Raw and BARF Dog Food Calculator
Work out daily raw feeding amounts as a percentage of body weight, split into muscle meat, bone, organ and plant matter.
The usual starting point.
Adds vegetables and fruit. The most common home-prepared model.
Daily ration at 2.5% of body weight
500 grams per day
| Component | Share | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle meat | 70% | 350 g |
| Raw edible bone | 10% | 50 g |
| Liver | 5% | 25 g |
| Other secreting organ | 5% | 25 g |
| Vegetables and fruit | 10% | 50 g |
- Per meal (2 a day)
- 250 g
These ratios balance calcium and phosphorus only if the bone content is right. Too little bone causes deficiency, too much causes constipation and, in growing puppies, skeletal problems. Have a home-prepared diet checked by a veterinary nutritionist before it becomes the whole diet.
How this is calculated
Raw feeding is portioned by body weight rather than by calories, because the energy density of a home-assembled raw meal varies far too much for a calorie figure to be reliable.
daily grams = body weight (kg) × 1000 × (rate % ÷ 100)
each component = daily grams × (component % ÷ 100) Worked example
A 20 kg adult at the 2.5% maintenance rate eats 500 g a day. On the BARF model that is 350 g muscle meat, 50 g raw edible bone, 25 g liver, 25 g other secreting organ and 50 g vegetables and fruit.
Daily rate by life stage
| Life stage | % of body weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy, 2 to 4 months | 9% | Split across four meals a day. |
| Puppy, 4 to 6 months | 7% | Split across three meals a day. |
| Puppy, 6 to 8 months | 5% | Two or three meals a day. |
| Puppy, 8 to 12 months | 3.5% | Approaching the adult rate. |
| Adult, maintain weight | 2.5% | The usual starting point. |
| Adult, lose weight | 2% | Feed to target weight, not current. |
| Adult, gain weight | 3% | Underweight or very active. |
| Working or highly active | 3.5% | Adjust on body condition. |
Sources
- National Research Council. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2006.
- FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation). Nutritional Guidelines for Complete and Complementary Pet Food for Cats and Dogs.
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee. Global Nutrition Guidelines and toolkit.
- The 80/10/10 and BARF ratios are conventions of raw feeding practice. They are ratios of ingredients, not a nutrient profile, and no body publishes them as a standard.
Handling raw food safely
Treat it exactly as you would raw chicken for the family. Separate boards and utensils, wash hands and surfaces after every contact, thaw in the fridge rather than on the counter, and lift uneaten food after twenty minutes. Bacteria are also shed in the dog's faeces for days after eating, which matters in a household with small children.
Where this calculator stops
It divides a weight into ratios. It does not verify that the result meets nutrient requirements, because that depends entirely on which meats, which organs and which supplements you use. Two diets with identical ratios can be adequate and seriously deficient respectively.
If raw is going to be the whole diet long term, have the recipe checked by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. It is a one-off cost that catches the deficiencies that take a year to show up.
Common questions
How much raw food should I feed my dog?
Adults maintaining weight are usually fed 2 to 3% of body weight a day, with 2.5% as the normal starting point. A 20 kg dog eats about 500 g. Puppies eat far more relative to size, from around 9% at two months down to 3.5% by ten months.
What is the difference between BARF and prey model raw?
Prey model raw is 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organ, mimicking whole prey with no plant matter. BARF keeps the same animal ratios but reduces muscle meat to 70% and adds 10% vegetables and fruit.
Why does bone content matter so much?
Bone is the calcium source. Too little and the diet is calcium deficient, which in a growing puppy causes nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism and fractures. Too much causes constipation and can lock up other minerals. Ten percent is the target, and it needs to be raw edible bone, never cooked.
Is raw feeding safe?
It carries documented risks that a cooked diet does not: salmonella and campylobacter in the food and shed in the faeces, bone fragments causing obstruction or perforation, and nutritional imbalance in home-mixed diets. Several veterinary bodies advise against it, particularly in homes with immunocompromised people, infants or elderly residents. If you choose it, handle it like raw chicken for humans.
Can puppies eat raw food?
They can, but the margin for error is much smaller. Growing skeletons are unforgiving of calcium and phosphorus imbalance, and large-breed puppies are especially vulnerable. A raw diet for a puppy should be formulated by a veterinary nutritionist rather than assembled from ratios alone.
How do I switch to raw?
Most people switch in one step rather than mixing, because raw and kibble digest at different rates. Start with a single protein source for a week or two before introducing others. Expect smaller, firmer, paler stools; that is normal on raw.