Puppy Raw Feeding Guide and Calculator

Puppy feeding percentages by age

Percent of the puppy's current weight per day. Weigh every 2 weeks and recalculate, because a growing puppy can add a kilo a week at 4 months.

The calculator uses the middle to lower figure in each band (8%, 6%, 4.5%, 3.5%) so that the default errs on the lean side. Go up by 10 percent if ribs are showing, down by 10 percent if you cannot feel them.

Worked examples

The ratios for puppies

Same as adults: 80 percent muscle meat, 10 percent bone, 5 percent liver, 5 percent other secreting organ, or the BARF version with 10 percent vegetables. See BARF vs PMR. Three puppy specific points:

• Bone matters more. It is the calcium and phosphorus source for a growing skeleton. Hit 10 percent, do not skip it, and do not go far above it. Bone-free mince as the whole diet is the most common puppy raw mistake.
• Fat matters. Puppies need energy. Do not strip fat from the meat. Chicken with skin on is fine.
• Variety can wait. One protein for the first 2 weeks, then add proteins one at a time. Four or more proteins across the week by 4 months is a good target.

Bone for puppies

Soft, pliable, raw bone only, sized so the puppy chews rather than swallows whole. 10 percent of a 320 g daily amount is 32 g of bone, which is about 70 g of chicken wings or 90 g of chicken necks. Chicken feet (60 percent bone) are small enough for toy breeds. Turkey and duck necks suit larger puppies from 5 months. Always supervise, and remove bones a puppy tries to swallow whole.

Switching a puppy to raw

Puppies adjust faster than adult dogs. If the breeder raw fed, keep the same food for the first 2 weeks at home and change nothing else. If the puppy was weaned onto kibble:

1. Days 1 to 2: one of the daily meals raw, a single protein with bone (chicken or turkey mince, or a complete puppy recipe).
2. Days 3 to 4: two meals raw.
3. Day 5 onwards: all meals raw.
4. Week 2: add liver at 2.5 percent, moving to 5 percent by week 3.
5. Week 3: add kidney, then a second protein.

Never fast a puppy as part of a switch. If stools go loose, hold at the current step rather than going back. The full transition guide covers what different stools mean.

Large and giant breeds

Fast growth, not raw itself, is the risk for Labradors, Shepherds, Great Danes and similar. Keep them lean, use the low end of each percentage band, hold bone at 10 percent and move to adult percentages gradually between 12 and 18 months. A Great Dane puppy at 9 months can weigh 50 kg and would eat 1.75 kg a day at 3.5 percent; in practice most giant breed feeders cap at around 1.2 to 1.5 kg and judge by body condition.

Puppies with a medical condition, puppies under 8 weeks and puppies from litters with a history of growth problems should be fed under veterinary guidance.