What is resting energy requirement for dogs?

The power of 0.75 in the formula reflects the fact that metabolic rate does not scale in a straight line with body weight. Smaller animals burn more energy per kilogram of body weight than larger ones, which the formula captures more accurately than a simple linear multiplication would.

This formula is widely used across veterinary nutrition as the standard starting point for calculating a dog's total daily energy need.

RER on its own is not what you feed a dog, since a normally active dog burns considerably more than resting energy through movement, digestion, and simply being awake.

Instead, RER is multiplied by an activity factor, commonly 1.2 for weight loss, around 1.6 for an average neutered adult, and higher for active, working, or intact dogs, to reach a practical daily feeding target.

For most pet dogs between about 2kg and 70kg, RER in kcal is roughly 70 multiplied by weight in kilograms to the power of 0.75, which a calculator or a simple online food calculator tool can work out instantly from your dog's weight.

Knowing your dog's RER is useful beyond daily feeding too, since it is the same baseline figure used when working out calorie adjustments for weight loss or weight gain plans, so it is worth keeping written down somewhere handy.