How much should I feed my dog? A weight chart by size
By Josh · Reviewed and updated: 2026-09-16
Feeding charts on the bag are written for large groups of dogs at once, and they are usually rounded upward. The table below is calculated from your dog's metabolic body weight instead, so it gives a tighter starting point — and every number in it is shown with its working, so you can check it yourself.
If you already know your dog's weight and your food's calorie content, the calculator on the home page will do this for your exact numbers in a few seconds. This page is for the case where you want a chart to compare against, or you want to see how the numbers are produced.
Breed size bands
“Breed size” matters less than body weight, but size bands are how people usually describe their dog, so here is the mapping used on this page.
| Size band | Typical adult weight | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Toy | under 12 lb | Chihuahua, Pomeranian, Yorkshire Terrier |
| Small | 12–25 lb | Beagle, Shih Tzu, French Bulldog |
| Medium | 25–50 lb | Border Collie, Cocker Spaniel, Australian Shepherd |
| Large | 50–90 lb | Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd |
| Giant | over 90 lb | Great Dane, Newfoundland, Saint Bernard |
Smaller dogs need more calories per pound than large dogs. This is not intuition, it is Kleiber's Law: metabolic rate scales with body mass to roughly the 0.75 power, not linearly. A 120 lb dog does not need 24 times the calories of a 5 lb dog — it needs about 11 times. Any chart that scales calories in a straight line will overfeed large breeds and underfeed toy breeds.
Adult dog feeding chart (5 lb to 120 lb)
Calculated for a neutered adult dog of typical activity — roughly an hour of walking a day — eating a dry food of 350 kcal per cup, which is the standard figure for adult maintenance kibble. Portions assume two meals a day.
| Weight | Weight | Calories / day | Cups / day | Grams / day | Per meal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 lb | 2.3 kg | 207 | 0.59 | 65 | 0.30 |
| 10 lb | 4.5 kg | 348 | 0.99 | 109 | 0.50 |
| 15 lb | 6.8 kg | 472 | 1.35 | 148 | 0.67 |
| 20 lb | 9.1 kg | 585 | 1.67 | 184 | 0.84 |
| 25 lb | 11.3 kg | 692 | 1.98 | 218 | 0.99 |
| 30 lb | 13.6 kg | 794 | 2.27 | 249 | 1.13 |
| 40 lb | 18.1 kg | 985 | 2.81 | 309 | 1.41 |
| 50 lb | 22.7 kg | 1,164 | 3.33 | 366 | 1.66 |
| 60 lb | 27.2 kg | 1,335 | 3.81 | 419 | 1.91 |
| 70 lb | 31.8 kg | 1,498 | 4.28 | 471 | 2.14 |
| 80 lb | 36.3 kg | 1,656 | 4.73 | 520 | 2.37 |
| 100 lb | 45.4 kg | 1,958 | 5.59 | 615 | 2.80 |
| 120 lb | 54.4 kg | 2,244 | 6.41 | 705 | 3.21 |
Grams are estimated at 110 g per cup. If your bag states a grams-per-cup figure, use that instead — kibble density varies with pellet size.
The most important adjustment: your food's calorie density
This is where most feeding charts quietly go wrong. Two bags of adult kibble can differ by 50% in calorie content, and “cups per day” only makes sense alongside the kcal/cup figure of the food you actually bought.
Take the same 30 lb dog from the chart, which needs about 794 kcal/day:
| Your food | kcal per cup | Cups per day | Grams per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight-management kibble | 280 | 2.83 | 312 |
| Typical adult kibble | 350 | 2.27 | 249 |
| Grain-free formula | 370 | 2.14 | 236 |
| High-performance kibble | 450 | 1.76 | 194 |
Same dog, same calories, a difference of over a cup of food per day. None of the four is wrong — but if you read a chart built for 350 kcal/cup and then scoop a 450 kcal/cup food at that rate, you are overfeeding by roughly 29%. Over months, that is how a dog becomes overweight.
So the practical rule is: find the kcal/cup figure on your bag first, then work out the portion. Most US bags print it under “Calorie Content” as two numbers, for example 3,700 kcal/kg, 370 kcal/cup. See how to read the calorie panel if you cannot find it.
If your dog is not a neutered adult of typical activity
Spay and neuter status moves calorie needs by roughly 10 to 20%, and life stage moves them much more than that. Here is the same 30 lb dog under six different profiles, on 350 kcal/cup food:
| Profile | Factor | Calories / day | Cups / day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puppy, under 4 months | 3.0 | 1,488 | 4.25 |
| Puppy, 4–12 months | 2.0 | 992 | 2.83 |
| Adult, neutered, active | 2.0 | 992 | 2.83 |
| Adult, neutered, typical | 1.6 | 794 | 2.27 |
| Adult, neutered, low activity | 1.4 | 694 | 1.98 |
| Senior, 7 years and over | 1.4 | 694 | 1.98 |
A 30 lb puppy under four months needs nearly twice the calories of an adult of the same weight. This is the single biggest error a weight-only chart makes: feeding a puppy the adult amount for its weight leaves it short by around 47%.
Do treats count?
Yes, and they add up faster than most owners expect. Treats, dental chews, training rewards, table scraps and food-stuffed toys all come out of the same daily calorie budget.
A common starting point is to keep treats at 10% or less of daily calories. For the 30 lb dog above, that is about 79 kcal — roughly two or three medium biscuits. A single large chew can be 150 kcal or more, which is nearly 20% of the whole day on its own. On a weight-loss plan, uncounted treats are one of the most common reasons progress stalls.
How to tell whether the amount is right
Any calculated amount is a starting estimate, not a prescription. Published reference data shows individual dogs of the same weight varying widely in energy requirement, so the only reliable check is your dog's own body condition.
Use the 9-point body condition score. Ideal is 4 or 5 out of 9:
- Ribs: easy to feel under a thin layer of fat, but not visible
- Waist: a visible narrowing behind the ribcage when viewed from above
- Tuck: the belly rises from the ribcage to the hind legs when viewed from the side
Check every two to four weeks. If the ribs are getting hard to find, reduce the daily amount by about 10% and reassess. If they are becoming too prominent, increase by 10%. Small adjustments backed by repeated observations work far better than large jumps — and if your dog is losing weight faster than 1 to 2% of body weight per week, slow down and speak to your vet.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1 cup of dog food a day enough?
For most adult dogs, no. One cup of standard kibble is roughly 350 kcal. That covers the daily needs of a dog around 10 lb, but a 30 lb neutered adult needs about 794 kcal, which is closer to 2.3 cups. The right answer depends on body weight, life stage, activity and the food's calorie density — not on a fixed cup count.
How many cups are in a pound of dog food?
There is no fixed conversion, because a cup measures volume and kibble density varies by brand and pellet size. As a working estimate, most adult kibble is around 4 ounces per cup, so a pound is roughly 4 cups. At 110 g per cup, a 5 lb bag holds about 20 cups. For accuracy, weigh the food instead of scooping it.
Should I feed once or twice a day?
Twice daily suits most adult dogs: it spaces meals 8 to 12 hours apart, keeps energy levels steadier and lowers the risk of bloat in large breeds. Puppies need three to four smaller meals a day. If you feed once and your dog gulps its food, splitting the same daily amount into two meals is usually the easiest improvement you can make.
Why does my dog still seem hungry?
Appetite is not a reliable measure of calorie need. If your dog is at an ideal body condition score and still begs, the fix is usually volume rather than calories: add non-starchy vegetables, split the daily portion into more meals, or use part of the ration as training rewards. If your dog is losing weight while eating the calculated amount, increase by about 10% and reassess in two weeks.