Wondering how much raw dog food you should feed your dog?
This free raw dog food calculator gives you a full ratio breakdown – muscle meat, oily fish, raw meaty bone, organs, and plant matter – based on your dog’s breed, size, weight, activity level, and diet type.
Small dogs need more food relative to their body weight than large dogs, so the daily amount scales with your dog’s size instead of using one flat percentage.
It works for adult dogs on BARF or PMR, and for puppies from 8 weeks to 12 months, with age- and size-specific amounts built in.
How The Raw Dog Food Amounts Are Calculated
Daily amount
The daily amount is a percentage of your dog’s body weight, and that percentage depends on size. A small dog burns through energy faster relative to its weight, so it needs a bigger share of its body weight in food than a large dog does.
The calculator starts from these typical ranges for adult dogs and places your dog within the range based on activity level:
| Dog’s weight | Daily amount (% of body weight) |
|---|---|
| 11 lbs | 3 – 4% |
| 33 lbs | 2.5 – 3.5% |
| 44 lbs | 2.5 – 3% |
| 66 lbs | 2 – 2.5% |
| 88 lbs | 1.9 – 2.2% |
Inactive dogs land at the lower end, very active dogs at the upper end, and working dogs slightly above it.
Always enter your dog’s ideal weight, not the current weight if they’re carrying extra pounds. Treat the result as a starting point and adjust until your dog holds that ideal weight.
Breed and size
Choose your dog’s breed, and the calculator fills in the size and shows the typical adult weight for that breed.
If the weight you enter falls outside that range, you’ll see a short note asking you to double-check it. The amount itself is always based on the weight you enter.
For mixed breeds, choose “Mixed breed / other” and pick the size yourself.
The results table also shows weekly amounts. For small dogs, daily organ portions are often too tiny to measure, so weekly totals are easier to work with when you meal prep.
BARF ratios
A standard BARF diet is built around 70 percent muscle meat (which includes oily fish), 10 percent raw meaty bone, 10 percent organs (split evenly between liver and other secreting organs), and 10 percent plant matter. Some feeders prefer a higher plant matter ratio of 20 percent, which shifts the muscle meat portion down to 60 percent while everything else stays the same. This calculator lets you toggle between the two.
PMR ratios
Prey Model Raw skips plant matter entirely and shifts that percentage into muscle meat instead, landing at roughly 80 percent muscle meat, 10 percent bone, and 10 percent organs. There is no plant matter toggle in PMR mode because the model does not include it.
Oily fish
Regardless of diet type, oily fish is calculated as a portion of the muscle meat allowance rather than an addition on top of it. This keeps the Omega-3 and Vitamin-D contribution in proportion to the rest of the diet instead of overloading it.
Fat percentage
Muscle meat itself should run 15 to 25 percent fat: 15 percent for low-activity or weight-prone dogs and for puppies, 20 percent for normally active adult dogs, and 25 percent for very active or working dogs.
The calculator shows the right fat percentage next to the muscle meat. If your meat is leaner than that, the link below the results takes you to the Raw Feeding Fat Calculator, which shows you how much fat to add.
Puppy ratios
Puppies are not just small adults nutritionally, so their ratios shift as they grow. Younger puppies need a higher bone percentage to support skeletal development, along with a slightly higher organ percentage, and both taper down as the puppy approaches adult size.
The daily amount for puppies is based on their current weight, age, and expected adult size. It starts at around 6 to 8 percent of body weight at 8 weeks and drops to 2 to 4 percent by 12 months. Small breeds stay at the higher end longer, while large and giant breeds taper down further. Muscle meat for puppies stays at 15 percent fat.
These life-stage adjustments align with the National Research Council’s nutrient recommendations for growing dogs, which call for higher levels of key nutrients like calcium and phosphorus during the rapid growth period.
Purine-conscious plan
Most Dalmatians carry a gene that makes it harder for them to break down uric acid, which raises the risk of urate bladder stones.
Some English Bulldogs, Miniature Schnauzers, Yorkshire Terriers, and Shih Tzus carry the same gene. For these breeds, the calculator offers a purine-conscious plan.
It’s switched on automatically for Dalmatians and available as an option for the other four.
The plan uses fattier muscle meat, low-purine fish, a small portion of full-fat dairy, and 20 or 30 percent plant matter, and it comes with feeding tips below the results.
It’s meant as prevention for healthy dogs. If your vet has found urate crystals or stones, work with your vet or a raw feeding professional on a tailored diet.
FAQs
How much raw food should I feed my dog per day?
It depends on your dog’s size and activity level. Small adult dogs usually eat 3 to 4 percent of their body weight per day, while large dogs eat closer to 2 percent. Puppies eat a much higher percentage, starting around 6 to 8 percent at 8 weeks old and gradually decreasing as they approach adult size. Enter your dog’s breed, weight, and activity level (or age, for puppies) into the calculator above to get an exact daily amount.
What is the difference between BARF and PMR?
BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) includes a small percentage of plant matter alongside muscle meat, bone, and organs. PMR (Prey Model Raw) skips plant matter entirely and shifts that percentage into muscle meat instead. Both are valid raw feeding approaches – the calculator supports either one.
Do I need to adjust the ratio for a spayed or neutered dog?
Spaying or neutering can lower a dog’s metabolic rate, which sometimes means a slightly lower feeding percentage is appropriate to prevent weight gain. If your dog tends to gain weight easily, start at the lower end of the activity range (Inactive or Moderately Active) and adjust from there based on body condition.
How much fat should be in my dog’s raw diet?
Muscle meat should average 15 to 25 percent fat – 15 percent for low-activity or weight-prone dogs and puppies, 20 percent for normally active dogs, and 25 percent for very active or working dogs. The calculator shows the right fat percentage next to the muscle meat, and the Raw Feeding Fat Calculator helps you adjust leaner meat.
When can I start feeding my puppy raw dog food?
Puppies can start on a raw diet as early as 8 weeks old. Their ratios differ from an adult dog’s ratios, with a higher bone and organ percentage to support rapid growth, and these shift again around 9 months and again at 11 months as they approach adult size.
How many meals per day should I feed?
Young puppies need more frequent, smaller meals: typically 4 meals a day up to 16 weeks, 3 meals up to 6 months, then 2 meals a day from there. Adult dogs generally do well on 1 to 2 meals per day.
Is oily fish necessary in a raw diet?
Oily fish is an important source of Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin-D in a raw diet and is factored into this calculator as part of the muscle meat allowance. It is not a separate addition on top of the diet – it is calculated as a percentage of the muscle meat portion itself.
Can I use this calculator for a sick dog?
This calculator is built around standard adult and growing-puppy ratios. The one exception is the purine-conscious plan, which is designed as prevention for healthy dogs of breeds prone to urate stones. Dogs with health conditions or on a therapeutic diet need different ratios and are best guided by a vet or raw feeding professional.