Puppy Feeding Calculator
How much to feed a growing puppy.
Starting estimate from published formulas. Your vet knows your pet.
How to use the puppy feeding calculator
- Enter the weight on the scale today, not the weight you hope the puppy will be as an adult.
- Enter age in weeks. Under 4 months the factor is 3. Over 4 months it is 2. Exactly 4 months is not a row, so nudge the weeks.
- Type kcal per cup from the growth food. 380 is an example sitting in the box so the page can show cups.
- Set meals you feed to the number of bowls you already put down. That only slices the day.
- Compare your meal count with meals in Merck's sentence. They are allowed to differ. Small-breed puppies may need more than three meals, and Merck does not name a fourth number.
The factor flips at 4 months
A puppy's daily calories on this page are resting energy times a factor from the Merck Veterinary Manual. Under 4 months the factor is 3. Over 4 months the factor is 2. The manual's rows are written as younger than 4 months and older than 4 months, so an age that lands on 4 months exactly is left blank and the page asks you to move it.
The page opens at 12 and 12 lb. That age is still under 4 months, so the factor is 3 × RER and the day is 750 kcal. Cups, using the example 380 kcal/cup, are 2 cups.
Adult size is not a control. Merck's calorie table does not give a different multiplier for a future toy dog and a future giant. Size changes the age when the skeleton finishes, which is discussed on the weight page, not the size of this bowl.
Meals are a sentence in a feeding chapter, not a second formula
Merck's feeding-practices chapter says puppies between weaning and 6 months should be fed three times a day, and puppies from 6 to 12 months twice a day. It adds that small-breed puppies may have to be fed more than three times. It does not say four.
For the opening age the sentence's count is 3. Your own meal field divides 750 kcal into 250 kcal and 5/8 cups per bowl. If you feed a different number, keep the day line and ignore the per-bowl line's rounding.
Overfeeding a growing puppy is not a kindness. The same chapter says a faster gain is a poor goal because it fights sound bone and stores fat. Large-breed growth foods are a label claim (the AAFCO large-breed statement), not a calorie this page can invent.
Worked bowls, and when the adult food starts
Replace 380 with the kcal per cup on the bag before you measure. Two foods with the same cup size can differ by a hundred calories. The table further down repeats 380 on purpose so you can see age and weight move the factor. Your bag will not match that column until the numbers match.
Merck also says to keep a growth diet until skeletal maturity, not merely until the puppy looks done. Small and medium breeds often finish between 8 and 12 months. Large and giant breeds often finish between 10 and 16 months. This feeding page does not switch the factor to the adult 1.6 at a birthday. When the puppy is no longer on a growth food, use the adult dog food calculator and say so.
A puppy may need as much as 30% more or less than the calculated day. Weekly weigh-ins tell you more than one afternoon's bowl.
Calories and cups by weight and age
| Weight | Age | Factor | kcal per day | Cups per day | Meals in the Merck sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 lb | 8 wk | 3 × RER | 390 kcal | 1 cup | 3 |
| 5 lb | 12 wk | 3 × RER | 390 kcal | 1 cup | 3 |
| 5 lb | 20 wk | 2 × RER | 260 kcal | 5/8 cups | 3 |
| 12 lb | 8 wk | 3 × RER | 750 kcal | 2 cups | 3 |
| 12 lb | 12 wk | 3 × RER | 750 kcal | 2 cups | 3 |
| 12 lb | 20 wk | 2 × RER | 500 kcal | 1 3/8 cups | 3 |
| 25 lb | 8 wk | 3 × RER | 1,300 kcal | 3 3/8 cups | 3 |
| 25 lb | 12 wk | 3 × RER | 1,300 kcal | 3 3/8 cups | 3 |
| 25 lb | 20 wk | 2 × RER | 865 kcal | 2 1/4 cups | 3 |
380 kcal per cup is an example. Under 4 months the factor is 3. Over 4 months it is 2. Meal counts are 3 until 6 months and 2 from 6 to 12 months.
Tips and common mistakes
- Count weeks from birth, not from the day the puppy came home.
- Do not add treats on top of a 3× resting-energy day and also leave the bowl full.
- A food marked for all life stages is not automatically the right growth food for a large-breed puppy. Read the AAFCO statement.
When to call your vet
- The puppy is not gaining, or the belly is bloating after meals.
- You are feeding a large or giant breed and the puppy is gaining very fast.
- Diarrhoea, vomiting or a sudden refusal of the growth food.
- You want to switch to adult food before the skeleton is finished because the bag ran out.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a puppy eat by weight?
Weight sets resting energy. Age sets the factor. At 12 lb and 12 the day is 750 kcal, or 2 cups of a food that is 380 kcal/cup. A different label changes the cups and leaves the calories alone.
How many meals a day?
Merck's chapter says three times a day from weaning to 6 months and twice a day from 6 to 12 months. The opening age shows 3. Small-breed puppies may need more than three. The meal box on the form is your split, not that sentence.
When do I switch to adult food?
When skeletal maturity is reached, not when the puppy merely looks tall. Merck gives about 8–12 months for small and medium breeds and about 10–16 months for large and giant breeds. Keep the growth diet until then.
Does adult size change the calories?
Not in the Merck factor this page uses. A future giant and a future toy of the same weight and age get the same multiplier. Size changes how long you stay on growth food, which is why the weight page carries the size control.
What if my puppy is exactly 4 months?
Merck's rows are under 4 months and over 4 months. The page will not pick a factor on the boundary. Move the age a week to either side and read both days with your vet if the puppy is right on that line.