How much should I feed my senior dog?
A senior dog needs fewer calories than an adult of the same weight. On the NRC 2006 energy recommendations that is 95 kcal per kg0.75 for a dog that has slowed down, and 105 kcal per kg0.75 for one that is still active. So a 20 kg senior dog needs roughly 898 kcal a day if it has slowed down, or 993 kcal if it is still active — a gap of about 95 kcal, which is a quarter of a cup of a 350 kcal/cup food.
| Body weight | kg0.75 | Has slowed down (95 kcal) | Still active (105 kcal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 kg | 5.623 | 534 kcal | 590 kcal |
| 20 kg | 9.457 | 898 kcal | 993 kcal |
| 30 kg | 12.819 | 1,218 kcal | 1,346 kcal |
Where these numbers come from, and how they differ from our main calculator
These figures use the NRC 2006 senior-dog energy recommendations, which are stated directly as a coefficient on weight to the power of 0.75 — not as a multiple of a resting-energy figure. That is a different framework from the method used elsewhere on this site, and we keep them separate deliberately rather than blending them into one number.
- Has slowed down → 95 kcal × kg0.75, for a dog whose activity has clearly reduced.
- Still active → 105 kcal × kg0.75, for a dog that still does the same walk and play pattern as at five years old.
For comparison, the main calculator on this site works from RER = 70 × kg0.75 and then applies a life-stage factor of 1.35 for senior dogs. That is close to the 95 coefficient — 70 × 1.35 = 94.5 — but it is not the same number, and the two methods are quoted in different places in the veterinary literature. Where this page quotes the 95/105 scale, it is quoting the NRC senior figures directly; where the senior dog calculator returns 1.35×, it is using the site's own two-step method. Both are defensible; they are not interchangeable, so we label which is which.
The calculation above is reproduced by a script on this site, so every figure can be checked: it prints the kg0.75 value alongside both coefficients. The same factor tables, with their sources, are published in the open reference dataset (CC BY 4.0). Our full method is described on how we check our numbers.
Which tier is your dog in?
The gap between the two numbers is about 100 kcal a day at 20 kg, so it is worth identifying the tier rather than splitting the difference. Three questions settle it — and all three are about change from how your dog used to be, not about age:
- The walk. Is it the same route and roughly the same duration as at five? Or shorter, or less frequent?
- Stairs, jumps, the car. Does your dog still do them without being helped or lifted, or does it now hesitate or wait to be carried?
- Evenings. Does it still start play, or bring you things? Or does it settle early and sleep more of the day?
Still on all three → use the 105 column. Clearly changed on two or more → use 95. If the answer is mixed, senior dog nutrition sets the same three checks out in a table with the by-weight comparison.
Work out your own senior dog's number
The table covers common weights. The calculator takes your dog's weight, applies the site's senior factor, and converts the result into cups and grams of your own food:
Open the senior dog calorie calculator →
How this compares with the adult amount
The commonly quoted reduction for older dogs is 15–25% fewer calories than the same dog needed as an adult, and both tiers on this page sit inside that band. One thing worth knowing before you apply a reduction: protein should not come down with the calories. Keeping protein at least the same in practice means a senior diet is more protein-dense per calorie than an adult maintenance food, so cutting calories by cutting protein is the mistake to avoid.
Feeding an older dog? Browse senior dog food on Amazon — senior diets keep protein levels up while trimming calories, which is the combination an older dog needs.
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Common follow-up questions
At what age does a dog count as a senior for feeding purposes? Most dogs move to senior figures at around 7 years. Large breeds may shift earlier and small breeds later, so age is a proxy for the change rather than the thing itself — which is why the three questions above matter more than the birthday.
What if my senior dog is also overweight? Feed for the ideal weight, not the current one, and let your vet set the pace. A dog 20% over its ideal weight needs roughly 13% fewer calories than one fed on its current weight — the weight-loss plan works through that arithmetic.
Does a senior dog need more protein than an adult? Not more in absolute grams, but at least as much — and because the calorie total is lower, the food has to be more protein-dense per calorie to deliver it.
Senior dog calorie calculator → · Senior nutrition guide → · Weight loss → · Open dataset →