How much should I feed my puppy?
A puppy under 4 months needs about 3× its resting energy requirement; from 4 to 12 months that falls to about 2×. So a 5 kg puppy under 4 months needs roughly 702 kcal a day — RER = 70 × 5 ^ 0.75 ≈ 234 kcal, multiplied by 3.0 — which is about 2 cups of a 350 kcal/cup food, split across 3–4 meals. At 4–12 months the same puppy drops to about 468 kcal a day.
| Age | Factor | 5 kg puppy | Meals per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 4 months | × 3.0 | 702 kcal · 2.0 cups | 3–4 |
| 4–12 months | × 2.0 | 468 kcal · 1.3 cups | 3 |
Cup figures assume a 350 kcal/cup food. Always use the calorie figure printed on your own bag — the calculator below converts calories into grams or cups for your specific food.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure above is produced by the same calculation engine that runs the calculator on this site, in two steps:
- Resting energy requirement:
RER = 70 × kg ^ 0.75— the NRC energy equation. - Life-stage factor: × 3.0 under 4 months, × 2.0 from 4 to 12 months (NRC 2006 growth multipliers; life stage takes precedence over activity level).
The same factor tables, with their sources, are published in the open reference dataset (CC BY 4.0) — so any number on this page can be re-computed independently. Our full method is described on how we check our numbers.
Work out your own puppy's number
The table covers one weight; the calculator takes any weight, plus your food's calorie content, and gives grams or cups per meal:
Open the dog calorie calculator →
How often, not just how much
Puppies have small stomachs and burn energy quickly, which is why the daily figure is split:
- Under 4 months: 3–4 meals a day
- 4–12 months: 3 meals a day, dropping to 2 as growth slows
An age-by-age schedule is on the puppy feeding schedule page.
Common follow-up questions
Why does a puppy need more calories than an adult dog? Growth. A puppy under 4 months eats about 3× its resting energy, against about 1.6× for a neutered adult dog of typical activity. The reasoning is on why puppies need three times the resting energy.
Should I feed a large-breed puppy differently? Large and giant breeds need controlled, steady growth rather than maximum growth. Their feed amounts should be checked against a growth chart, not just against appetite — see the puppy weight gain chart.
My puppy is a year old — is it still a puppy figure? No. At 12 months most dogs move to adult multipliers; large breeds keep growing longer but are fed as adults.
Puppy feeding schedule → · Dog calorie calculator → · Open dataset →