About this site · prices checked October 21, 2026
How the calculator works: formulas, sources and dates
The calculator estimates a dog’s daily calories with three published methods, turns them into grams of a given food by the calories printed on its label, and multiplies by the price the brand lists, with the date it was checked.
published methods3FEDIAF 2025, AAHA 2021, WSAVA 2020
recipes with label calories28
recipes with an open price19
last checkOctober 21, 2026
Calories
Four ways to estimate calories
The large figure is the FEDIAF row for the dog’s activity. For a neutered dog with low or moderate activity we use the middle of the AAHA range when it is lower: AAHA lists a lower factor after neutering. That choice is our interpretation and the range of all methods is always shown next to it.
WSAVA’s PDF gives a table and, in a footnote, the formula 95–130 × kg^0.75; the table and the formula do not match exactly, so we use the formula.
One number to start with, and the spread between methods beside it.
| Method | Formula | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Resting energy (RER) | 70 × kg^0.75 | AAHA 2021 |
| AAHA daily energy | RER × 1.4–1.6 neutered, 1.6–1.8 intact, 1.0–1.2 inactive; puppies 3.0 under 4 months, 2.0 after | AAHA 2021 |
| FEDIAF by activity | k × kg^0.75: k = 95 under 1 hour, 110 for 1–3 hours calm, 125 for 1–3 hours active, 150–175 working; up to 90 if the dog gains weight easily | FEDIAF 2025, table VII-7 |
| FEDIAF by age | k = 130 at 1–2 years, 110 at 3–7, 95 over 7 | FEDIAF 2025, table VII-6 |
| FEDIAF puppy | [254.1 − 135.0 × (weight ÷ expected adult weight)] × kg^0.75, 8 weeks to 12 months | FEDIAF 2025, table VII-8a |
| WSAVA range | 95–130 × kg^0.75 for a healthy adult | WSAVA 2020, after NRC 2006 |
Worked example
One dog, step by step
Weight
30 lb13.6 kg, adult, neutered, 1–3 hours of calm walks
Resting energy
496 kcal70 × 13.6^0.75
Daily calories
744 kcalrange 694–794 kcal between methods
Grams
527 g744 ÷ 1,411 kcal/kg × 1000 (Viva Raw Beef for Dogs)
Price
$9.59 a day527 g × $18.19/kg; $292 for 30.4 days
For a 30 lb neutered adult with calm walks, the methods give 694–794 kcal a day and the calculator starts at 744 kcal. At the 1,411 kcal per kg on the Viva Raw Beef for Dogs label that is 527 g a day.
Calories set the grams; the label sets calories per gram; the price list does the rest.
Label calories
Where the calories per gram come from
Each calorie figure is quoted from the brand’s recipe page or its analysis sheet and checked against a saved copy of that page. Without a printed figure there are no grams by calories: the row stays, with the reason.
No label figure, no calorie-based grams.
US labels
kcal ME per kgCalories as fed, the way AAFCO rules ask US labels to state them.
UK labels
kcal per 100 gMultiplied by 10 to get kcal per kg.
Per cup or per ounce
convertedOnly when the brand gives the weight of the cup or the ounce figure.
Dried food
before waterCalories per 100 g of dry product, before you add water.
The 2–3% rule
Raw food without a calorie figure
Some raw brands print only a feeding rule of 2–3% of body weight a day. That is the brands’ rule, not a veterinary norm, and it gives fewer grams than the calorie result for small dogs. Those rows are listed apart and are not sorted with the calorie-based ones. Viva Raw writes about the same gap: “Your pet’s calorie requirements are not linearly proportional to their size as the 2-3% rule represents.”
Two different methods are never mixed in one ranking.
By calories
- Small dogs
- more food per pound of dog
- Used for
- every recipe with a label figure
2–3% of body weight
- Printed by
- raw brands without calories
- Shown
- apart, never for puppies
Prices
Prices, dates and what is left out
Every price carries the date it was checked and the page it came from. Prices are refreshed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; a price older than 14 days is marked, older than 30 days it is hidden until checked again. Tax, shipping and promo codes are not included unless the brand includes them.
First-box discounts are shown as first-box prices, never as the price that follows. Brands that price only after a quiz keep their row with grams and the words “price after quiz”.
A price without a date is not shown.
| Price | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| One-time | a single order on the brand store | brand store |
| Subscription | the recurring box price, when published | brand store |
| Store shelf | price in a pet store | PetSmart, Pets at Home |
| From | the brand’s own lowest plan figure, not a price for your dog | brand page or blog |
| After quiz | no open price; the brand prices after its questionnaire | — |
| Open catalogs | 723 packs from brand stores, food recipes only | brand stores |
Texts
How texts are written and checked
The texts are written by AI from the saved facts of each page. Code checks every draft: each number must appear in those facts, brand claims must be attributed, and drafts with health promises, superlatives or sales language are rejected. A page that fails is not published.
If a fact is missing, the text says the brand does not publish it.
Limits
What the estimate does not cover
These are estimates for healthy dogs at ideal weight. FEDIAF writes that its figures “recommendations should only be used as starting points, and the owner has to adapt the amount when the animal tend to lose or gain weight”. Ask your vet, especially about puppies, weight loss or any illness, and weigh your dog once a month.
The calculator gives a start, your vet and the scale give the answer.
Starting point
FEDIAF: adapt the amount when the dog loses or gains weight.
Weigh monthly
and adjust the portion.
Ask your vet
for puppies of large breeds, weight loss and any illness.
Partner links
Brands in the worked example
- Viva RawRawCheck price at Viva Raw (partner link, opens in a new tab)partner link
- JustCheck price at JustFoodForDogs (partner link, opens in a new tab)partner link
Food Gently cookedFor Dogs
Buttons open the brand’s store in a new tab. They are partner links: if you buy, this site may earn a commission at no cost to you. Order and prices on this page do not depend on it.
Sources
- 1FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines 2025europeanpetfood.org · checked Oct 21, 2026
- 2AAHA 2021 Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines for Dogs and Catsaaha.org · checked Oct 21, 2026
- 3WSAVA: Calorie Needs for Healthy Adult Dogs (updated July 2020)wsava.org · checked Oct 21, 2026
- 4AAFCO: Standard for “Human Grade” Pet Foodaafco.org · checked Oct 21, 2026