How much to feed
How much should I feed a 7kg dog?
Last updated 23 September 2026 · How we write and check this
Short answer
A 7kg dog typically needs around 125 to 135g of a standard dry food a day. At this weight, portion mistakes show up faster than they would on a large breed, since 10g is a bigger share of the daily total, so precision with a scale pays off more than it does for a bigger dog.
Getting the baseline right
A 7kg dog's resting energy is around 301 kcal, and a typical neutered adult at normal activity needs roughly 1.6 times that, near 480 kcal a day. At 350 to 400 kcal per 100g, that works out to about 125 to 135g of dry food.
That covers an averagely active pet. A dog that is walked briskly for an hour or more daily may sit closer to the top of that range or slightly above it.
Why precision matters more here
A 10g overestimate on a 7kg dog's daily food is a larger share of the total than the same 10g would be for a 30kg dog, so small habits like a heaping rather than level scoop add up quickly at this size.
Weighing the food, even just once a week to recalibrate a scoop, keeps portions consistent without weighing every single meal by hand.
Tracking progress
Weigh your dog every two to three weeks using the same scale at the same time of day, ideally before a meal rather than after.
If weight is climbing steadily over a month with no change in activity, reduce the daily total by about 10 percent and hold there for two weeks before judging again. Keep the scoop you use dedicated to this one food, since swapping it for a different container, even briefly, can quietly throw off a calibration you built up over previous weeks.
Key takeaways
- A 7kg adult dog typically needs about 125 to 135g of dry food a day.
- Small portion errors matter more at this weight than they do for larger dogs.
- Weigh a scoop occasionally to check it matches the intended gram amount.
- Give any change two to three weeks before deciding whether it worked.