Raw Dog Food Calculator
Raw feeding amounts by body weight.
A percentage of body weight, not a prescription. Your vet knows your pet.
How to use the raw dog food calculator
- Enter body weight. The gram line is a percent of that weight, so a wrong scale reading moves the whole day.
- Leave percent of body weight at 2.5, or move it between 2 and 3. Outside that band the page warns you.
- Leave 80/10/10 on to see muscle meat, bone and organ. Turn it off if you only want the daily grams.
- Read grams per day first. Ounces sit beside that line for a kitchen scale that is marked in ounces.
- Read the caution under the tool before you buy or thaw anything. The arithmetic is not a safety clearance.
What the AVMA says about raw diets
The American Veterinary Medical Association discourages feeding dogs and cats any raw or undercooked animal-source protein. The proteins named in the policy include meat, poultry, fish, egg and milk. The reason is pathogen risk to the animal and to people in the house.
The same policy says apparently healthy dogs and cats can carry those organisms without looking ill, and that people who handle the food can get sick, especially children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with a weak immune system. Cooking and pasteurisation are the traditional ways to cut that risk. The policy also allows other methods that have been shown to reduce pathogens.
This calculator does not say a raw diet is better, more natural or appropriate for your dog. It only turns a body weight and a percent into grams. Whether to feed that way is a decision for you and your vet, after you have read the current AVMA policy.
How the grams are worked out
Daily grams equal body weight in kilograms times the percent, times 10, so that 2.5% of 1 kg is 25 g. The page opens on a 20 lb dog at 2.5 %, which comes out as 225 g a day, about 8 oz.
The percent box opens at 2.5% as an example you replace. It is not a row in the Merck energy table, and the AVMA policy does not publish 2.5% as a target. The example band on the control is 2% to 3%, and that band is not a published intake either.
With the split on, 80% of the unrounded day is muscle meat (180 g), 10% is bone (25 g) and 10% is organ (25 g). Each part is then rounded to the nearest 5 g, so the three lines may not add back to the day. Follow the day line if they disagree. The 80/10/10 split is a labelled example, not a veterinary standard.
What this page refuses to decide
There is no calorie line here. A percent of body weight ignores the energy density of the particular meat, and it ignores whether the dog is neutered, thin or heavy. Those questions live on the calorie page, which uses resting energy times a factor.
There is no puppy setting. A growing dog is a different problem, and a percent copied from an adult bowl is not a growth plan.
There is no brand, no supplier and no ranked raw list. If you already feed a commercial food with a kcal statement, use the dog food calculator and type that number. Do not add this gram line on top of a full bowl of kibble.
Grams per day at 2.5% of body weight
| Weight | Grams per day | Muscle meat | Bone | Organ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 lb | 115 g | 90 g | 10 g | 10 g |
| 20 lb | 225 g | 180 g | 25 g | 25 g |
| 40 lb | 455 g | 365 g | 45 g | 45 g |
| 60 lb | 680 g | 545 g | 70 g | 70 g |
Example: 2.5% of body weight, then an example 80/10/10 split rounded to 5 g. Replace both. Parts may not add back to the day. This is not a veterinary standard.
Tips and common mistakes
- Weigh the dog, then weigh the food. Eyeballing a percent of body weight is how the day drifts.
- Bone in the split is a weight share, not a promise that the pieces are safe to chew. Cooked bones and the wrong raw bones are a separate hazard. Ask the clinic.
- Hide the split if you are not using 80/10/10. Leaving it on does not make that ratio correct for every dog.
When to call your vet
- Someone in the house is pregnant, very young, elderly or immunocompromised, and raw meat is being prepared in the kitchen.
- The dog vomits, has diarrhoea, or seems dull after a diet change.
- You want to feed a puppy, a nursing dog or a dog that is losing weight on this percent.
- You are unsure whether the bone fraction is edible bone or a choking piece.
Frequently asked questions
What percent of body weight is raw feeding?
This page opens at 2.5% as an example and lets you move between 2% and 3%. That band is an example too. It is not a standard published as the right intake for every dog. At the opening weight the day is 225 g.
What is 80/10/10?
A split of the daily grams into about 80% muscle meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. On the opening dog those lines are 180 g, 25 g and 25 g. Rounding to 5 g can make them miss the day total.
Is raw feeding safe?
The AVMA discourages raw or undercooked animal-source protein because of pathogens that can affect pets and people. This page will not call a raw diet safe. Read the policy and talk to your vet before you start.
Can I use this for a puppy?
No. The percent is an adult habit on this page. A puppy's calorie factor changes with age and is on the puppy feeding calculator, which asks for the kcal on the food you actually use.
Why are ounces shown as well as grams?
The headline stays in grams, which is how the percent is defined. Ounces are the same weight on a US scale: 8 oz beside 225 g. Use whichever unit your scale marks. Do not add them together.