Puppy feeding calculator
How many calories a day your puppy needs, worked from the resting energy requirement formula that vets use, then converted into grams of your actual food using the kcal figure off the bag.
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.
The formula, in full
Everything on this page comes from two steps.
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 it actually needs 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 |
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. |
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.
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.
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.
Next
- Adult size predictor, so you pick the right size class above.
- Breed guides with adult weight ranges for 40 breeds.
- Vaccination schedule.
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.