Puppy feeding calculator
How much to feed your puppy each day, in calories and in grams of your own food.
This is general guidance, your vet sets the actual schedule. Calorie formulas give a starting point, not a prescription. The real check is body condition: you should feel the ribs easily under a thin layer, and see a waist from above. Adjust up or down by about ten percent at a time and reweigh weekly.
Meals per day
| Age | Meals per day | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 12 weeks | 4 | Merck and the AKC both give four. Merck notes small breed puppies may need more than three feedings a day. |
| 3 to 6 months | 3 | Drop from four to three. |
| 6 to 12 months | 2 | Twice daily, morning and evening. |
| Over 12 months | 1 or 2 | On an adult diet. Most adult dogs do better on measured portions than free feeding. |
Large and giant breed puppies are a special case. Overfeeding a large or giant breed puppy speeds growth up, and Merck is blunt that a faster growth rate "is not desirable, because it is incompatible with proper skeletal development". Feed a complete and balanced growth diet that carries an AAFCO statement saying it is formulated for large breed puppies, and do not add calcium, phosphorus or vitamin D on top of it. AAFCO caps calcium at 1.8 percent on a dry matter basis for growth and all life stages foods. Weigh weekly and aim for a small, steady gain rather than a fast one.
Does the breed change how much to feed?
Almost never. Expected adult size does, and that is why this calculator asks for it.
The daily calorie figure comes from your puppy's current weight and their age, not their breed. RER is 70 times weight in kilograms to the power 0.75, multiplied by 3 under four months and by 2 after that. WSAVA's own calorie chart is indexed on body weight alone.
A study of more than six million dogs found that growth can be described using size categories rather than needing a separate curve for every breed, which is exactly how this tool and the adult size predictor work.
Expected adult size changes three practical things. If your puppy will be 32 kg or more as an adult, feed a food whose AAFCO statement covers growth of large size dogs, keep them lean and growing slowly, and keep them on a growth diet for longer. Skeletal maturity is around 12 months for small and medium dogs and can be 15 to 16 months for large and giant breeds.
Overfeeding a large breed puppy is the real risk. In a study of 48 Labrador Retrievers fed either freely or 25 percent less, 16 of the 24 free fed dogs had hip dysplasia at two years against 7 of the 24 limit fed dogs.
One caveat we will not pretend away. Two dogs of the same weight can need different amounts, and the MSD Veterinary Manual notes that breed differences do affect calorie needs independently of body size. No source publishes a per breed number, so this site does not invent one. Weigh weekly, adjust by about ten percent at a time, and aim for a lean body condition.
Sources: MSD Veterinary Manual, nutritional requirements of small animals · WSAVA calorie needs chart · AAHA nutrition and weight management guidelines · Salt et al 2017, growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs · Kealy et al 1992, limited food consumption and hip dysplasia in Labradors · VCA Animal Hospitals, feeding growing puppies
Common questions
How many calories does a puppy need a day?
Work out the resting energy requirement first, RER = 70 x (body weight in kg) to the power 0.75, then multiply it. The MSD Veterinary Manual gives 3 x RER for a puppy under 4 months old and 2 x RER for a puppy over 4 months. A 5 kg three month old puppy has an RER of about 234 kcal, so roughly 700 kcal a day.
How do I turn calories into grams of food?
Divide the daily calories by the kcal per 100 g printed on the bag, then multiply by 100. A puppy needing 640 kcal a day, fed a food labelled 380 kcal per 100 g, needs about 168 g a day. Use the per 100 g figure rather than cups, because cups vary with kibble size and packing.
How many meals a day should a puppy have?
Four a day from 6 to 12 weeks, three a day from 3 to 6 months, two a day from 6 to 12 months, according to the MSD Veterinary Manual feeding schedule. The AKC gives the same figures. Merck's own clinical text elsewhere says three a day from weaning, so treat three as the floor rather than the target for a very young puppy.
Is the calculated amount exact?
No. Merck describes calorie calculations as a starting point that may need adjusting to the individual animal, and PetMD notes individual needs can vary by up to 50 percent in either direction. Body condition is the real test: you should feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat and see a waist from above. Adjust by about ten percent at a time.
Should a large breed puppy eat a different food?
Yes. Large and giant breed puppies should be fed a growth diet formulated specifically for large breed puppies, with controlled calcium. Excess calories and excess calcium both push growth faster than the skeleton can cope with, which is linked to orthopaedic disease.
Buying guides for this
Next
- Adult size predictor, so you pick the right size class above.
- Breed guides with published adult weight ranges for 384 breeds.
- Vaccination schedule.
- Puppy feeding chart, the same formula as a table by weight and age.
- Can dogs eat it?, for treats from your own kitchen.
How we worked this out
The formula
Everything on this page comes from two steps, both shown below.
RER = 70 x (body weight in kg) ^ 0.75 MER = RER x life stage factor
RER is the resting energy requirement, the calories a dog burns doing nothing at all. MER is the maintenance energy requirement, what they actually need across a normal day. Puppies get a much higher factor than adults because they are building a body as well as running it.
Life stage factors
| Life stage | Factor | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy, under 4 months | 3 x RER | MSD Veterinary Manual |
| Puppy, 4 months to adult | 2 x RER | MSD Veterinary Manual |
| Adult, entire | 1.8 x RER | MSD Veterinary Manual |
| Adult, neutered | 1.6 x RER | MSD Veterinary Manual |
| Adult, prone to putting on weight | 1.4 x RER | MSD Veterinary Manual |
Grams per day
grams per day = (kcal per day / kcal per 100 g) x 100
Pet food labels state energy either per 100 g or per cup. Per 100 g is the one to use, cups vary with kibble size and how hard you pack them. If the bag only gives kcal per cup, weigh one cup of the kibble on a kitchen scale and convert.
Sources
- MSD Veterinary Manual, Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals: https://www.msdvetmanual.com/management-and-nutrition/nutrition-small-animals/nutritional-requirements-of-small-animals
- MSD Veterinary Manual, Daily Maintenance Energy Requirements for Dogs and Cats: https://www.msdvetmanual.com/multimedia/table/daily-maintenance-energy-requirements-for-dogs-and-cats
- MSD Veterinary Manual, Feeding Schedule for Puppies: https://www.msdvetmanual.com/multimedia/table/feeding-schedule-for-puppies
- MSD Veterinary Manual, Feeding Practices in Small Animals: https://www.msdvetmanual.com/management-and-nutrition/nutrition-small-animals/feeding-practices-in-small-animals
- Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center, basic calorie calculator: https://vmc.vet.osu.edu/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee, calorie needs for healthy adult dogs: https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Calorie-Needs-for-Healthy-Adult-Dogs-updated-July-2020.pdf
- WSAVA body condition score chart for dogs: https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WSAVA_BCSCat_BCSDog_Nutrition_250612.pdf
- American Kennel Club, puppy feeding fundamentals: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/puppy-feeding-fundamentals/
- VCA Animal Hospitals, feeding growing puppies: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/feeding-growing-puppies
- AAFCO dog food nutrient profiles, calcium maximums: https://www.aafco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Pet_Food_Report_2013_Annual-Appendix_A.pdf
Last reviewed 2026-09-05.