percentage of canned foods is water (up to 70 percent). That’s why dogs must eat more canned foods than dry diets to obtain the same energy intake.

Important Information

Please read before using this calculator:

This dog calorie calculator tool is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional veterinary advice.
This online calculator uses the RER (Resting Energy Requirements) to find the energy needs and then we use values you provide for your dog’s state of activity and other factors to find the exact calorie needs for your Dog. Read more about RER here.
Using this information as a reference, each individual dog should be fed to their ideal weight and body condition score. Regular weighing of the animal and adjusting their food to their need based on weight gain/loss, by a veterinary professional, is also critical.
Most dog food manufacturers will mention the calorie content on the label or the website by knowing the per cup calorie it would be easy for you to get an accurate daily dog food portion.
Some brands of pet food have lower feeding amounts due to the formulation of their diets and different levels of digestibility. Please contact the manufacturer for the most accurate calorie content of their product and feeding guides.