Dog Calorie Needs Calculator
Your dog’s daily calorie requirement from its weight and life stage — resting energy plus the right activity multiplier.
How it works
RER = 70 × (kg)^0.75 · maintenance energy (MER) = RER × activity factor
A dog's calorie need starts from resting energy — what it burns just staying alive — which scales to the 0.75 power of body weight rather than linearly, so a dog twice as heavy does not need twice the calories. Multiplying by an activity factor from about 1.0 (weight loss) to 3.0 (working dogs) turns that resting figure into a real daily target you can match to food.
Worked example
A 30 lb (13.6 kg) dog has RER = 70 × 13.6^0.75 ≈ 496 kcal. As a neutered adult (factor 1.6) its maintenance need is 496 × 1.6 ≈ 794 kcal/day; the same dog as a working sled dog (factor 3.0) would need nearly 1,500 kcal.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between RER and MER?
RER (resting energy requirement) is the baseline calories to keep the body running at rest. MER (maintenance energy requirement) multiplies RER by an activity factor to cover daily movement, temperature and life stage.
Why raise weight to the 0.75 power?
Metabolic rate does not rise in direct proportion to body mass — larger animals are more efficient per kilogram. The 0.75 exponent (Kleiber’s law) captures that, so big dogs need fewer calories per pound than small ones.
How do I turn calories into cups of food?
Divide the daily calories by the kcal-per-cup on your food bag. A dog food portion calculator does this step for you.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.