Understanding Kibble Math: A Guide to Calculating Calories and Portion Sizes for Your Dog

There are plenty of online calculators to estimate your dog’s caloric needs, but how do you translate that into how much kibble to feed? If you feed by the cup, it 'can' work when your dog eats even amounts but when they need 1/4 or 1/3 cups it's a bit harder to be accurate.

If you use multiple dry foods (with different calorie counts) or a mix of canned and dry, your feeding amounts need to change accordingly. If you know your dog needs X calories per day and you want to feed a mix of some kibble and canned or commercial cooked food, or adjust for fresh toppers, this info will help!

For dogs prone to weight gain, measuring kibble by weight (grams) instead of volume (cups) makes a big difference in preventing overfeeding because it's much easier to ensure the amounts in grams are consistent vs eyeballing a cup.

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𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟭: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗞𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱?

 Scenario: Your kibble contains 𝟯,𝟴𝟱𝟬 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗸𝗴 (found on the bag), and your dog needs 𝟮𝟱𝟬 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

 • 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬𝗴 kibble = 𝟯,𝟴𝟱𝟬 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹

 • 𝗫 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 kibble = 𝟮𝟱𝟬 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹

Now, set up the equation:

  3,850 kcal = 250 kcal

  ----------- -----------

   1,000 g X g

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲

 1,000 × 250 = 250,000

 250,000 ÷ 3,850 = 64.9g

 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁: Your dog should eat 𝟲𝟱𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆.

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𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟮: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴?

 Scenario: You normally feed 𝟯𝟬𝟬𝗴 of food per day, and you want to know how many calories that is.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

 • 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬𝗴 = 𝟯,𝟴𝟱𝟬 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹

 • 𝟯𝟬𝟬𝗴 = 𝗫 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹

Now, set up the equation:

  3,850 kcal = X kcal

  ----------- -----------

   1,000 g 300 g

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲

 3,850 × 300 = 1,155,000

 1,155,000 ÷ 1,000 = 1,155 kcal

 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁: If you’ve been feeding 𝟯𝟬𝟬𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆, your dog has been consuming 𝟭,𝟭𝟱𝟱 𝗸𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆.

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 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲: Using this method, you can adjust portions accurately based on your dog’s needs—whether for weight loss, maintenance, or gain. I am not saying your dog has to eat exactly the same calories per day, I'm just giving you the tools so you can make more accurate adjustments when needed.