How do I measure a portion of raw dog food?

Calorie content in raw food varies considerably depending on the meat, organ, and fat content of a given recipe, which makes a precise calorie based calculation harder to apply consistently compared to a bagged dry food with a printed calorie count.

The percentage of body weight method gives a workable starting point that many raw feeding guides use, generally 2 to 3 percent of the dog's ideal adult weight per day.

For a 20kg dog, 2.5 percent of body weight works out to 500g a day, typically split across one or two meals depending on the dog's routine.

A more active or working dog may need closer to 3 percent, while a lower energy dog may do better nearer 2 percent, similar to the activity adjustments used for other food types.

Weigh your dog every two to three weeks and check the waist and ribs, adjusting the percentage up or down by 0.25 percent at a time if the trend runs the wrong way.

If you are new to raw feeding, a raw food supplier or a vet with raw feeding experience can help confirm the recipe you are using provides balanced nutrition alongside the correct total amount, since getting the overall balance right matters as much as getting the daily quantity right.