We provide you with an amazing tool in the Real Dog Food Calculator. But it would be best if you still had a basic understanding of how we developed the calculations. We will discuss the foundation of food formulations, starting with calculating your dog's caloric needs.

Your dog's caloric needs are based on age, weight, activity level, and health status. For this lesson, we will focus on a healthy young dog. Another lesson will cover the dietary needs for other life stages.

To calculate your dog's needs, we will calculate your dog's Resting Energy Requirement (RER) using the equation 70x (kg)BW0.75 = Kcal required.

The Kcal, a commonly used measurement for energy, is usually just called a calorie. To convert kg of body weight (BW), divide your dog's weight in pounds by 2.2.

For example, a 66-pound dog would be 66/2.2= 30 kg. Using our 30 kg dog,  the RER would be 70 x 300.75=897.3 Kcal. To determine his calorie needs, multiply that value by the appropriate multiplier for your dog's age and physiological state.

For our adult average neutered dog, you would figure 897.3 x 1.6=1435 Kcal daily.

A simplified way to determine how much to feed your dog when feeding a raw diet is to provide 2.5% of his body weight. This time, we will use pounds to calculate the amount. 66-pound dog x .025= 1.65 pounds of food per day. This formula is much easier to work with when planning meals.

Gross Energy (GE) is the total amount of potential energy found in food. The GE of food is never fully utilized because energy is lost as solid (feces), liquid (urine), and radiant heat. Digestible energy (DE) is determined by subtracting the energy lost in feces from the GE. Metabolizable Energy (ME) is DE minus energy lost in the urine.

Three primary nutrients contribute to the ME of food: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The amount of Kcal, known as the Atwater Factor, for each component in raw food is:

Different values for commercial dog food, known as the Modified Atwater Factors, are used. They are as follows: 

The Atwater Factor values were derived from given digestibility coefficients for the three essential nutrients. The values differ for commercial pet food because it is known that the ingredients used in dog food are less digestible than whole raw foods consumed by humans.

Sources of Muscle Meat, Bones, and Organs

Any mammal, non-reptilian, preferably a ruminant animal

Kidney, Spleen, Pancreas, Brain, Testicles, Ovaries/Thymus

We provide you with an amazing tool in the <a href="https://feedreal.com/calculator">Real Dog Food Calculator</a>. But it would be best if you still had a basic understanding of how we developed the calculations. We will discuss the foundation of food formulations, starting with calculating your dog's caloric needs.

To calculate your dog's needs, we will calculate your dog's Resting <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/adenosine-triphosphate">Energy</a> Requirement (RER) using the equation 70x (kg)BW0.75 = Kcal required.

Three primary nutrients contribute to the ME of food: <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/catabolism">protein</a>, <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/carbohydrates">carbohydrates</a>, and fat. The amount of Kcal, known as the Atwater Factor, for each component in raw food is:

There are different models of raw diets: Real Ancestral 6X DietTM,  <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/prey-model-raw-pmr">Prey Model Raw (PMR)</a>, and <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/biologically-appropriate-raw-food-barf">Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF)</a>. We will base this bowl on the PMR diet.

Using our calculation for the amount of raw food needed per day for our 66-pound dog at 1.65 pounds, the  Real Ancestral 6X DietTM percentages would be:

If you run this through a calculator based on <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/aafco">AAFCO</a> guidelines, you will see some areas that show deficiencies. Remember, this doesn't necessarily mean there is one since AAFCO is based on <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/kibble">kibble</a>. However, if you prefer to feed based on these guidelines and still use this recipe, you may need to add some supplements to the diet to be classified as 'complete and balanced by AAFCO. 

The PMR is based on the concept of feeding the entire animal or <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/whole-prey">whole prey</a>, including the intact fur or feathers, organs, glands, blood, and intestinal tract. Although whole wild prey is an ideal food source for PMR diets, we realize it is difficult to source, so whole domestic animals such as rabbits, chickens, or ducks can be fed. 

You can also piece the PMR diet together with parts from different animals, often called the Franken Prey diet. This comprises 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% other secreting organs, commonly called 80/10/10. Remember, this is just a guideline that can be adjusted to meet your dog's needs. 

An easy way to know if you are providing the right amount of bone is to examine your dog's poop. If the feces is too soft, add more bone, using 75% muscle meat, 15% bone, 5% liver, and 5% other secreting organs as your formula. But if the tools are hard and chalky, you may need to reduce the bone percentage.

Using our calculation for the amount of raw food needed per day for our 66-pound dog at 1.65 pounds, the 80/10/5/5 would be approximate:

For example, a single chicken quarter will have approximately 30% bone. The leg quarter has about .30 lbs of raw meaty bone and .70 lbs of muscle meat at one pound in weight. And you know you already need about .18lbs of organ meat to make your daily meal. So 1.65 - 1lb (chicken leg) - .18lb (organ) = means you need approximately 0.6 lbs of more meat to complete your daily meal. 

That is why we recommend making meals in bulk. It is easier to balance the meals in larger quantities. Let's make 14 meals. We will round up the daily amount to 1.75 pounds for more straightforward calculations—1.75 lbs x 14 meals =24.5 lbs, which we will round up to 25 lbs.

Dogs need the correct balance of phosphorus and calcium in their daily diets. The calcium-to-phosphorus ratio should be about 1:1 or even 1.1:1 with a little more calcium in the diet.

Phosphorus is provided in the meat, while the raw meaty bones provide calcium. If there is too much of either mineral, deficiencies will occur. 

A dog's diet must include five essential <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/fatty-acids">fatty acids</a> (EFA) because dogs cannot produce them. All are polyunsaturated fats, including <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/linoleic-acid">Linoleic Acid</a> (LA), Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA), Arachidonic Acid (AA), Eicosapentaenoic Acid (<a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/epa">EPA</a>), and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA). ALA, EPA, and DHA are <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/omega3">Omega-3</a> fatty acids, and LA and AA are <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/omega3">Omega-6</a>.

Although nutritionists have no consensus about the ideal  Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acid ratio, it is well documented that if the ratio is too high, the excess Omega-6 can cause a series of disease states. Recommended ratios have ranged from 2:1, 4:1, or 5:1. Omega-6 vs. Omega-3 imbalance may lead to:

A diet with a 4-1 or 5-1 of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is considered optimum for dogs. The majority of kibble diets contain ratios of 20-1 or higher. This is one of the contributing factors to <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/chronic">chronic</a> inflammation and obesity in so many of our dogs.

The recipe provided is just one way to meet your dog's dietary needs. The nutritional compositions of different foods vary. Including various meat, fruits, and vegetables in your dog's bowl can aid overall nutrition. Overfeeding the same food component can cause imbalances in the <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/gut-microbiome">gut microbiome</a> and nutritional deficiencies.

Let your dog be your guide. Observe his body condition for signs of obesity or leanness. Adjust the amount you are feeding accordingly. Monitor his poop for color, shape, consistency, quantity, and content. Too much bone will cause white chalky poops, while too little bone can result in soft, loose stools.

Formulation Software and Nutritional Consultations

Suppose you want to get down to the fundamentals. In that case, you can also reference a software program like the Animal Diet Formulator to balance exact nutrients, such as calcium, phosphorus, and Omega fatty acids. However, sticking with spreadsheets and exact numbers can make preparing a fresh food diet complex and overwhelming. 

Veterinary nutritionists will tell you you must balance all vitamins and minerals according to the NRC guidelines. Still, those guidelines were developed based on kibble, not whole human-grade food.

The nutrients in kibble have been altered to require synthetic vitamins and minerals to be added to the formula. The <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/bioavailable">bioavailability</a> of natural vitamins and minerals is far greater than that of synthetics.

Articles from future units will be accessible once you have completed that unit.

Unit 6 - <a href="https://feedreal.com/articles/become-a-poop-inspectormonitoring-your-dogs-health-by-examining-his-poop">Become A Poop Inspector-Monitoring Your Dog's Health By Examining His Poop!</a> 

Unit 3 - <a href="https://feedreal.com/articles/aafco-and-nrc-why-were-standards-established">AAFCO And NRC: Why Were Standards Established?</a> 

<a href="https://feedreal.com/articles/synthetic-vitamins-and-minerals-in-commercial-dog-foods">Synthetic Vitamins And Minerals In Commercial Dog Foods</a> 

Making Your Dog's Bowl Without a Calculator

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