Raw Dog Food Calorie Calculator
A 30 lb (13.61 kg) adult fed at 2.5% of body weight gets 340 g of raw food a day — 272 g muscle meat, 34 g raw edible bone, 17 g liver and 17 g other organ. At the published component densities on this page that is 404 kcal/day, while the same dog's resting-energy route asks for 694–794 kcal/day, i.e. 584–668 g — a gap of 244–327 g.
Enter your dog's details
Use the dog's current adult weight. The unit toggle rewrites the input value; the underlying kilogram figure does not change.
This is the volume-based rule of thumb used in raw feeding. It is not an energy calculation — the gap between the two routes is printed below.
Both models are printed in full further down the page. Switching model changes which density inputs are used.
The same four bands used on the home page; see the source note in the formula section.
Default values are the USDA FoodData Central entries listed in the density table below, except raw edible bone, for which no food-composition database publishes an energy figure — that default is an inferred placeholder and is marked as such. Replace each with the figure from your own supplier if you have one.
Everything is calculated in your browser. The numbers you type are not uploaded and not stored.
Both routes, side by side
Daily raw allowance from the percentage route
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Calorie route
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Gap between the routes
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Density the percentage rule implies
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Enter a weight to see the raw allowance and the calorie cross-check.
Raw food is mostly water, so volume and calories do not track each other. The percentage-of-body-weight rule answers “how many grams”; the calorie route answers “how much energy”. This page prints both, the exact difference between them in grams, and the energy density the percentage rule would have to assume to agree with itself. A raw ration still needs its calcium, vitamins and trace-mineral balance checked by a veterinary nutritionist — the arithmetic here only covers energy.
Change anything below and both routes recompute side by side.
Constants this page uses, and where each one comes from
| Constant | What it is | Named source |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | RER scaling constant, 70 × kg0.75 | USDA FoodData Central, queried 2026-10-20 with the public API (read 2026-10-20) |
| 0.75 | exponent applied to body weight in kilograms | USDA FoodData Central, queried 2026-10-20 with the public API (read 2026-10-20) |
| 1.0–1.2 | factor band for sedentary, or prone to weight gain | USDA FoodData Central, queried 2026-10-20 with the public API (read 2026-10-20) |
| 1.4–1.6 | factor band for typical adult, spayed or neutered | USDA FoodData Central, queried 2026-10-20 with the public API (read 2026-10-20) |
| 1.6–1.8 | factor band for typical adult, intact | USDA FoodData Central, queried 2026-10-20 with the public API (read 2026-10-20) |
| 1.6–2.0 | factor band for light work | USDA FoodData Central, queried 2026-10-20 with the public API (read 2026-10-20) |
Where to start
Start with the Dog Calorie Calculator: it needs only a weight and a condition, so it returns a daily calorie range before you have read a single food label. That range is the input every other Calories & Feeding tool expects, including this page.
How every number is worked out
Every figure on this page comes from four published inputs: the resting energy requirement equation, the activity-factor band, the ratio model you select, and the energy densities of the components. Nothing is estimated behind the scenes.
Symbols
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| W | Body weight, entered above | kg | Your input |
| p | Feeding percentage, entered above | fraction of body weight | Your input |
| A | Daily raw allowance | g/day | Calculated |
| si | Share of component i in the ratio model | % of total food | PMR / BARF table |
| di | Energy density of component i | kcal per 100 g | USDA FoodData Central, or your input |
| D | Weighted energy density of the whole ration | kcal per 100 g | Calculated |
| RER | Resting energy requirement | kcal/day | Calculated |
| f | Activity factor band | multiplier | AAHA 2021 |
| T | Daily calorie target | kcal/day | Calculated |
| G | Grams the calorie route asks for | g/day | Calculated |
Step 1 — resting energy requirement
RER = 70 × W0.75
A 13.61 kg dog has an RER of 70 × 13.610.75 ≈ 496 kcal/day. This is the energy a dog burns at complete rest, before any activity is added. The same equation is used on the dog calorie calculator home page.
Step 2 — the calorie route
T = RER × f (f is a band, so T is a band) G = T ÷ D × 100
The four activity bands below are the ones published in AAHA 2021, Box 1 — Energy Requirement Calculations. They are applied to RER exactly as on the home page, so the target here matches the target there for the same dog.
| Band | Factor | Used when |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary, or prone to weight gain | 1.0–1.2 × RER | Activity level is “sedentary”, or the goal is weight loss |
| Typical adult, spayed or neutered | 1.4–1.6 × RER | Typical adult activity, spayed or neutered |
| Typical adult, intact | 1.6–1.8 × RER | Typical adult activity, intact |
| Light work | 1.6–2.0 × RER | Activity level is “light work” |
Step 3 — the percentage route
A = p × W × 1000
At 2.5% and 13.61 kg: 0.025 × 13.61 × 1000 ≈ 340 g/day. This route never looks at calories at all.
Step 4 — the weighted density of the ration
D = Σ (si / 100) × di K = A × D / 100
For the PMR model with the default densities: (0.80 × 119) + (0.10 × 100) + (0.05 × 174) + (0.05 × 99) = 118.85 kcal per 100 g. That is 1.1885 kcal per g. The calories the ration actually delivers are then 340 × 118.85 / 100 ≈ 404 kcal/day.
Step 5 — the gap, and what the percentage rule hides
Δ = A − G Dimplied = T ÷ A × 100
The calorie route asks for 584–668 g against the percentage route's 340 g, so Δ is −244 to −327 g — the calorie route wants 1.72× to 1.96× as much food. Turn the question around and the percentage rule is hiding a density: at 340 g a day, hitting 694–794 kcal/day requires a ration averaging 204–233 kcal per 100 g. The default chicken-based mix averages 118.85, which is why the routes disagree.
The two ratio models, printed in full
Both models are expressed as percentages of the total daily food weight. Bone is included as raw edible bone only. Percentages are the model's coefficients; the page does not adjust them.
| Component | PMR (prey model raw) | BARF | What belongs in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muscle meat | 80% | 70% | Muscle meat from any species, including fat attached to it |
| Raw edible bone | 10% | 10% | Soft, non-weight-bearing raw bone the dog can crunch |
| Liver | 5% | 5% | Liver only — this is a ceiling, not a target |
| Other secreting organ | 5% | 5% | Kidney, pancreas, spleen, brain; heart is muscle in the PMR convention |
| Vegetables | — | 7% | Any non-starchy vegetable, cooked or puréed |
| Seeds / nuts | — | 2% | Pumpkin, sunflower, flax |
| Fruit | — | 1% | Any non-toxic fruit |
Percentages are the ratio models as commonly published by raw-feeding references (PMR = prey model raw, BARF = biologically appropriate raw food). They are reproduced here so the arithmetic can be repeated; this page does not endorse one model over the other.
Where the component densities come from
Six of the seven defaults below were pulled from the USDA FoodData Central API on 2026-10-20 and are the energy figure for 100 g of the named raw item as published there. The seventh — raw edible bone — is not in any food-composition database, so it is an inferred placeholder and is flagged as one.
| Component | USDA item | kcal per 100 g | FDC id |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muscle meat | Chicken, broilers or fryers, meat only, raw | 119 | 171052 |
| Raw edible bone | No database entry — inferred placeholder | 100 | — |
| Liver | Liver, beef | 174 | 2706153 |
| Other organ | Beef, variety meats and by-products, kidneys, raw | 99 | 169449 |
| Vegetables | Spinach, raw | 27 | 2709614 |
| Seeds / nuts | Seeds, pumpkin and squash seeds, whole, roasted, without salt | 446 | 170188 |
| Fruit | Apples, Fuji, with skin, raw | 58.2 | 1750340 |
Source: USDA FoodData Central, queried 2026-10-20 with the public API. Beef heart was also read (467 kJ per 100 g, FDC id 168625 = 111.6 kcal per 100 g) and is not one of the defaults. Real meat is not uniform: lean chicken meat sits near 119 kcal per 100 g while fatty mince runs far higher, which is why the densities on this page are inputs rather than constants.
Worked example: 30 lb (13.61 kg), PMR, 2.5% of body weight
Every line below can be repeated by hand with a pocket calculator. Rounding is to the nearest whole kcal or gram.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Convert weight | 30 × 0.45359237 | 13.6078 kg |
| 2. Resting energy requirement | 70 × 13.60780.75 | ≈ 496 kcal/day |
| 3. Activity band (neutered adult) | 1.4 × 496 … 1.6 × 496 | 694–794 kcal/day |
| 4. Weighted density, PMR | 0.80×119 + 0.10×100 + 0.05×174 + 0.05×99 | 118.85 kcal/100 g |
| 5. Percentage route | 0.025 × 13.6078 × 1000 | 340 g/day |
| 6. Calories that ration delivers | 340 × 118.85 / 100 | 404 kcal/day |
| 7. Calorie route in grams | 694 ÷ 118.85 × 100 … 794 ÷ 118.85 × 100 | 584–668 g/day |
| 8. Gap | 340 − 584 … 340 − 668 | −244 … −327 g |
| 9. Component split at 340 g | 340 × 80% / 10% / 5% / 5% | 272 / 34 / 17 / 17 g |
| 10. Per meal (2 meals) | 340 ÷ 2 | 170 g/meal |
What the “538 g per 1,000 kcal” conversion is really assuming
One widely used raw-feeding calculator prints a fixed conversion on its results page: 19 oz per 1,000 kcal, and 538 g per 1,000 kcal. That is not a law of raw food — it is a density. The arithmetic is short:
1,000 kcal ÷ 538 g = 1.8587 kcal/g = 185.87 kcal per 100 g
Feed 340 g of a ration that dense and the dog gets 632 kcal/day — much closer to the 694–794 target than the 404 kcal from the chicken-based mix above. Conversely, to hit the midpoint of the band (744 kcal/day) at that density you need 744 ÷ 1.8587 ≈ 400 g, not 340 g.
The point is not that one figure is right. It is that any fixed grams-per-1,000-kcal number silently picks an energy density, and raw mixes do not share one: the lean chicken default here is 118.85 kcal per 100 g while the conversion above implies 185.87. The gap between those two densities on the same dog is 632 − 404 = 228 kcal/day, which at 118.85 kcal per 100 g is 192 g/day of extra raw food. Set your own densities in the form above and this page recomputes the whole chain for your mix.
Your ration, component by component
The grams below come from the percentage route and the model you selected. Every row is allowance × share / 100.
Updates live as you change the weight, percentage, model and densities above.
| Component | Share | Grams per day | Grams per meal | kcal it contributes | density used (kcal/100 g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 100% | — | — | — | — |
Your feeding-percentage ladder
The same dog at every percentage from 2% to 4%, at the densities currently entered. The last two columns show how much the two routes disagree at each percentage.
| Percentage | Grams per day | kcal delivered | Grams the calorie route wants | Density the percentage rule implies |
|---|
PMR vs BARF on the same dog
Switching model keeps the total grams identical and moves food between components. The bone, liver and organ shares are the same in both models; what changes is how much of the ration is muscle meat rather than vegetable, seed and fruit.
| Component | PMR grams | BARF grams | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories delivered | — | — | — |
Why the two routes disagree — and which one to trust
The percentage route is a volume rule. It was built for a mix with a particular energy density and it keeps working as long as your mix matches that density. Lean muscle meat is much less dense than fatty meat, so the same 2.5% of body weight delivers a very different amount of energy depending on what you buy.
The calorie route is an energy rule: it starts from what the dog burns and works back to grams using your own densities. It is the route that reacts correctly when you change from lean chicken to fatty beef.
In practice, neither number on its own is the answer for a given dog. The calorie route gives a defensible energy target; the body-weight percentage gives a volume the dog's gut can physically handle. Feed the calorie route's grams, weigh the dog every two weeks, and if the dog cannot eat that volume comfortably, use a denser mix rather than tolerating a shortfall in energy — and have the recipe checked by a veterinary nutritionist.
Frequently asked questions
How much raw food should a dog eat per day?
There are two answers that disagree, and this page prints both. The volume rule of thumb is 2–3% of body weight per day for an adult (340 g a day for a 30 lb dog at 2.5%). The energy rule works out to 584–668 g a day for that same dog once a resting energy requirement and an activity band are applied, because a raw ration is mostly water. Which one is closer to right depends entirely on the energy density of the meat you buy, which is why the densities are inputs on this page.
What is the 80/10/5/5 split for raw feeding?
It is the PMR (prey model raw) ratio: 80% muscle meat, 10% raw edible bone, 5% liver, 5% other secreting organ. BARF is the same for bone, liver and organ but cuts muscle meat to 70% and adds 7% vegetable, 2% seed and 1% fruit. Both models are printed in full above and both are applied by the calculator.
How much edible bone is in a raw ration?
Both models use 10% of the total daily weight, which is 34 g a day for the 30 lb example dog. That percentage is a weight percentage, not a calorie percentage: at the default density of 100 kcal per 100 g, bone contributes only 34 kcal of the ration's 404 kcal. No food-composition database publishes an energy figure for edible bone, so the 100 kcal per 100 g default on this page is an inferred placeholder — replace it if you have a supplier figure.
Can I just use grams per 1,000 kcal instead?
You can, but understand what you are assuming. One popular calculator prints 538 g per 1,000 kcal, which is the same as assuming 185.87 kcal per 100 g. The arithmetic is on this page. If your mix averages 118.85 instead, you need about 192 g more food per day to deliver the same calories.
Does this page tell me whether the ration is nutritionally balanced?
No. It only covers energy. Calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E, zinc, iodine and the trace minerals are a separate calculation that depends on the ingredients you use, and that check belongs with a veterinary nutritionist.
What this page deliberately doesn't do
- It doesn't pick a ratio model. PMR and BARF are both applied exactly as published; the page does not recommend one.
- It doesn't claim the bone density. No database lists edible bone, so the 100 kcal per 100 g default is labelled an inferred placeholder and is yours to change.
- It doesn't balance nutrients. Calcium, phosphorus, vitamins and trace minerals are outside the arithmetic here.
- It doesn't handle life stages. Puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs and dogs with disease need a veterinary plan, not a percentage rule.
- It doesn't weight the two routes. It prints both and the gap; which to follow is a decision for you and your veterinary team.