Fresh food calculator: how much home-cooked food your dog needs
How much home-cooked food does your dog need a day? Enter weight and activity – or the kcal of your own recipe.
Updated on
In short
A 10 kg neutered dog with normal activity needs about 630 kcal a day. With home-cooked food at 130 kcal per 100 g, that's about 485 g a day. Depending on the recipe (110 to 160 kcal/100 g), the amount is between about 395 and 575 g. The food only becomes balanced with calcium, a suitable oil and vitamins.
Fresh food amount for your dog
For home-cooked dog food. If you have your own recipe, enter its kcal per 100 g.
Leave empty = typical value of 130 kcal (usually 110–160 kcal/100 g). If the pack says MJ/kg, calculate MJ/kg × 23.9.
Result
485 g
Home-cooked food per day
≈ 630 kcal · 2 meals of 245 g
Get it worked out for your dogRecipes with grams per ingredient in the DoggoMeal app- Range per day
- 435–535 g
- Meals
- 2 per day
- Per meal
- 245 g
- Depending on recipe (110–160 kcal/100 g)
- 395–575 g
- Energy
- 630 kcal (565–695)
How the figure is calculated
Resting energy requirement 70 × 10 kg^0.75 ≈ 394 kcal × factor 1.6 ≈ 630 kcal per day.
630 kcal ÷ 130 kcal per 100 g (typical freshly cooked food) × 100 ≈ 485 g.
- A starting point – check the weight every 1–2 weeks and adjust the amount in small steps. Treats count too.
- Home-cooked food is only balanced with a calcium source, a suitable oil and a vitamin/mineral supplement. Meat, rice and vegetables alone aren't enough in the long run.
Fresh food chart: home-cooked food per day by weight
Adult, neutered dogs with normal activity. “Depending on recipe” column: energy-rich (160) to light (110 kcal/100 g) recipes.
| Weight | kcal/day | Home-cooked (130 kcal/100 g) | Depending on recipe (160 to 110 kcal/100 g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 kg | 225 | 175 g | 140–205 g |
| 5 kg | 375 | 290 g | 235–340 g |
| 7.5 kg | 510 | 390 g | 320–465 g |
| 10 kg | 630 | 485 g | 395–575 g |
| 15 kg | 855 | 660 g | 535–775 g |
| 20 kg | 1,060 | 815 g | 665–965 g |
| 25 kg | 1,250 | 960 g | 780–1,135 g |
| 30 kg | 1,435 | 1,105 g | 895–1,305 g |
| 40 kg | 1,780 | 1,370 g | 1,115–1,620 g |
| 50 kg | 2,105 | 1,620 g | 1,315–1,915 g |
How much home-cooked food does a dog need?
That depends on two things: your dog's energy requirement and the energy density of your recipe. Lean meat, lots of vegetables and potato tend to give about 110 kcal per 100 g, fattier meat and more oil about 160 kcal. For the same 630 kcal you then need between 395 and 575 g.
If you know the kcal of your recipe, enter them in the calculator. Otherwise it works with 130 kcal per 100 g.
Why meat, rice and vegetables alone aren't enough
A mix of meat, carbohydrates and vegetables covers the energy, but not the nutrient requirement. Typical gaps when cooking at home:
- Calcium: without bones it's almost always lacking. You need a calcium source in the right amount.
- Essential fatty acids: a suitable oil, for example one with omega-3 fatty acids.
- Iodine, zinc, copper and vitamins D and E: usually only achievable with a supplement.
- The amounts have to suit the recipe and the dog – for some nutrients, too much is just as problematic as too little.
Combining home-cooked food and dry food
Many owners feed partly fresh, partly ready-made food. In that case, split the daily calories: at 630 kcal and half and half, that's 315 kcal from fresh food (about 240 g at 130 kcal/100 g) and 315 kcal from dry food (about 90 g).
Grams per ingredient: that's what the app works out
This calculator shows the total amount. How much of it should be meat, side, vegetables, oil and calcium depends on the recipe. The DoggoMeal app calculates the grams per ingredient for every recipe to suit your dog.
How we calculate
The calculator follows the method described in veterinary nutrition guidelines. First the resting energy requirement: RER = 70 × body weight (kg) to the power of 0.75. Then a factor for life stage and activity: daily requirement = RER × factor. Finally, the conversion via the energy density of the food: grams = kcal ÷ kcal per 100 g × 100.
Without your own value, the calculator uses 130 kcal per 100 g of home-cooked food. The “depending on recipe” range shows the difference a light (110) or energy-rich (160 kcal/100 g) recipe makes.
We round kcal to the nearest 5 kcal and grams to the nearest 5 g. The range shows ±10%, because dogs vary a lot individually. The values are starting points for healthy dogs and don't replace veterinary advice in the case of illness, pregnancy or marked overweight or underweight.
Factors applied to the RER
| Adult, neutered, normal activity | 1.6 |
|---|---|
| Adult, unneutered, normal activity | 1.8 |
| Calm or senior (from about 8 years) | 1.4 |
| Active (2–3 hrs of exercise, dog sports) | 2.0 |
| Very active (working or sporting dog) | 3.0 |
| Puppy under 4 months | 3.0 |
| Puppy from 4 months until fully grown | 2.0 |
| Weight loss (RER at the target weight) | 1.0 |
Typical energy densities
- Dry food: 360 kcal/100 g (typically 330–400 kcal/100 g)
- Wet food: 100 kcal/100 g (typically 80–120 kcal/100 g)
- Home-cooked / fresh food: 130 kcal/100 g (typically 110–160 kcal/100 g)
- Bland diet chicken + rice (1 : 2): 140 kcal/100 g (typically approx. 130–150 kcal/100 g)
- Bland diet chicken + potato (1 : 2): 105 kcal/100 g (typically approx. 95–115 kcal/100 g)
Sources
- Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats (2006)– National Research Council (NRC), National Academies Press
- Global Nutrition Guidelines– World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA)
- Nutritional Guidelines for Complete and Complementary Pet Food– FEDIAF – European Pet Food Industry Federation
Frequently asked questions
How much home-cooked food does a dog need a day?
For a neutered 10 kg dog with normal activity, about 485 g a day at 130 kcal per 100 g. A 5 kg dog needs about 290 g, a 20 kg dog about 815 g. Depending on the energy density of the recipe, the amount can differ considerably.
How many kcal does home-cooked dog food have?
Typically about 110 to 160 kcal per 100 g, depending on the type of meat, fat content, side and proportion of vegetables. You only know exactly if you add up the kcal of the ingredients – the DoggoMeal app does that for every recipe.
Is home-cooked dog food automatically balanced?
No. Meat, rice and vegetables cover the energy, but not the requirement for calcium, iodine, zinc, vitamins D and E or essential fatty acids. For that you need a calcium source, a suitable oil and usually a mineral and vitamin supplement.
Can I mix fresh food with dry food?
Yes. Split the daily calories: at 630 kcal and half and half, you get about 240 g of fresh food (130 kcal/100 g) and 90 g of dry food (360 kcal/100 g).
Is DoggoMeal BARF?
No. DoggoMeal focuses on freshly cooked recipes that suit your dog – with grams per ingredient, oil and calcium. Raw feeding isn't the focus.
Can I just use a recipe from the internet?
A general recipe knows nothing about your dog's weight, activity, target weight or allergies. For every recipe, check whether calcium, oil and a mineral and vitamin supplement are included and whether the amount matches the requirement.
From fresh ingredients to a complete recipe
DoggoMeal turns fresh ingredients into a complete recipe: grams per ingredient, oil, calcium and portions per meal – to suit your dog.
- Dog profile
- Recipes with gram amounts
- Allergy warnings
- Cooking with video
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