How Many Calories Should My Dog Eat?

Published on 09/29/2025

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Dog parents have seemingly endless options for dog food. Along with deciding which food to feed your dog, consider another important question: how many calories should my dog eat?

No matter how tasty and nutritious dog food may be, feeding your dog too little or too much could cause them serious health issues. For example, according to a 2022 survey by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, nearly 60 percent of US dogs are either overweight or obese due, in part, to consuming too many calories.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a nutrition expert to determine how many calories a day your dog should eat. We’ve gathered all the help you need in one convenient guide.

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about calories in dog food. We’ll cover how often dogs should eat, what to feed them, and how many calories a dog should eat per day to stay healthy.

Calories in Dog Food: A Brief Overview

Let’s begin by defining what calories are. A calorie is just a way of measuring energy. It shows how much fuel individual units of food provide for your dog’s body to grow, move, and stay healthy.

For dogs and people, calories come from fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. On a dog food label, you might see “kilocalorie” or “kcal,” but those are the same as the calories on human food labels. And they’re calculated the same way in pet food and human food.

The number of calories varies across different kinds of dog food. Sometimes that’s because of the type of dog food you choose. For example, canned dog food generally has fewer calories than kibble because canned food contains more water. Just like an ounce of raisins would contain more calories than an ounce of grapes, because water dilutes the calorie content.

Other times, calorie content varies depending on the needs of the dog it’s formulated to support. For example, puppy food has more calories than senior dog food. That makes sense when you compare the boundless energy of a puppy to that of a sedentary senior dog. Puppy diets are more calorie-dense to help fuel active, growing puppies.

In addition to calorie count, it’s important to consider whether the dog food provides all the nutrients your particular dog needs to thrive.

Look for a statement from the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) on your dog’s food label. It will tell you what specific life stages the food supports so you can select the right food for your pet.

Depending on what’s in the formula, the statement will tell you if the food provides complete and balanced nutrition for one or more of the following stages:

gestation/lactation (pregnancy and nursing)
growth (puppies)
maintenance
or all life stages.

How Many Calories Should a Dog Eat?

Woman kneeling next to a dog who is eating out of a bowl

If you’re looking for one simple answer to the question: How many calories should a dog eat in a day? Think again. There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer to this question. You’ll need to consider each of the factors below to come up with the right answer for your pet.

Age

Puppies need more calories than adult and senior dogs because they have higher energy requirements to foster healthy growth and development. Older dogs are no longer growing and may not be as active as they once were. That’s why senior dogs typically need fewer daily calories.

Breed

Breed size affects caloric needs in dogs, too. Large breed dogs, such as Rottweilers, need more calories than small breed dogs, such as toy poodles, to support their larger body size.

Activity level

Dogs with boundless energy need more calories to keep that energy going. In contrast, lap dogs don’t need as many calories to meet their daily needs.

Spay/neuter status

Dogs that have been spayed or neutered typically have lower caloric needs than intact dogs. Intact females that are pregnant or nursing have very high caloric needs. This helps their bodies meet the energy demands of pregnancy and nursing.

Body condition

Body condition considers whether a dog is underweight, overweight, or at an ideal weight. Where a dog falls on the body condition scale helps determine how many calories they need.

Individual variation

No two dogs are the same, and that can play a role in daily caloric needs, too. For example, some dogs burn calories more quickly than others, requiring a higher calorie intake. In addition, some medical conditions can impact how many calories a dog needs.

How Many Calories Do Puppies Need?

Two King Charles Cavalier dogs eating out of two bowls

Puppies grow fast and need a high-energy diet to support their development. Also, they are actively exploring their world while undergoing obedience and potty training – which requires a lot of brain power!

Puppies need specially formulated puppy food to provide the right balance of nutrients for healthy growth.

How many calories a puppy needs varies according to their weight. And that can change quickly as they grow. Dog calorie calculators, which we’ll describe later in the article, are the best tool to help answer questions like “How many calories do puppies need?”

Many pet parents find these calculators essential to determine how much a puppy should eat per day when they are changing so rapidly. They’re also helpful when it comes to deciding when to switch to adult dog food.

How Many Calories Should Senior Dogs Eat?

The age at which a dog reaches senior status varies according to breed size. Large breed dogs typically become seniors around age 8 or 9. Small breeds don’t reach senior status until about age 11.

Like people, senior dogs may not have as much pep in their step as they did when they were puppies. Also, they may have medical conditions, like arthritis, that slow them down even more.

Thus, a senior dog will need fewer calories than a puppy. You may want to consider a senior dog diet specially formulated to meet the needs of older dogs. As with puppies, a dog calorie calculator can help estimate how many daily calories a senior dog should eat.

Dog Calorie Calculator

A dog calorie calculator is a helpful tool that veterinarians and dog parents can use to estimate a dog’s daily caloric needs.

You can find a variety of dog calorie calculators available online. However, you can also calculate your dog’s required calories yourself using the instructions below.

Whether you’re using an online dog calorie calculator or your own calculation, it’s always smart to check with your veterinarian to confirm the recommended calories are right for your pet.

Dog calorie calculators use specific measurements:

Resting energy requirement (RER): The RER indicates the number of calories your dog needs daily to support basic bodily functions, including breathing and digestion.
Maintenance energy requirement (MER): The MER, also called the daily energy requirement, is the number of daily calories a dog needs, according to factors like spay/neuter status.

Calculating the RER is a frequent starting point. Here is that formula:

RER (kcal/day) = 70 x (body weight in kilograms* x 0.75)

* To convert your dog’s body weight to kilograms, divide their weight in pounds by 2.2. For example, if your dog weighs 30 pounds, their weight in kilograms is 13.6 kg (30 ÷ 2.2).

Let’s continue using that example to calculate the RER for a 30-pound dog:

RER (kcal/day) = 70 x (13.6 x 0.75)

RER (kcal/day) = 496 kcal/day

Figuring out your dog’s MER takes the calculation one step further by including factors we described earlier, such as activity level, age, and body condition. These factors are assigned a multiplier to be used in the calculation.

For example, according to generalized guidelines from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, an intact adult dog’s energy requirements equal their MER multiplied by 1.8. By comparison, the multiplier used for a neutered adult dog is only 1.6.

Let’s calculate the 30-pound dog’s MER, assuming that he is an intact adult male:

MER = 1.8 x RER

MER = 1.8 x (496 kcal/day)

MER = 893 kcal/day

Of course, we know that dogs enjoy treats occasionally. Treats should make up no more than 10 percent of your dog’s daily caloric needs. When you know how many calories your dog should eat daily, multiply that by 0.1 to get your dog’s treat allowance.

Using our example of an intact adult male dog consuming 893 kcal/day:

893 kcal/day x 0.1 = 89.3 kcal

That would mean the dog should receive no more than 89 kcals in treats per day, with the balance (804 kcals) coming from regular dog food.

Calories for Dogs Trying to Lose Weight

If your dog is overweight and your vet recommends weight loss, their calorie requirements will be a little different. You’ll need to use a calculation based on your dog’s target weight rather than their current weight.

For example, if your dog currently weighs 50 pounds and their target weight is 45 pounds, then the calorie calculation would look like this:

Dog’s target weight in kgs: 45 pounds ÷ 2.2 = 20.5 kg

RER (kcal/day) = 70 x (target body weight in kilograms x 0.75)

RER (kcal/day) = 70 x (20.5 x 0.75)

RER (kcal/day) = 674 calories/day

A dog weight loss plan must always be carried out with veterinary supervision to ensure the weight loss isn’t too fast or too slow. The ideal rate for weight loss in dogs is 1 to 5 percent of body weight per month.

However, encouraging weight loss in dogs isn’t just a numbers game. Simply feeding your dog smaller portions of their current diet isn’t necessarily the way to go. Why? Cutting calories from your dog’s current diet will mean your dog consumes fewer essential nutrients. And that could potentially contribute to nutritional deficiencies.

Instead, feed your dog a weight-loss diet that contains fewer calories and provides complete and balanced nutrition. If you’re wondering how much should I feed my dog during weight loss, your veterinarian can recommend a diet, as well as personalized calorie targets tailored to your dog’s goal weight and activity level.

Here are a few options for dog weight-loss diets:

Transitioning your dog to the new diet should be gradual, over several days to a week. Begin by combining ¼ of the new diet with ¾ of the current diet, then slowly increase the amount of the new diet.

Monitor your dog’s weight throughout the process. If your dog isn’t losing weight as expected, you and your vet may have to fine-tune the weight-loss plan.

Once your dog has reached their target weight, you will need to adjust your dog’s calorie targets and diet again. Your vet can advise you on how to transition your dog back to a regular diet, as well as how many calories they’ll need to eat to maintain a healthy weight.

If thinking about calorie counts for your dog makes your head swim, never fear. With some simple math, you can calculate what your dog needs to thrive. And always confirm your numbers (and diet) with your vet to ensure your plan fits your dog’s nutritional and caloric needs.