Raw dog food calculators can come in handy if you:
- are new to raw feeding
- aren’t familiar with the different raw feeding formulas (prey model vs barf)
- want to double check your own math
In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to 5 different raw dog food calculators, how they work and point out their respective pros & cons.
We’ll also share how to do your own math as it helps you put the values of raw dog food calculators into perspective.
Raw Feeding Formula or How Much Raw Food Should I Feed My Dog Per Day?
If you want to do the math yourself, here’s the basic formula: Divide your dog’s target body weight by 100, then multiply it with 2.5%.
The 2.5% is the average maintenance percentage for adult dogs. However, it can range between 1.5% and 10% depending on several different factors:
- Age (puppy vs adult vs senior)
- Activity level (low, medium, high)
- Lifestyle (pregnant, lactating, working dog, athlete)
The result is your dog’s daily raw dog food allowance.
For example: 50lb/100=0.5×2.5%=1.25lb=20oz
That means an adult dog whose target/ideal body weight is 50lb and exercises moderately needs to eat 20oz of raw dog food per day. If the dog is fed twice per day, each meal needs to consist of 10oz of raw food.
Once you figure out how much raw dog food your adult dog needs to eat on a daily basis, you need to break it down further into its different components:
- Muscle meat (Barf: 70%, Prey Model: 80%)
- Raw meaty bone (Barf/Prey Model: 10%)
- (Secreting) organs (Barf/Prey Model: 10%)
- Optional: plant matter (Barf: 10%, Prey Model: 0)
The math for puppies is slightly different as they need more food to fuel their growth. Check out our blog post on Raw Food for Puppies here to learn more.
5 Raw Pet Food Calculators
The 5 following raw dog food calculators all help you calculate raw dog food amounts. However, they’re all slightly different.
Some only tell you the amount of raw dog food your dog needs to eat on a weekly or monthly basis.
Those are usually the raw dog food calculators of brands that make premade raw dog food. That’s fair enough as they obviously want you to feed their premade raw dog food, and not make your own.
Others tell you the amount of food your dog needs to eat on a daily basis. Additionally, they go above and beyond in splitting up the different components of raw meals.
Those are typically calculators that aren’t affiliated with brands that only offer premade raw meals.
You’ll see that most raw pet food calculators give you the option of choosing between dogs and cats, while a few select ones only provide information for dogs.
Most also give you the option of choosing between pounds and kilos.
Some do their calculations with a maintenance percentage of 2% for moderately active adult dogs, others choose 2.5% or 3%.
At the end of the day, you’ll have to observe how your dog (or cat) does on the suggested amount of daily raw dog food and adjust it from there.
If your pup starts to put on more weight than required, you’ll have to lower their daily raw dog food intake and vice versa.
If you’re not sure about your dog’s target body weight, check in with your vet or breeder.
Darwin’s Pet Food Calculator
Darwin’s Natural Pet makes pre-made raw dog food following the BARF model of raw feeding. That means they include plant matter and oils. I started my raw feeding journey with Darwin’s back in 2015 and definitely recommend them, especially for beginners.
Their Pet Food Calculator provides your pet’s weekly and monthly amount of raw dog food (scroll down to the pet food calculator on their homepage, they don’t have a separate tab for it).
This pet food calculator asks for the following parameters:
- Species (dog or cat)
- Life stage (adult, puppy, senior)
- Activity level (very active, normal, less active)
- Ideal weight (weight range between 5lb and 150lbs)
For my adult 38lb pup Wally with a normal activity level, it suggested the following raw dog food amount:
6.1lb per week or 24.4lbs per month.
That’s pretty close to what he gets – I feed him around 15oz of raw dog food per day. That equates to 105oz per week = 6.5lbs.
I like that it suggests a lower amount than what I feed him, that speaks for the brand. In my opinion, it’s better to suggest a lower amount of food intake and to adjust from there as opposed to suggesting more food right from the get go.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Offers food amounts for dogs and cats
- Offers additional quiz to get a custom feeding plan
Cons:
- Weight is only provided in lbs (no kilos)
- Doesn’t provide daily amounts of raw dog food (only weekly and monthly)
- Doesn’t differentiate between different components of raw dog food (how much muscle meat, how much raw meaty bone, etc)
Raw Paws Pet Food Frozen Raw Serving Calculator
Raw Paws Pet Food carries premade raw dog food as well as individual cuts of raw meat for DIY raw feeders. I’ve bought both from them and highly recommend the brand.
Their Frozen Raw Serving Calculator provides your pet’s daily amount of raw dog food.
This pet food calculator asks for the following parameters:
- How many pounds is your pet?
- What type of pet do you have?
- Puppy (up to 6 months)
- Junior Dog (6 to 18 months)
- Adult Dog (18+ months) – 30 to 100lbs
- Adult Dog (18+ months) – 100+ lbs
- Senior Dog (8+ years) – up to 30lbs
- Senior Dog (8+ years) – 30-100lbs
- Senior Dog (8+ years) – 100+ lbs
- Kitten (up to 12 months)
- Adult cat
- Senior cat (10+ years)
- Pregnant/Lactating
For my adult 38lb pup Wally, it suggested the following raw dog food amount:
0.8lbs (12.2oz per day) or 0.4lbs (6.1oz) per meal
That’s also pretty close to what he gets (15oz per day). Again, just like with Darwin’s, I like that Raw Paws Pet Food starts their raw dog food calculations on the lower end.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Minimal input required
- Offers food amounts for dogs and cats
Cons:
- Weight is only provided in lbs (no kilos)
- Doesn’t differentiate between different components of raw dog food (how much muscle meat, how much raw meaty bone, etc). Considering they also offer individual cuts of meat, that would be helpful. However, they offer free meal consultations which provide the opportunity to ask any questions.
Feed Real Dog Food Calculator
Feed Real offers raw dog food nutrition advice and is a branch of Real Dog.
Real Dog makes single-ingredient dog treat & chew subscription boxes, and their owners are raw feeders.
My dogs Missy, Buzz and Wally all had a subscription and loved their goodies.
Their Dog Food Calculator provides your pet’s daily amount of raw dog food.
This raw dog food calculator asks for the following parameters:
- How old is your dog? (Puppy 4-6m, Puppy 7-8m, Puppy 9-12m, Adult >12m)
- Your dog’s current weight (lets you switch back and forth between lb and kg)
- How active is your dog
- Not very active
- Somewhat active
- Very active
- Super active
For my adult 38lb pup Wally, it suggested the following raw dog food amount:
15.2oz/day
That’s spot on, but it also suggests that they start their raw dog food calculations with a somewhat higher value.
After they suggest your dog’s daily amount of raw dog food, they go into further detail and ask for:
- Your feeding model (Ancestral Raw, Prey Model Raw, BARF)
- How much bone will you feed daily?
- 10% (if stools are chalky at 12%)
- 12% (recommended for adult transition)
- 15% (if stools are loose at 10%)
Interesting: In addition to Prey Model Raw and BARF, they also include a so-called “Ancestral 6x Diet” which they define as follows:
The Ancestral diet emphasizes the inclusion of animal parts with fiber and fur and/or feathers. In addition, Ancestral focuses on providing five to nine different proteins per month and includes a healthy source of seafood to balance the omega 3-6 ratio.
I personally include all of those components in my BARF formula and believe in rotating as much as possible to avoid nutrient deficiencies.
Once you select the amount of bone you’ll feed, it asks you to select the type of bone you’ll be using for your raw meal prep:
- Rabbit quarters or bone-in turkey breast (15% bone)
- Chicken thighs or lamb ribs (20% bone)
- Chicken necks or duck wings (30% bone)
- Chicken backs or turkey necks (40% bone)
- Duck necks or beef short ribs (50% bone)
- Chicken feet or duck feet (60% bone)
- Duck heads or rabbit heads (70% bone)
- Chicken frames or duck frames (80% bone)
- Ox tail tips (90% bone)
After your selection (I went with duck necks or beef short ribs @50% bone), it breaks down the amounts needed for each individual cut of meat – I love that:
- 3.04 oz duck necks or beef short ribs
- 9.12 oz muscle meats
- 1.60 oz low glycemic fruits and veggies
- 0.80 oz beef, pork or lamb liver
- 0.80 oz kidney, spleen or pancreas
And just when you think you’re done, it offers help with your shopping list (7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 28 days)!
However, they ask you to sign up for a membership in order to access the shopping lists. Which, in my personal opinion, is fair since they provide a lot of free information.
Pros:
- Provides raw food amounts in lb and kg
- Very detailed information, breaks down the daily raw dog food allowance into individual cuts of food
Cons:
- Only offers food amounts for dogs (no cats)
- Feels busy compared to other calculators
Hare Today Raw Food Feeding Calculator
Hare Today carries individual cuts of meat for raw meal prep. I’ve bought a few cuts from them over the years and was always happy with what I ordered, specifically their ground beaver and beaver tails!
Their Raw Food Feeding Calculator provides your pet’s daily amount of raw food.
This feeding calculator asks for the following parameters:
- Animal’s weight in lbs or kg (doesn’t differentiate between dogs, cats and other pets such as ferrets)
- Feeding percentage
- 2%
- 3%
- 4%
- 5%
- 6%
- 7%
- 8%
- 9%
- 10%
For my 38lb pup Wally, it suggested the following raw dog food amount at 2%:
0.76lbs (12.16oz) per day
0.38lbs (6.08oz) per meal
I personally feed Wally at 2.5%, but they don’t have the option of choosing half percentage points. The next option I could have chosen is 3%.
Since they don’t ask questions about the dog’s activity level and/or lifestyle, this calculator assumes you’re a somewhat seasoned raw feeder who’s familiar with the different percentage points.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Minimal input required
- Weight can be entered in pounds and kilograms
Cons:
- Not great for beginning raw feeders
- Doesn’t offer half percentage points in its percentage drop down menu
Perfectly Rawsome Raw Feeding Calculators
Perfectly Rawsome is a website hosted by certified dog nutritionist Ronnie LeJeune.
I’ve used her raw dog food calculator quite a bit to double check my own math when I made the transition from premade raw dog food to DIY raw meal prep. That said, it’s changed a bit over the years and I personally find it less intuitive than it used to be.
Perfectly Rawsome’s Raw Feeding Calculator provides your pet’s daily amount of raw food. It’s split up into 4 different categories:
- Canine Calculator – Adult Maintenance
- Canine Calculator – Growth & Development (for puppies)
- Feline Calculator – Prey Model Raw
- Raw Meaty Bone (RMB) Feeding Amount Calculator
The Canine Calculator – Adult Maintenance asks for the following parameters:
- Dog’s weight in lb or kg
- Average daily activity
- Weight loss
- Inactive & obese prone
- Inactive
- Neutered adult & low activity (0.5-1h daily activity)
- Intact adult & low activity (0.5-1h daily)
- Young adult & average activity (1-2 hours daily)
- Above average activity (3hrs daily activity)
- High activity (3-5hrs daily activity)
- High activity & high intensity (5hr+ daily activity)
For my 38lb pup Wally (5 years old), it suggested the following raw dog food amount when I selected the young adult & average activity:
1.41lbs or 22.53oz per day along with 1,186 calories
That’s way off. I feed Wally at 2.5% of his target body weight of 38lbs which is 15.2oz per day.
When I selected the neutered adult & low activity (0.5-1h daily activity), it gave me the following raw dog food amount:
1.13lbs or 18.03oz per day along with 949 calories
That’s still off, plus Wally gets between 2-3 hours of daily activity, but I didn’t have the option to adjust his activity time.
This goes to show that these values are average values. That makes it super important to monitor your dog’s weight and physical appearance and adjust their raw dog food intake accordingly!
Note: Back in 2016-2018ish, it gave you less activity options that were paired with the maintenance percentage (2%, 3%, 4%) and didn’t provide caloric values. That worked better for me personally.
After they suggest your dog’s daily amount of raw dog food, they go into further detail and ask for:
- Raw diet model (BARF or Prey Model Raw)
Once you choose your model (I chose BARF), it gives you the daily values for the individual cuts of meat, which is super useful:
- Muscle meat
- Edible bone
- Liver
- Other organ
- Vegetables
- Seeds/nuts
- Fruit
It also offers the option to email you their calculations as a PDF in exchange for your email address.
Pros:
- Weight can be entered in pounds and kilograms
- Offers a separate calculator just for cats
- Very detailed information, breaks down the daily raw dog food allowance into individual cuts of food (including veggies, seeds/nuts & fruit)
Cons:
- Not as accurate as it used to be (in my personal opinion)
Bottom Line
Raw dog food calculators can help you double check your own math, but you should take them with a grain of salt.
They can only provide average values as it’s impossible to take each dog’s unique nutritional needs into account.
Remember, they depend on your dog’s:
- Age
- Life stage
- Activity level
That’s why it’s important to have a basic understanding of how to do the math yourself using a raw feeding formula:
Adult dog’s target body weight divided by 100, multiplied by the average maintenance percentage of 2.5%.
When you make your dog’s own raw meals following the raw dog food amount provided by a raw dog diet calculator, remember to adjust the feeding amount as necessary.
For instance, if you notice that your dog is starting to put on too much weight when you feed them at a maintenance percentage of 2.5%, lower it to 2% and reevaluate from there.
If your dog needs to put on more weight, raise your feeding percentage in 0.5% increments and reevaluate their body condition.
If you know of any other raw dog food calculators, please share them in the comment section below this blog post.
We’d also love to hear if you’ve used any of the raw diet calculators mentioned in this article – just comment below if you feel like sharing your personal experience with any of them.
Happy raw feeding!