How much food should a puppy eat? It depends on the puppy's current weight and age — not on the breed name alone, and not on how much an adult of the breed eats. A puppy grows fast, so it needs more calories per kilogram than an adult, and the amount changes every few weeks as the puppy grows. This guide works it out properly: the resting energy requirement (RER) formula vets use, the calorie table for puppies at different weights, cups and grams per day, feeding by age, and the mistakes that most often lead to an overweight puppy — or to a puppy that grows too fast for its own joints.
A puppy's food needs are highest in the first four months, when the factor on the RER is about 3.0, and then fall to about 2.0 from four months to adulthood. That means a 5 kg puppy under four months old needs about 700 calories a day, while the same puppy at six months needs about 470. The figures below are ranges and starting points, not prescriptions — always adjust by body condition and your vet's advice, and re-weigh the puppy every two weeks, because the amount changes quickly as the puppy grows. The puppy feeding schedule guide covers the same ground as a timetable, and the feeding schedule generator builds one from your puppy's age and size.
How many calories does a puppy need?
Veterinary nutritionists start with the resting energy requirement, or RER — the calories a dog burns at rest in a neutral temperature, doing nothing at all. The formula is:
RER = 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75
For a puppy at 5 kg, the RER is 70 × 5^0.75 ≈ 235 calories a day. Daily needs are then the RER multiplied by a factor for age: about 3.0 for puppies under four months old, and about 2.0 from four months to adulthood. So a 5 kg puppy under four months needs about 700 calories a day, and the same puppy at six months needs about 470. For a 10 kg puppy the figures are about 1,180 calories under four months and about 785 from four months, and for a 20 kg puppy about 1,985 and about 1,325. Those are large numbers for a young animal, and they are right: a puppy is building bone, muscle, and brain at a rate it will never match again.
These factors are the standard ones used in veterinary nutrition, but they are still starting points. A puppy that is very active needs more than one that sleeps most of the day, and a puppy that has been neutered typically needs about 10–20% fewer calories than before. The right amount is the one that keeps the puppy growing steadily and lean: you should be able to feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat, and the puppy should gain weight every week without becoming round. Weigh the puppy every two weeks and write the number down — a record makes growth visible, and it is the only way to know whether the amount is right. The dog food calculator works the same calculation out for any weight and age.
Puppy daily calories by weight
| Body weight | Under 4 months (×3.0) | 4 months to adult (×2.0) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2 kg | 355 | 235 | | 5 kg | 700 | 470 | | 10 kg | 1180 | 785 | | 20 kg | 1985 | 1325 | | 30 kg | 2690 | 1795 |
Use the row nearest your puppy's current weight, then pick the column that matches the puppy's age. Re-check every two weeks, because the puppy's weight changes fast and the amount must change with it: a puppy that weighed 5 kg a month ago and weighs 10 kg now needs almost twice as many calories, and a puppy fed the old amount will fall behind. If your puppy is between two rows, take the lower figure first and watch the weight — it is easier to add food to a puppy that is growing slowly than to take weight off a puppy that has gained too fast, and rapid growth and excess weight in a large-breed puppy strain developing joints.
Note that calories are the real target and cups are only a translation. Different foods have very different calorie densities, so always check the kcal per cup or per 100 g on your own bag or tin and work from that. The cups figures below assume a typical dry puppy food at around 350 kcal per cup — a common figure, but your food may differ by a wide margin, and the bag's number always wins over this guide's.
How much food in cups and grams per day
The table below is for puppies from four months to adulthood, on the ×2.0 factor. For puppies under four months, use the ×3.0 column in the table above and convert in the same way — divide the calories by 350 for cups, or by 3.5 for grams.
| Body weight | Calories (4 months to adult) | Cups of dry food per day | Grams of dry food per day |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2 kg | 235 kcal | 0.7 cups | 67 g | | 5 kg | 470 kcal | 1.3 cups | 134 g | | 10 kg | 785 kcal | 2.2 cups | 224 g | | 20 kg | 1325 kcal | 3.8 cups | 379 g | | 30 kg | 1795 kcal | 5.1 cups | 513 g |
Split the daily amount into three to four meals a day until about six months, then two meals a day. Offer each meal for 15–20 minutes, and take up what is not eaten so you can see appetite changes — a puppy that suddenly stops eating is often the first sign of illness. Fresh water should always be available, and food should be offered after exercise, not immediately before, with a rest afterwards. If you feed wet food, use the tin's kcal figure to convert: a typical wet food is around 70–100 kcal per 100 g, so a 10 kg puppy needing 785 calories would need roughly 925 g of wet food a day, split across meals. Mixed feeding is fine as long as the total calories add up — the common mistake is to give a full measure of dry food plus a full tin of wet food, which roughly doubles the ration.
Measure food with scales or a measuring cup, not a mug or a handful. A cup in one house can be half as much again as a cup in another, and that hidden extra is often the whole reason a puppy is overweight. Weigh the daily amount once, note what it looks like in your cup, and use that cup every time. Treats count too: they should stay under 10% of daily calories, which for a 10 kg puppy is under about 80 calories of treats a day — a few small training treats, not a handful of biscuits. Use the puppy's own food as training treats where you can, so training does not add calories on top of meals.
Feeding a puppy by age
Weaning (about 3–4 weeks to 8 weeks). A puppy starts on its mother's milk and moves to solid food gradually from about 3 to 4 weeks, with food softened in water to a gruel at first, then firmer as the puppy learns to chew. By 8 weeks, when most puppies go to their new homes, the puppy should be eating solid puppy food in four meals a day. If you are bringing a puppy home, ask the breeder what food it has been eating and keep feeding the same food for the first week, changing gradually if you want to switch — a sudden change upsets a puppy's digestion.
8 weeks to 3 months: four meals a day. This is the fastest-growing stage, and the puppy needs the ×3.0 factor on its current weight, re-checked every two weeks. Feed a puppy food — one labelled complete and balanced for puppies — in four small meals, spaced evenly through the day. Keep exercise gentle while joints are still developing: short play sessions and short walks, not long runs or stairs.
3 to 6 months: three meals a day. Growth is still fast, but the factor falls to ×2.0 from four months. This is the teething stage, so the puppy may eat less for a few days at a time — that is normal, but a puppy that stops eating entirely needs a vet check. Start training with the puppy's own food as rewards, so training does not add calories.
6 to 12 months: two meals a day. The puppy is now an adolescent, and for a toy or small breed it is nearly an adult. For a large or giant breed, growth continues for several more months, and the puppy should stay on puppy food — ideally a large-breed puppy food with controlled energy and calcium — until about 18 to 24 months. Ask your vet when to switch to adult food, rather than switching at the first birthday out of habit.
Large-breed puppies: why steady growth matters
Large and giant-breed puppies need special care, because they grow for longer and their joints carry more weight while they are still developing. A large-breed puppy food — one labelled complete and balanced for large-breed puppies, with controlled energy and calcium — is designed to support slow, even growth rather than rapid growth, and it is the right choice for a Labrador Retriever, a German Shepherd Dog, a Great Dane, a Mastiff, or any other large or giant breed. Do not overfeed a large-breed puppy to make it grow faster, and do not add calcium supplements: rapid growth and excess weight in a large-breed puppy strain developing joints, and a puppy that grows too fast is more likely to develop bone and joint problems as an adult.
Keep a large-breed puppy lean enough that you can feel its ribs easily, and keep exercise gentle while joints are still developing — short walks and play, not long runs, jumping, or stairs. Weigh the puppy every two weeks and ask your vet to check growth against the breed's expected adult weight at every visit: a Labrador Retriever should reach an adult weight of typically 25 to 36 kg, a German Shepherd Dog 22 to 40 kg, and a Great Dane 50 to 79 kg, and the puppy's growth should be a steady climb towards that range, not a rush. The best puppy food for large breeds guide explains this stage in detail, and the puppy dog weight guide explains how to track growth.
Common feeding mistakes with puppies
The most common mistake is free-feeding — leaving a full bowl down all day. It makes it impossible to know how much the puppy has eaten, it hides appetite changes that are often the first sign of illness, and it is the fastest route to an overweight puppy. The second is feeding by the bag's chart alone: bag charts are generous, because they are written for active dogs and rounded up, so treat them as a maximum, not a target. The third is treat creep: a biscuit here, a piece of cheese there, and the puppy's daily calories rise by a quarter without anyone noticing.
The fourth is table scraps, which are often fatty, salty, or simply too many calories, and which teach begging. The fifth is switching foods suddenly, which upsets digestion — change foods gradually over a week, mixing the old and new in increasing proportions. And the sixth, specific to puppies, is feeding adult food to a puppy, or puppy food to an adult: puppy food has more calories and more of the nutrients a growing puppy needs, and adult food does not have enough of them for a puppy — while puppy food fed to an adult dog is too rich and leads to weight gain. Feed the food that matches the life stage, and switch when your vet advises it, not before.
Foods a puppy should never eat
Some everyday foods are toxic to dogs and should never be given, in any amount: chocolate, cocoa, and coffee; grapes and raisins; onions, garlic, leeks, and chives; xylitol (birch sugar, found in some sugar-free gum, sweets, and peanut butter); macadamia nuts; alcohol; and cooked bones, which can splinter. Puppies are more vulnerable than adults, because they are smaller and their bodies are still developing, so a small amount of a toxic food is a bigger dose for a puppy than for an adult. If your puppy eats any of these, call your vet or an animal poison line straight away — do not wait for symptoms and do not try to treat it at home. Keep a note of what was eaten, how much, and when, because the vet will ask.
For related reading, see the dog food calculator, the feeding schedule generator, the puppy feeding schedule guide, the best puppy food for large breeds guide, the puppy dog age guide, the puppy dog weight guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much food should a puppy eat per day?
It depends on the puppy's current weight and age. A 5 kg puppy under four months old needs about 700 calories a day, and the same puppy at six months needs about 470. A 10 kg puppy needs about 1,180 calories under four months and about 785 from four months. Use the RER formula with a factor of about 3.0 under four months and about 2.0 from four months, applied to the puppy's current weight and re-checked every two weeks.
How many times a day should I feed a puppy?
Four meals a day from 8 weeks to 3 months, three meals a day from 3 to 6 months, and two meals a day from 6 months on. Offer each meal for 15–20 minutes, take up what is not eaten, and keep fresh water available at all times. One large meal a day is not ideal for a puppy, and free-feeding makes portion control and appetite monitoring much harder.
How many calories does a 10 kg puppy need?
About 1,180 calories a day under four months old (RER about 395 × 3.0) and about 785 calories a day from four months to adulthood (RER about 395 × 2.0). That is roughly 2.2 cups or 225 g of a typical dry puppy food at 350 kcal per cup on the ×2.0 factor. Re-weigh every two weeks, because the amount changes as the puppy grows.
Should I feed a large-breed puppy a special food?
Yes. A large-breed puppy food, labelled complete and balanced for large-breed puppies, is designed for steady rather than rapid growth, with controlled energy and calcium. Do not overfeed a large-breed puppy to make it grow faster, and do not add calcium supplements — rapid growth and excess weight strain developing joints. The best puppy food for large breeds guide explains why.
When should I switch my puppy to adult food?
It depends on size: a toy or small breed can usually switch at about 12 months, a medium breed at about 12 to 14 months, a large breed at about 18 months, and a giant breed at about 18 to 24 months. Ask your vet when to switch, rather than switching at the first birthday out of habit, and change foods gradually over a week.
What foods are toxic to a puppy?
Chocolate, grapes and raisins, onions and garlic, xylitol, macadamia nuts, alcohol, and cooked bones are all dangerous for dogs, and puppies are more vulnerable than adults because they are smaller. If your puppy eats any of them, call your vet or an animal poison line immediately and tell them what was eaten, how much, and when.
Results on this page are estimates for general information only and are not veterinary advice. If your pet is ill, underweight, overweight, pregnant, or has a health condition, consult your veterinarian before changing diet or care.