Dog Nutrition Calculator: Calories, Nutrients & Sources

A dog’s daily energy needs are individualized and change throughout their life, and are influenced by many elements. Beyond just calorie requirements, dogs have specific nutrient requirements, but lucky for pet owners most foods in the US are designed to meet those standards. However, available nutrition can vary greatly between food types. Giving your dog the best nutrition possible gives them the best health possible. 

Dog calorie needs

As a general rule of thumb, the calories a household pet dog needs to maintain its current weight (accounting for typical daily activity) is around 95 x (kg Body Weight)^0.75. However, this is just an estimate, there are many recognized factors that influence the calorie needs of your pup including:

• Age
• Breed
• Size
• Activity Level
• Spay/Neuter Status
• Sex
• Pregnancy/Lactation 
• Medical condition

The variability among dog’s energy requirements has been recognized in the National Research Council's (NRC) guidelines. For example a younger, more active dog requires more calories per day than it’s older counterpart. Dogs that are neutered require less calories than an intact dog. 

In short, a dog’s daily calorie needs are unique and dynamic.

The calories estimates here are based mainly on size, but remember that’s not the only factor that goes into it.

Calorie needs for weight loss

Not every dog is at their ideal weight. In fact, a survey by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) in 2018 revealed that in the US about 37% of dogs were overweight and 19% were obese. 

An overweight or obese dog is going to need to consume less calories than their maintenance energy requirement, the current recommendation is approximately 70 x (Ideal Body Weight in kg)^0.75. 

A dog’s ideal body weight can be determined by their body condition score (BCS), which can help identify how overweight your dog is, and thus the percentage of weight they need to lose to be considered ideal. On a 9-point scale a BSC of 4-5 is considered ideal, and every point above 5 is equivalent to about an additional 10% overweight. 

What about serving size?

Nom Nom diets are specifically portioned to meet your dog's calorie needs, determined from several factors. 

If your dog’s food isn’t pre-portioned, the serving size is going to vary by food. The package should list the calories per serving (kcal/cup or kcal/can). With a little math you can figure out the serving size — Daily Calorie Needs ➗  Calories per serving = Serving size (in cups or can).

Just remember that’s the serving size your dog needs for the whole day, so if they eat multiple meals you’ll have to divide it!

Calories aren’t all we care about

Beyond calories, dogs have specific macronutrient (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) and micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) needs. The meat source will provide the bulk of the protein and fat, while plant-based ingredients (vegetables and grains) will supply fiber and carbohydrates. Different vitamins and minerals will be supplied from all ingredients. The right balance of nutrients is essential for health maintenance and normal body functions.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has established nutrient recommendations for dog food, which in the US most pet food companies adhere to. These are the recommended minimum amounts (and in some cases the maximum too). While more isn’t always better, higher levels of certain nutrients like protein may be beneficial, especially for weight loss. 

Here at Nom Nom our dog food is formulated to meet AAFCO’s nutrient profiles for all life stages, meaning from puppy to senior your dog is going to be enjoying a well-balanced meal. Our diets are high in protein, and we also include a nutrient mix to ensure that your dog gets all the vitamins and minerals they need at every meal. 

Comparing dog foods

To fairly compare nutrient information from different dog foods labels the moisture content and energy density must be considered. Comparing on a dry-matter basis (removing the moisture) or ideally, a caloric basis (weight of nutrient per 1000 calories), allows for a fairer comparison of diets. 

Use our calculator to compare the macronutrient composition of Nom Nom meals to other common pet food brands — keep in mind though that these aren’t the actual nutrient levels in the food, just the guaranteed minimums or maximums from the label — look here for actual nutrient levels in our diets, other companies should be able to provide you with similar information.

Food type matters too

Most pet food adheres to AAFCO standards, and can thus qualify as “complete and balanced”. But available nutrition extends beyond the label.

A food with higher digestibility, means that more of the nutrients are able to be absorbed and utilized. Differences in digestibility can occur for several reasons including fiber content and level of processing. The Nom Nom R&D team actually conducted a study comparing our recipes to a kibble with a similar nutrient profile — and guess what — fresh diets were more digestible on all fronts. 

This means for the same amount of food, more nutrients are available to support your pup’s growth and maintenance. 

Heavily processed diets, can also end up being too calorie dense (not helping the canine obesity problem) and exposed to contaminants. Likewise they tend to contain more additives and fillers, which could cause skin irritation.

Let's not forget ingredient quality 

Real ingredients that you recognize have real benefits too. 

Dogs benefit from including both meat and plant-based foods in their diet. Diets that include fresh vegetables on top of providing many essential nutrients dogs require, are also chock full of other health promoting components like fiber and phytonutrients.

And while we know dogs certainly benefit from meat in their diet too, many pet foods use meat by-products and lower-quality meats which can have toxins and variable nutrient profiles.

The Bottom Line

Understanding and feeding your dog the appropriate number of calories and nutrients is important for their health and weight, but what you choose to feed them goes beyond just meeting their daily needs. Your food choices can have huge impacts on your dog’s health.