How much to feed
How do I measure a portion of wet dog food?
Last updated 23 September 2026 · How we write and check this
Short answer
Weigh wet food in grams the same way you would dry food, using the calorie content printed on the tin or pouch to work out how much matches your dog's daily calorie target. Wet food is typically much less calorie dense than dry food, often only 70 to 100 kcal per 100g compared to 350 to 400 kcal per 100g for dry, so the daily gram amount ends up considerably larger.
Why wet food portions look so different
Because wet food is mostly water, its calorie density per gram is much lower than dry food, so a dog eating only wet food typically needs three to four times the gram weight it would need of dry food to get the same daily calories.
A 10kg dog needing around 630 kcal a day, for example, might need roughly 650 to 900g of a typical wet food, compared to around 165g of a typical dry food.
Working from the label
Check the calorie content per 100g or per can printed on the packaging, since this varies more between wet food brands and recipes than it does for dry food.
If a can or pouch does not provide the full daily amount, weigh out the remainder needed rather than guessing, using the same calculation as for dry food.
Mixing wet and dry
If you feed a combination of wet and dry, calculate the calories from each separately and add them together, rather than assuming half a portion of each equals a full daily amount.
A simple approach is to decide the split you want, such as half the daily calories from each, then work out the grams of each food needed to hit that half. Write this figure down once you have calculated it, so you are not redoing the maths every time you prepare a meal.
Key takeaways
- Wet food is far less calorie dense than dry food, so the daily gram amount is much higher.
- Check the calorie content per 100g or per can on the specific product, since this varies a lot between wet foods.
- A dog eating only wet food may need three to four times the gram weight of an equivalent dry food.
- When mixing wet and dry, calculate the calories from each separately rather than estimating by volume.