This post may contain affiliate links.
Julie Austin Photography
A friend of mine is putting together the code for a raw feeding calculator for my blog in exchange for a sushi dinner. I use raw feeding calculators to figure out how much I need to feed my dogs. And last year, I invested in a home scale for my dogs so that I can stay on top of how many ounces I should feed them daily.
And then another friend asked me how many calories I was feeding my dogs.
What?
Shiznit!
He then went on to tell me that too many people were treating raw feeding calculators as gospel when they really should be a guideline. Given that we have little to go on, I'm not really surprised. When I started, I treated everything as gospel. Today, I know to ask questions and do my research.
Am I Overfeeding My Dogs?
I'm raising four dogs on a raw food diet, two (my boys) are in great shape and two (my girls) can stand to lose a few pounds. I thought Sydney might have a thyroid issue because I was told that she had a thyroid issue last year. Maybe she did, but she's fine now according to her most recent blood work, so now it's time to focus on weight loss.
I've been feeding my girls less than 2% to help them with weight loss and wondering why it's taking so long – ummm, probably because I'm not counting calories. When I'm trying to lose weight, I exercise and count calories – why wouldn't I do the same for my dogs?
Calculating Your Dog's Calories Per Day
If you Google how many calories our dogs should eat daily, you'll find that we should feed our dogs 25-30 calories per pound of bodyweight. This still seemed high and a friend directed me to Dr. Karen Becker's calculation for calories and this calculation feels more accurate.
Daily Calories for a Dog = Body Weight (kg) x 30 + 70
OR
CONVERT LB to KG: Daily Calories for a Dog = (Body Weight / 2.2) x 30 + 70
Rodrigo: 65# / 2.2 = 29.55 x 30 = 886.36 + 70 = 956.36 calories per day or 478.18 calories per meal
Sydney: 79# / 2.2 = 35.91 x 30 = 1,077.27 + 70 = 1147.27 calories per day or 573.64 calories per meal
Scout: 83# / 2.2 = 37.73 x 30 = 1,131.82 + 70 = 1201.82 calories per day or 600.91 calories per meal
Zoey: 72# / 2.2 = 32.73 x 30 = 981.82 + 70 = 1051.82 calories per day or 525.91 calories per meal
How Many Calories Are My Dogs Eating?
I explored the topic of how many calories dogs need and now I'm putting that information together with what's on the menu at our house. I feed a variety of proteins to provide different nutrients, to keep my budget in check, and to make mealtime fun for the dogs (well, mostly for me).
Here is a list of proteins compared to how much I'm feeding my dogs. This is my first crack at this so the calories may not be 100% accurate. As you can see, my dogs are eating more calories than they should. I'm not worried about Rodrigo and Scout because they are active dogs. Sydney is a couch potato and Zoey is too shy to play with the boys, so I have to walk her or play with her separately some days.
Comparing Daily Calories for Dogs to the Raw Feeding Calculator Results
In order to help my girls lose weight, I can't depend on the raw feeding calculator alone. I need to pay attention to their daily caloric intake. Based on several of the raw feeding calculators I've followed, 2% is what you feed when you want your dog to lose weight, however, if you're feeding a high-calorie protein on a regular basis, you'll have to reduce that percentage even more.
Comparing Daily Calories for Dogs to the Raw Feeding Calculator Results – Adjusted to Promote Weight Loss in My Dogs
So Should We Focus on Calculators or Calories?
After going over the numbers, I realized that both methods are beneficial. Every dog is different and for many dogs, using a raw feeding calculator makes life easier and this is the right tool for Rodrigo and Scout, as long as I'm only using it as a guideline and not as a rule.
On the other hand, knowing how many calories my dogs are consuming is equally important. It doesn't matter if I reduce Sydney's meals to 2% of her body weight if she's eating a high-calorie meal.
As I said, this is my first crack at this and I have more studying to do and will update this post when I confirm that the calories and calculations are correct. My goal is to create a spreadsheet that will help me quickly calculate how many calories my dogs are munching on daily as well as identify the nutrients in each meal.
This is going to be fun #NerdParadise – stay tuned.
really good points, wish I read you when I first started this, I was so green and naive. Its been a few years and the only one that gets me is my Aussie Shepherd/border collie, because of her activity level I just have to weigh her each week or more depending on her eating habits. Her training buddy loves to eat so having them around each other helps to balance things, because her buddy is older and more of a couch potato. Definintely a good article to keep in my back pocket. Keep sharing, blessings.
Thank you so much for this! My middle baby needs to drop weight so I need to incorporate this and maybe it will work.
no problem! im the type who worries way too much about random stuff and ive always been confused at the varying amounts of calories dogs should get. thanks so much and i love reading your articles!!
Thank you so much for this! I really appreciate you doing the work for me too. I’ll look into this more. Thank you for all of this great information.
hello! ive got two dogs and also realized that the ratio kinda deal wasn’t working out, especially because my dogs are small and one is a tad chubby. i also found that caloric intake per day may be a better way of looking at dog nutrition, but i never saw this formula.
i did find this one caloric calculator though, from Pet Nutrition Alliance, and it can be found at petnutritionalliance.org/dog.php, though this calculator is for overweight dogs only. so, i looked into the formula itself, as i wanted to calculate for my leaner pup.
it uses a few variables to calculate your dogs resting energy requirement (RER) (formula: 70 x (Body weight in KG)^.75)) multiplied by a variable indicating your dogs activity level. my dogs are both neutered, and thus the value i am given is 1.6 (Table 1, http://petnutritionalliance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MER.RER_.PNA_.pdf ). so, to find my dogs maintenance energy requirement (MER, or his calories per day), i multiply his RER by 1.6.
for example, my dog gatsby (lean dog) weighs 7.3kg. with dr. becker’s formula, he should get 289 calories per day. with the formula i gave, his RER is equal to 310.88. his MER = 310.88 x 1.6 = 497.41 calories per day.
with your dog, sydney (weighing 35.91kg), her RER = 1,026.86, and if she is slightly overweight, the table recommends 1.2-1.4 as her energy level multiplier (1.0 if desiring actual weight loss). thus, her daily calories end up being around 1,300!
im not quite sure which one is correct, especially since the calculator i mentioned recommends more calories for her than you are currently feeding (although it mentions the data can be off by 50%, since it is just an estimate!), and i rarely leave comments on anything, but with such a difference in results i figured id leave my findings. sorry for the rant and i hope you have a wonderful day!!
Interesting blog, you’ve got me thinking. I just used your caloric calculation for Kai and now I am off to see what that means for her meals ?
Great read Kimberly! Definitely something to think about…hmmm.