Raw Dog Food Calculator
How much raw food does your dog need per day? Enter your dog's weight and life stage to get the daily amount in grams and ounces using the standard percent-of-body-weight method, plus a weekly total and a BARF-style component breakdown.
Your dog
Typical for adult — typical: 2–3%
50 lb dog at 2.5% of body weight
Per day
567 g
≈ 20 oz
Per week
8.8 lb
≈ 4 kg (3,969 g)
Per day, split in 2 meals
283 g
≈ 10 oz each
BARF-style breakdown of the daily 567 g
| Component | Share | Grams / day | Oz / day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muscle meat | 70% | 397 g | 14 oz |
| Raw meaty bones | 10% | 57 g | 2 oz |
| Liver | 5% | 28 g | 1 oz |
| Other secreting organ | 5% | 28 g | 1 oz |
| Vegetables | 7% | 40 g | 1.4 oz |
| Seeds & fruit | 3% | 17 g | 0.6 oz |
The 70/10/5/5/7/3 split is a common raw-feeding guideline (the "BARF model"), not a veterinary prescription. A complete raw diet must be balanced over time — ask your vet or a veterinary nutritionist to review your recipe.
The percent-of-body-weight method
Raw feeders size portions as a percentage of the dog's body weight per day:
- Weight loss: 1.5–2%
- Typical adult: 2–3% (2.5% is the usual starting point)
- Active or working dogs: 3–4%
- Puppies: 5–10% depending on age — about 8% at 2–4 months, 6% at 4–6 months, 4% at 6–12 months
Worked example: a 50 lb adult dog at 2.5% needs 50 × 0.025 = 1.25 lb of raw food per day. In metric, 50 lb ≈ 22.7 kg, and 2.5% of that is ≈ 570 g per day — about 285 g per meal if you feed twice daily, and roughly 8.75 lb (4 kg) per week.
Adjust by body condition, not the calendar
The percentage is a starting point; your dog's body decides the final amount. Do a quick ribs check weekly: you should feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat, without seeing them, and see a tucked waist from above. Weigh your dog every two weeks after any change. Gaining unwanted weight? Drop the daily percentage by about half a point. Ribs getting prominent? Add half a point. Metabolism, breed, neuter status and weather all shift real needs, which is why two dogs of the same weight can need noticeably different portions.
Transitioning to raw food
Switch gradually over 7–10 days: start with about 25% raw mixed into the current food, and increase the raw share every few days as long as stools stay normal. Begin with a single bland protein (chicken or turkey is common), add new proteins and organs one at a time, and hold off on rich extras until the base diet is settled. If digestive upset appears, step back to the previous ratio for a few days. For tracking your dog's life stage in human terms, try the dog age calculator.