How To Measure Percentages In Raw Feeding

Raw feeding percentages come down to three numbers: roughly 70-80% muscle meat, 10% raw meaty bone, and 10-20% organs and plant matter, depending on whether you’re doing BARF or PMR.

The exact split shifts based on your dog’s weight, activity level, and age – my free raw dog food calculator works it all out for you instantly.

Here’s how to measure those percentages by hand, whether you’re double-checking the calculator’s math or prefer figuring it out yourself.

OK, let’s jump right in.

There are two types of percentages in raw feeding.

Both matter because when you make your own DIY raw dog food, that’s what you use to figure out:

• How much food your pup needs on a daily basis, and
• How much of which cuts of meat to feed your dog

Unlike with pre-made raw dog food that comes with feeding guidelines, homemade raw dog food doesn’t have those.

Raw-Fed Adult Dogs Eat 2-4% Of Their Ideal/Target Body Weight In Food Per Day

This is how you get started.

Write down your adult dog’s ideal body weight. For example, 50 lbs.

Of those 50 lbs, your dog will eat 2-4% in raw meat per day.

The average amount dogs eat is 2.5%.

2.5% of 50 lbs is 1.25 lbs, or 20 oz.

Here’s how to do that math: Divide your dog’s target body weight (example:50lb) by 100, then multiply it with 2.5.

50/100 = 0.5 x 2.5 = 1.25lb = 20oz

However, this can vary from dog to dog.

My favorite examples are those of a couch potato Bulldog, an active Boxer, and a working or pregnant German Shepherd:

• The couch potato Bulldog will only need around 2% of food per day,
• While the more active Boxer needs 2.5-3%,
• And the working German Shepherd will need closer to 4%, maybe even 4.5% of food per day.

It all depends on your dog’s activity level and metabolism.

Note that these amounts are for ADULT dogs only.

Puppies require different amounts of raw dog food per day.

80/10/10 Raw Dog Food aka 80/10/5/5

Alright, moving on!

Of the average 2.5% of daily raw dog food, your dog will need to eat:

• Muscle meat, 80%
• Raw meaty bones, 10%
• Secreting organs, 10% (half liver, the other half secreting organs like pancreas, kidneys, spleen, etc.)

Note: Heart and lung do not count as a secreting organ in raw feeding. Instead, they count as muscle meat.

Interestingly, research on wild wolf diet found that wolves do eat some plant material – mainly berries and grasses – in both summer and winter, and not just as stomach contents from prey.

That’s part of why I lean toward BARF’s inclusion of a small plant matter percentage rather than PMR’s exclusion of it: it more closely reflects what wild wolves have actually been documented eating, rather than a strict meat-only model.

So if you decide to feed plant matter (veggies & fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs), feed 70% muscle meat instead of 80% and add 10% plant matter.

That’s also known as 70/10/10/5/5.

Let’s stay with the 50 lb Boxer example who eats 2.5% of his weight per day.

The Boxer will need to eat:

• 70% of the 1.25 lbs/20 oz in muscle meat. That’s 14 oz.
• 10% of the 1.25 lbs/20 oz in raw meaty bones. That’s 2 oz.
• 5% of the 1.25 lbs/20 oz in liver. That’s 1 oz.
• 5% of the 1.25 lbs/20 oz in other secreting organs (for example pancreas). That’s 1 oz.
• 10% of the 1.25 lbs/20 oz in plant matter. That’s 2 oz.

The Different Food Categories: Muscle Meat, Raw Meaty Bone, Secreting Organs, Plant Matter

Now you just need to understand which types of food fall into the different categories.

I’ll give you a few short examples along with a sample raw dog food recipe:

• Muscle meat examples: Duck heart, beef green tripe, beef lung, chicken breast, ground turkey
• Secreting organs examples (besides liver): Beef pancreas, rabbit kidneys, goat spleen
• Raw meaty bone examples: Chicken leg quarter, duck foot, turkey neck
• Plant matter examples: Broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, apples, chia seeds

70-80/10/10 Raw Dog Food Recipe

Here’s a sample raw dog food recipe for a 50 lb dog who eats 2.5% of raw dog food per day.

Just to recap, 2.5% of 50 lbs is 1.25 lbs, or 20 oz.

If you don’t want to add plant matter, feed 80% muscle meat (16 oz).

Muscle meat, 14oz:

• 4 oz chicken breast
• 2 oz canned sardines
• 2 oz duck heart
• 4 oz beef green tripe
• 2 oz duck meat from duck neck (see below in raw meaty bone category)

Raw meaty bones, 2oz:

• One 4 oz duck neck (consists of 50% bone and 50% muscle meat, so 2 oz bone and 2 oz muscle meat)

Secreting organs, 2oz:

• 1 oz beef liver
• 1 oz rabbit kidneys

Plant matter, 2oz:

• 1 oz steamed and puréed shiitake mushrooms
• 1 oz puréed apple

Minerals: Kelp for iodine (follow the feeding guidelines on your packaging as the quality of the kelp depends on where it’s harvested)

From my kitchen to yours – real raw meals that work

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Real Life Feeding Example: What Else Do I Need If I Have 18Lbs of Muscle Meat?

This is a question one of my newsletter readers asked me.

In her case, she got her hands on 18lbs of goat meat (muscle meat) and wanted to know what else she could add (including veggies) to meal prep raw dog food.

Here’s what I replied:

If you have 18lbs of goat muscle meat (70%), you’ll first need to figure out how much 100% is based off the 18lb information:

18lb = 70%
 X    = 100%

18 x 100 = 1800/70 = 25.7

Now, here’s what you’ll have to add to reach the 25.7lb (100%) of total raw dog food: 

• 2.57lb of raw (meaty) bone (10%)
• 2.57lb of veggies (10%)
• 1.3lb of liver (5%)
• 1.3lb of other secreting organs (5%)

Regarding the raw meaty bone (RMB), I would add a RMB with a high bone percentage.

RMBs with the highest bone percentages (75%) are typically heads.

For example, duck heads, chicken heads or rabbit heads.

How To Measure Percentages In Raw Feeding: Bottom Line

There’s a little learning curve with measuring percentages in raw feeding, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really not that hard.

Most importantly, you need to figure out how much raw dog food your pup needs per day.

That amount will be somewhere between 2-4% for adult dogs and depends on their activity level and metabolism.

But on average, your adult dog will eat 2.5% of their target body weight in raw dog food per day.

Of those 2.5%, you need to feed your 80/10/10 or 70/10/10/10 smorgasbord of different cuts of meat:

• 70-80% muscle meat
• 10% raw meaty bones
• 5% liver
• 5% other secreting organ, and
• 10% plant matter.

In a nutshell, that’s it!

For more resources, visit my full homemade raw dog food library.

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Barbara Rivers

Barbara Rivers is the founder of K9sOverCoffee and a raw feeding educator with over a decade of hands-on experience.

She has fed raw in the US and Europe since 2015, after her Boxer mix Missy’s cancer diagnosis led her to move away from processed kibble and commit to species-appropriate nutrition.

As a former professional dog walker, she developed deep insight into canine behavior, conditioning, and the essential link between proper exercise and long-term health.

Barbara completed online training with veterinarian Dr. Marion Smart and Labrador breeder Dana Scott and works for one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, BARFER’S.

In 2026–2027, she is completing a year-long raw nutrition certification for dogs and cats at THP School, founded by raw feeding pioneer Swanie Simon.

Through her blog and weekly newsletter, she provides clear, experience-based guidance to help dog owners feed raw safely and confidently.