Dog Feeding Chart: How Much Food Should I Feed My Dog?

Published Sep. 13, 2024

how much should I feed my dog: dog looking at dog food in bowl

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How To Find the Right Amount of Dog Food for Your Dog

Many factors play a role in how much you should feed your dog:

Age: Puppies need more energy (calories), more protein, and more of certain vitamins and other nutrients compared to adult dogs.
Size: Larger dogs need to eat more than smaller dogs.
Activity level: Dogs that get a lot of exercise need more food.
Reproductive status: Spayed and neutered dogs need fewer calories than unaltered dogs. If your dog is pregnant or nursing, she’ll need to eat more food to support herself and her puppies.
Body condition score: Overweight dogs should eat fewer calories than a dog that’s at a healthy weight. Alternatively, dogs that need to gain weight should eat more.
The food you offer: Some foods are very calorie- and nutrient-dense, meaning a little goes a long way.

A dog’s nutritional needs can vary as they get older or as their lifestyle or health status changes. It’s also important to remember that every dog and every situation is unique—what’s ideal for one dog may not work well for another.

Dog Feeding Charts

Determining how much food your dog should eat isn’t always easy, but lots of help is available. The best place to start is on the label of the dog food that your pet eats. Look at the packaging and you will find a feeding chart that provides recommendations tailored to that specific dog food.

A calorie calculator can also help, but the results are just an estimate. Your dog’s specific needs can be as much as 50% more or less than what is typical.

Body condition scoring is a good way to fine-tune how much food to give your dog, and of course, talk to your veterinarian if you have questions.

How Much To Feed a Healthy Adult Dog

Healthy adult dogs are the easiest to feed. They’re done growing, so their nutritional needs should be fairly consistent over time—unless something big changes in their lives.

The most important factor is their weight. Use your dog’s ideal weight to figure out how much food to offer. This may be lower than your dog’s actual weight if they’re overweight, or a little higher if they’re too thin.

Let’s look at an example. Below is the feeding guide for the Purina® Pro Plan® dry dog food. The food contains 379 calories (kcal) per cup, so the ranges would be similar for any adult dog food that has a similar calorie content.

Adult Dog Feeding Chart


Weight Range	Feeding Amount Per Day
3–12 pounds	½–1¼ cup
13–20 pounds	1¼–1⅔ cups
21–35 pounds	1⅔–2⅓ cups
36–50 pounds	2⅓–3 cups
51–75 pounds	3–3¾ cups
76–100 pounds	4–4⅔ cups
Over 100 pounds	4⅔ cups, plus ⅓ cup for each 10 pounds of body weight over 100 pounds

How Much To Feed Puppies

Puppies are more complicated.

In their early months, they require extra calories, protein, and other nutrients to fuel their growth.

As they get closer to their full-grown size, they become more like an adult dog. So, you have to look up both your puppy’s current weight and their age to determine how much dog food to give your dog.

This feeding guide for the Blue Buffalo™ Wilderness™ Rocky Mountain Recipe™ makes it easy to determine how much to feed your puppy as they get older.

Puppy Feeding Chart


Weight Range	Feeding Amount Per Day: 1–3 Months Old	Feeding Amount Per Day: 3–5 Months Old	Feeding Amount Per Day: 5–7 Months Old	Feeding Amount Per Day: 7–12 Months Old
Up to 5 pounds	½–1 cup	½–¾ cup	¼–½ cup	¼–½ cup
6–10 pounds	1–1½ cups	¾–1 cup	½–1 cup	½–¾ cup
11–20 pounds	1½–2½ cups	1–1¾ cups	1–1½ cups	¾–1¼ cups
21–40 pounds	2½–4¼ cups	1¾–3 cups	1½–2½ cups	1¼–2¼ cups
41–60 pounds	4¼–5¾ cups	3–4 cups	2½–3½ cups	2¼–3 cups

How Much To Feed Senior Dogs

Senior dogs are on the other end of the spectrum.

Veterinarians usually consider dogs to be seniors when they reach 7–12 years of age, depending on their size.

Giant breeds: 7 years
Large breeds: 8 years
Medium breeds: 10 years
Small breeds: 11 years
Toy breeds: 12 years

A dog’s lifestyle and health status should also be considered. Senior diets often (but not always) have lower calorie counts than adult dog foods to help prevent unhealthy weight gain as dogs become less active with age.

The food may contain ingredients to support joint health or help manage other conditions that become more common as dogs get older.

Your veterinarian can help you pick the right time to make the switch to a senior dog food.

Here is the feeding guide for Wellness® Complete Health™ senior dry dog food.

Senior Dog Feeding Chart


Weight Range	Feeding Amount Per Day
18–23 pounds	1–1⅓ cups
24–45 pounds	1⅓–2¼ cups
46–65 pounds	2⅓–3 cups
66–85 pounds	3–3⅔ cups
86–105 pounds	3¾–4⅓ cups
106–125 pounds	4⅓–4 ¾ cups
Dogs over 125 pounds	Add ¼ cup per additional 10 pounds

How Many Times a Day Should a Dog Eat?

You may have noticed that dog feeding guides tell you how much dog food to feed per day. But most dogs shouldn’t have just one meal a day, so you’ll have to divide the amount of food on the feeding chart by the number of meals your dog eats daily.

Recommendations vary based on a dog’s size and age:

Large and giant breeds:
- For puppies up to 4 months of age: three meals per day
- For adults and seniors: two to three meals per day
Small and medium breeds:
- For puppies up to 4 months of age: three meals per day
- For adults and seniors: two meals per day
Toy breeds:
- For puppies up to 4 months of age: four to five meals per day
- For puppies 4–6 months of age: three meals per day
- For dogs 6 months of age and older: two meals per day

Why Feeding the Correct Amount of Dog Food Matters

Feeding dogs correctly matters! Underfeeding can lead to low energy levels, poor immune function, and other problems, but overfeeding is far more common. In fact, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention estimates that 59% of dogs are overweight or obese, which puts them at increased risk for health problems like:

Joint disease
Trouble breathing
Heart problems
Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
Cushing’s disease
Skin problems
Many forms of cancer
Reduced quality of life
Shortened lifespan

If your dog is overweight, an over-the-counter diet dog food, such as Hill's Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight, may help. Dogs who need to lose a lot of weight tend to do better on a prescription weight loss food, like Hill's Prescription Diet r/d Weight Reduction Chicken Flavor Dry Dog Food. Your vet will be able to help you choose the best course of action.

While it requires some work to determine how much food to give your dog, your efforts will be rewarded with all the extra healthy years you get to spend with your fur friend.