Calculations
Calculating to Find Optimal Nutrition for Your Dogs!
Feeding your dog the perfect amount that is ideal for the dog in front of you will make your life easier, annnnd your dog’s life a whole lot healthier! Obesity (and overweight tendencies) fuel many illnesses that are leading causes of death in dogs. Dog that are obese live up to 2.5 years LESS than a healthy weighted dog. Obesity is the number 1 most preventable disease in dogs. The extra weight puts constant strain on joints, hearts, and organs every day. Every excess pound increases risk of arthritis, hip dysplasia, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease – to name a few! It’s more painful, they can’t run and play as much, they overheat faster and get tired easier.
You love your dog, I know you do! That’s why you’re here! Obesity is the silent killer of your dog’s mobility, joy, and lifespan – but the good news is, YOU can fix that! Keep your best friend fit, active, and enjoy his company for those extra years! Heaven know’s they never live long enough, so why steal those extra years you could be spending with your dog!
Dog food bags have to give ranges due to different dog’s needs, but your dog is just one dog! Your bag can be perfectly tailored to your dog’s caloric needs and its easy to do! I’m going to show you how to calculate that! (I know, but it’s EASY math! annnd I’ll walk you through these 3 easy steps!)
This way, your dogs daily calorie needs are at your fingertips so that you can feed him/her optimally, removing the dangers of overfeeding and obesity and allowing your best friend to enjoy many – healthy – years to come, joyfully at your side!
First step is finding Metabolic Weight (MW). You just want to find the dog’s weight (KG or LB) and take it to the power of 0.75.
KG is ideal, but if you don’t want to convert it (google helps with conversions, also as simple as taking your dogs lbs/2.2) but LB is possible to also do. Ive included the formulas for each on the photos above!
Put into google your dog’s weight to the power (^) of 0.75
This gives you your dog’s MW (Metabolic weight).
Then simply multiply that number by 70, and you’ll get Kcals needed for Resting Energy Requirement.
I’ve included some examples at the bottom for both KG and LB examples.
Make sure you times the lb example by 0.54 after taking it to the power of .75 to help convert to the correct MW!!
0.54 is the CONSERVATIVE approach for using the conversion. the original conversion is 0.58 however this is alot higher than the conservative annnnd yeilds alot higher on the resulting numbers. I suggest using 0.54 to ensure you are not overfeeding your dog!
REMEMBER!!! a lean dog is a healthy dog!
This step is the easiest! You simply take the number you JUST found, Your dog’s Metabolic Weight and you times it by a life stage factor that i have included above.
For weight loss, dogs that are inactive, or that are highly prone to obesity, OR are already overweight/obese, use 1.0 or 1.2.
For dogs that are low energy, house pets that are spayed or neutered, use 1.2-1.4 (1.6 is pushing it)
For dogs that are active and breeding dogs, use 1.6-1.8
For growing puppies, use 2.0 if its over 4 mos of age. 3.0 if its under 4 mos of age
For Working and high energy/intense dogs, use 2-11. Light working dogs only need 1.6-2. Moderately working dogs need 2-5. and Intense working dogs like police dogs and protection work dogs, could use upwards of 5-11 for the LSF.
Use the number you think closely fits your dog and begin there. IF weight loss or weight gain occurs (and you didnt want it) adjust the number to fit the current dogs needs. Adjustments should be evaluated weekly or bi weekly to ensure proper needs are met
Incase you want to do a home prepared diet!
The first step in a balanced home prepared diet it learning what your particular dog needs to thrive and function optimally. In order to do this, you need to know what your dog’s Metabolic Weight (MW) is.
Below is a step by step in configuring the MW and your start to learning your dog’s needs for nutrient requirements. These values are needed for feeding your dog optimally and other factors that effect their nutrition.
While it’s important to first establish some “basics,” I now want to dive a little deeper into the topic of nutrition! Now that we’ve found a food for you dog, we need to next find the values which will help us feed our best friends optimally!
There is a little math, but i promise you it will take no mathematician to solve it! Just copy and paste into google, what I tell you to do and it’ll go smoothly!! Easy, Peasey, Lemon Squeezy!
First you start by converting your dog’s weight into kilograms.
(In google put “what is [insert your dogs weight in lbs] X lbs in KG) Now jot this number down.
Next, take that number and apply it to the equation below. This will convert it into your dog’s Metabolic weight!
listen carefully, SIMPLY INPUT THIS EQUATION into google, exactly as you see it! (but with your dog’s weight in KG, the number you jotted down)
.
The equation is: Wt KG^.75
That means (Weight in KG) ^ (to the power of .75)
Example:
26lb dog, quick google search tells you 25lbs = 11.34g. Taking this number, we add it to the equation noted above, in place of the Wt KG portion of the equation, like so:
11.34^.75 (NO SPACES!!!)
11.34 [SHIFT ]+[#6 key]+.75 (keyboard Shortcut!)
THE ANSWER FOR MY 26 LB DOG IS 6.179.
That means my 26lb dog’s MW is 6.179. Now compare it to make sure your dog’s MW is correct.
THIS NUMBER IS OF GREATEST IMPORTANCE. You will use this number for ALL HOME PREPARED diets and for calculating caloric needs for your dog! Memorize it, it’ll make life easier 
CONGRATS YOU FOUND YOUR DOG’S METABOLIC WEIGHT!!!
Now, onto the next step:
Caloric needs
*NOTE*
It is always nice to know how to do it yourself. however, now that you have an idea of how to do it, if you wish to have an easier option, or have multiple dogs that you need to do and you dont like math, here is a link to one that will do it for you AND will give you the nutrient requirements based on your animal’s size and MW. :D.
RAW FED AND NERDY has kindly made a page and it does all the work for you!
SKIP THE WORK AND HAVE IT ALL DONE FOR YOU BY CLICKING HERE: CLICK HERE
RAW FED AND NERDY has graciously made it easy and it does all the work for you!
SKIP THE STEPS AND GET YOUR DOGS DAILY NEEDS BY CLICKING HERE: CLICK HERE
Quick Summary for Puppies:
– Hire a professional to create a growth formula for your puppy
– Feed an AAFCO formulated diet specifically “FOR GROWING PUPPIES” or “ALL LIFE STAGES” (dry, wet, etc) if you don’t wish to do raw/cooked
– Keep puppies at a healthy LEAN weight and feed for LEAN/MODERATE growth to limit structural defects in growth patterns for puppies
– DO NOT attempt to formulate a raw/cooked/DIY diet for your puppy, it is INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS as their nutritional needs are critical during growth
– Especially while growing, spending the extra money on a high quality dog food (or paying a professional for a balanced DIY) is the best investment you will make for your puppy. You can always switch to a “cheaper” diet once all the critical growth stages have been met and nutrients have fulfilled the puppy’s growth needs
– Feed puppies 3 times a day for the first min 6 months, then you can reduce to 2 times a day. Once a day is not recommended.
Quick Summary for Adults:
– Hire a professional for care free worries on a formulated diet
– Educated and learn for yourself on how to formulate diets for adult dogs
– Feed an AAFCO formulated diet (dry, wet, etc) if you do not wish to do raw/cooked or DIY
– Keep adults at a healthy adult weight and feed for LEAN body type
– Feed adults 2x a day as once a day can be hard on their GI tract
– Keep your own dog in mind and feed the dog in front of you
– Every dog is different. Dont rely on what works for others, treak feeding protocols and recipes until they meet YOUR dog’s specific needs