Tools
How much should I feed my puppy?
Your puppy's weight and age, and the calories per cup printed on your own bag: cups a day and meals a day, with the arithmetic shown.
Work out the portions
Look for the heading “Calorie Content” on the bag. AAFCO rules give it per kilogram and per familiar unit such as a cup; use the per-cup figure.
Expected adult size (for the switch to adult food)
Enter the weight, an age between 6 weeks and two years, and the kcal per cup from your bag. The daily amount and the meals appear here, with the arithmetic shown.
Nothing you enter leaves your browser. This is a starting point for a healthy puppy, not a prescription. A puppy that is losing weight, not eating, vomiting or has diarrhoea, or has a health condition needs its feeding plan from a vet.
The method, and why it uses your bag's number
Generic “cups by weight” charts assume one food. Foods differ a lot in calories per cup, so the same chart can overfeed on one bag and underfeed on another. This calculator works in calories — the same resting-energy formula and Merck multipliers as our dog calorie calculator — and only then converts to cups of the food you actually bought, rounded to the nearest eighth of a cup. Use a real measuring cup, not a mug or a scoop of unknown size.
Worked example: a 5 kg puppy has a resting need of 234 kcal. At twelve weeks it is under four months, so × 3 = 702 kcal a day, with a ±30% band of 492–913. On a 400 kcal-per-cup food that is 1 1/4 to 2 1/4 cups, starting near 1 3/4 — 1/2 cup × 4.
Puppy feeding schedule: meals a day by age
| Age | Meals | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 12 weeks | 4 a day | AKC: four feedings are usually adequate. |
| 3 to 6 months | 4, dropping to 3 | AKC: somewhere in this window, drop from four meals to three. |
| 6 to 12 months | 2 a day | AKC: begin feeding twice daily. |
| Over 12 months | 2 a day | AKC: most owners split the day's food into two meals. |
VCA adds the part a schedule cannot: measured portions at regular times rather than a bowl left down all day. It links free-choice feeding and maximal growth with excess body fat and, in large breeds, skeletal problems.
Body condition beats the calculator
Merck calls every energy formula a starting point, and says one dog can need 30% more or less than another of the same weight. The check is the puppy: ribs you can feel under a thin layer of fat and a visible waist mean the amount is right, whatever the arithmetic said. The nine-point body condition score shows what each score looks like.
We are not veterinarians. Large and giant breed puppies are the sensitive group — VCA recommends only a food made for the growth of large and giant breeds, notes that excess calcium can contribute to growth abnormalities, and says to avoid supplements unless your vet recommends them. A puppy that is not gaining, is losing weight, or has vomiting or diarrhoea needs a vet before any change to the bowl. The puppy stage and the puppy growth guide cover the rest of growing up.
Questions people ask next
- How much should I feed my puppy?
- Start from calories, not from a generic chart. The Merck Veterinary Manual puts a healthy puppy at three times its resting energy requirement until four months and twice it after; divide that by the kcal per cup on your own bag to get cups. Then adjust by body condition, because any formula is only a starting point.
- How many times a day should a puppy eat?
- AKC's schedule is four meals a day from six to twelve weeks, dropping to three somewhere between three and six months, and two from six months on. VCA describes measured meals at regular times, generally two to three a day depending on age and body condition, rather than leaving food down.
- Should I just follow the feeding chart on the bag?
- It is a reasonable starting point too, and it is written for that exact food. This calculator is a cross-check that uses your puppy's actual weight and age. If the two disagree, pick the middle, weigh the puppy regularly and let body condition decide.
- Where do I find the calories per cup?
- Under the heading Calorie Content on the bag or can. AAFCO's rules have it stated per kilogram of food and per familiar unit such as a cup. The per-kilogram number runs to four digits; the per-cup one is the one this tool needs.
- When should my puppy switch to adult food?
- It depends on adult size. AKC says small-breed puppies can switch at seven to nine months and larger breeds at twelve to fourteen; VCA says large breeds should stay on a growth formula until about eighteen months and giant breeds about twenty-four. The puppy growth guide covers the timeline.
Sources
- Merck Veterinary Manual — Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals — RER = 70 × kg^0.75; puppies 3 × RER under four months and 2 × RER after; any formula is a starting point; ±30% between dogs of the same weight.
- AAFCO — Calories (Understanding Pet Food) — Where the kcal per cup comes from: the Calorie Content statement, given per kg as fed and per familiar unit such as a cup.
- AKC — Puppy Feeding Fundamentals — Meals a day by age (four, then three, then two), and watching the dog rather than the dish.
- VCA Animal Hospitals — Feeding Growing Puppies — Measured portions at regular times, 2 to 3 a day; the risks of free-choice feeding and maximal growth; treats under 10% of calories; regular weigh-ins and body condition checks.
- VCA Animal Hospitals — Nutritional Considerations for Large and Giant Breed Dogs — Large and giant puppies on a food made for their growth, tighter calcium control, no supplements unless a vet recommends them, and growth formula to about 18 months (large) or 24 (giant).
- WSAVA — Body Condition Score chart for dogs (PDF) — What an ideal score looks and feels like: ribs felt under a thin layer of fat, a waist visible from above.
- Hawthorne et al., Journal of Nutrition (2004) — That a puppy's energy need falls from about three times maintenance at weaning to about 1.2 times as it nears adulthood.
All opened and read on 2026-09-26.