How Much Should I Feed My Puppy?
A puppy grows very fast, so it needs more food for its size than a grown dog. If a puppy eats too little, it may grow slowly. If it eats too much, it can get too heavy, and that puts extra load on young joints, mostly in big breeds.
This puppy feeding calculator gives you a starting point. You add your puppy's breed, weight and age, and the tool shows the calories, the meals, and the cups for one day.
How the Puppy Feeding Calculator Works
The tool starts with the calories a body burns at rest. This number depends on weight. Then it adds extra for growing. A young puppy needs about three times the resting calories. As your puppy gets older, this slowly goes down, and it settles near two times and then a little less when your dog is grown.
We also use the breed to guess how fast your puppy will grow. That is why the graph and the table show what your puppy will need in the next months, not only today. The result is a guide, so the daily range is about 10% below to 10% above the number we show.
How Many Meals a Day?
Small stomachs need small meals. This is a simple rule many vets use:
- Under 12 weeks: 4 meals a day
- 12 to 24 weeks: 3 meals a day
- Over 24 weeks (6 months): 2 meals a day
Try to feed at the same times each day. It helps with house training too, because your puppy will need the toilet at the same times each day.
How to Read the Cups Number
Cups depend on the food you buy. Some foods have 300 calories in a cup, and some have 450 or more. That is why we ask for the calories in one cup. You can find it on the food bag.
Use a real measuring cup, not a coffee mug. For very small puppies, the amount for one meal can be only a few spoons, so a kitchen scale is a good help. If you use the same food each day, your puppy's weight will tell you if the amount is right.
Tips for Feeding a Growing Puppy
- Pick a complete puppy food. Big breeds should eat a food made for large breed puppies.
- Weigh your puppy every 2 weeks and write it down.
- Keep treats under 10% of the daily calories.
- Change the amount slowly, and when you change the food, mix the new food with the old food for about a week.
- You should be able to feel your puppy's ribs under a thin layer of fat. Our healthy dog weight calculator can also show if your dog is in a good weight range once it is grown.
When Will My Puppy Need Adult Food?
Small dogs are often ready for adult food at about 9 to 12 months. Large and giant dogs may need puppy food until they are 18 to 24 months old. You can use our dog age calculator to see which life stage your dog is in. Your vet can tell you the best time to change.
After that, the food amount is worked out in a different way. Our dog calorie calculator shows the calories for an adult dog by weight and activity.
When to Talk to Your Vet
Please call your vet if your puppy does not want to eat, throws up often, has loose stool for more than a day, or does not gain weight. This tool is a general guide and not vet advice, so always follow your vet's words if they are different.