Puppy Feeding Chart by Weight and Age (2026)
September 6, 2026 · 12 min read
Short answer: feed by calories against your puppy's current weight, recalculated every two weeks. Resting energy is 70 x (weight in kg) to the power 0.75. Multiply by 3 up to four months and by 2 from four months until growth finishes.
Bag charts are built for an average puppy of a breed yours may not resemble, and they go stale the moment your puppy grows. The arithmetic below takes about a minute and stays right.
The chart
Calories per day by current weight. The under-four-months column is 3 x RER; the four-months-and-up column is 2 x RER. Cup figures assume a dry puppy food at roughly 420 kcal per cup, so check your own bag.
| Current weight | Calories/day, under 4 months | Cups | Calories/day, 4 months+ | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 lb | ~390 | ~0.9 | ~260 | ~0.6 |
| 10 lb | ~650 | ~1.6 | ~435 | ~1.0 |
| 15 lb | ~885 | ~2.1 | ~590 | ~1.4 |
| 20 lb | ~1,100 | ~2.6 | ~730 | ~1.8 |
| 30 lb | ~1,490 | ~3.6 | ~990 | ~2.4 |
| 40 lb | ~1,845 | ~4.4 | ~1,230 | ~2.9 |
| 50 lb | ~2,180 | ~5.2 | ~1,455 | ~3.5 |
| 60 lb | ~2,500 | ~6.0 | ~1,670 | ~4.0 |
| 70 lb | ~2,810 | ~6.7 | ~1,875 | ~4.5 |
Note the drop at four months. A puppy's energy needs per pound fall sharply once the fastest growth phase ends, and owners who keep feeding the earlier amount produce a chubby six-month-old. Recalculate at the birthday, not just at weigh-ins.
Run your own numbers through the dog calorie calculator, then convert to grams with the portion converter. Weighing is meaningfully more accurate than scooping.
Meals per day
| Age | Meals |
|---|---|
| Weaning to 4 months | 4 |
| 4 to 6 months | 3 |
| 6 months to maturity | 2 |
| Adult | 2 |
Toy and small breeds should hold at more frequent meals for longer. Their liver glycogen stores are small, and long gaps between meals can drop blood sugar far enough to matter, particularly under 12 weeks.
Do not free-feed. Leaving food down all day removes your ability to notice appetite changes, which are often the first sign a puppy is unwell, and it makes house-training harder because you cannot predict elimination. For a large-breed puppy it is actively risky, for the reason below.
Adult size changes everything
The single most consequential thing to know about your puppy is how big it will get.
| Expected adult size | Food type | Switch to adult food |
|---|---|---|
| Small, under 20 lb | Standard puppy or all-life-stages | 9 to 12 months |
| Medium, 20 to 50 lb | Standard puppy | 12 to 14 months |
| Large, 50 to 90 lb | Large-breed puppy | 18 months |
| Giant, over 90 lb | Large-breed puppy | 18 to 24 months |
Why large-breed puppies need a different food
A large-breed puppy's skeleton grows for over a year, and the risk is growing too fast rather than too slowly. Excess calories and excess calcium accelerate growth velocity past what developing joints tolerate, which raises the risk of hip and elbow dysplasia and osteochondrosis.
Large-breed puppy formulas control calorie density and cap calcium. AAFCO limits calcium to 1.8% on a dry-matter basis for large-breed growth for exactly this reason.
Two mistakes follow from not knowing this:
- Feeding a calorie-dense standard puppy food to a dog that will exceed about 70 lb.
- Adding a calcium supplement to a complete puppy food, which is a common and well-meaning error. A balanced growth food already has the calcium right; adding more makes the problem worse rather than building stronger bone.
A bigger puppy is not a healthier puppy. Aim for steady.
Our puppy and AAFCO growth guide covers the label side of this, including how to confirm a food is substantiated for growth of large-size dogs.
Reading body condition instead of the scale
Chart weights are population averages. Your puppy's condition is the real measurement.
Every two weeks, check three things:
- Ribs. Easily felt under a thin fat layer, without pressing.
- Waist. Visible from above, behind the ribcage.
- Tuck. The abdomen rises from chest to hip when seen from the side.
Growing puppies should sit slightly lean, closer to 4 than 5 on the 9-point scale. A round puppy is growing too fast, which matters most in large breeds.
Adjust the portion by about 10% when condition drifts, then reassess in two weeks. Do not make a large cut, since a growing puppy genuinely needs the calories.
Treats and the 10% rule
Treats stay under 10% of daily calories, training included. For a 15 lb puppy on 885 calories that is about 88 calories, which is not much once a few training rewards are counted.
Two things help. Subtract treats from the meal ration rather than adding them on top. And use pieces of the puppy's own kibble for training, which most puppies accept happily and which keeps the diet balanced.
What the AAFCO statement should say
Check the bag for a nutritional adequacy statement naming growth or all life stages. An adult maintenance food will not support a puppy, and this is the one label check that is genuinely non-negotiable.
For a large-breed puppy, look for the additional wording about growth of dogs including those expected to reach 70 lb or more as adults. A food substantiated only for growth of small and medium dogs is not appropriate.
Prefer foods substantiated by animal feeding tests over "formulated to meet", since the first was fed to real puppies and the second was checked on a spreadsheet. The label guide shows where to find all of this.
Switching to adult food
Time it to skeletal maturity from the table above, and take 10 to 14 days over it. Adult food is less calorie-dense and lower in the nutrients that support growth, so switching a large-breed puppy at twelve months removes support it still needs. Leaving any dog on puppy food months past maturity supplies surplus calories that become fat.
The transition guide has the ratios.
The bottom line
Calculate from current weight, use 3 x RER before four months and 2 x RER after, recalculate every two weeks, and weigh the portion rather than scooping it. Feed four meals early and taper to two. If your puppy will pass about 70 lb, use a large-breed growth formula and add no calcium.
Then let body condition overrule the chart. The chart describes an average puppy, and you are feeding a specific one.
Get a growth plan matched to your puppy's breed and size; free, 60 seconds →
FAQ
Quick answers sourced from veterinary literature
These mirror the medically reviewed IntelliBowl notes on this slug and exist to help crawlers summarize quotable excerpts.
How much should I feed my puppy?
Work from calories rather than the bag's cup range. Calculate resting energy requirement as 70 x (weight in kg)^0.75, then multiply by about 3.0 from weaning to four months and about 2.0 from four months until growth finishes. A 10 lb puppy has an RER near 218 kcal, so a daily target near 650 kcal before four months and near 435 kcal after. Divide by the food's kcal per cup to get the portion, then adjust against body condition every couple of weeks.
How many times a day should a puppy eat?
Four meals a day from weaning to about four months, three meals from four to six months, and two meals from six months onward. Small and toy breeds should stay on more frequent meals for longer, since their limited liver glycogen stores make them prone to hypoglycaemia if meals are spaced too far apart.
When should a puppy switch to adult food?
At skeletal maturity, which depends on adult size rather than a fixed age: around 9 to 12 months for small breeds, 12 to 14 months for medium breeds, and 18 to 24 months for large and giant breeds. Moving a large-breed puppy to adult food too early removes growth support it still needs, and leaving any dog on puppy food past maturity supplies surplus calories that turn into fat.
Should I free-feed my puppy?
No. Leaving food out all day removes your ability to see appetite changes, which are often the first sign a puppy is unwell, and it makes house-training harder because you cannot predict elimination. For large-breed puppies it is actively risky, since unlimited intake accelerates growth rate and raises the risk of developmental orthopaedic disease. Measured meals at set times are better on every count.
How do I tell whether my puppy is the right weight?
Use body condition rather than a chart weight. You should feel the ribs easily under a thin fat layer, see a waist from above, and see an abdominal tuck from the side. Growing puppies should stay on the lean side of ideal, closer to 4 than 5 on the 9-point scale. A puppy that looks round is growing too fast, which matters most in large breeds where excess growth velocity damages developing joints.
Why do large-breed puppies need a different food?
Because growing too fast is the specific risk for them. Large-breed puppy formulas control calorie density and cap calcium, which AAFCO limits to 1.8% dry matter for large-breed growth, so the skeleton develops at a rate the joints tolerate. Feeding a calorie-dense standard puppy food, or adding a calcium supplement, raises the risk of hip and elbow dysplasia and osteochondrosis. A puppy expected to exceed about 70 lb as an adult should be on a large-breed growth formula.