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Ideal dog weight calculator

Breed charts give a range; your dog's body tells the truth. Score body condition, get a target weight and a safe plan to reach it.

Feel the ribs with flat fingers, look at the waist from above and the tummy tuck from the side. Ask your vet to score your dog at the next visit.
Estimated ideal weight
—lb
—
  • Change needed—
  • Safe weight-loss pace (1% of body weight per week)—
  • Time to reach ideal at that pace—
  • Calories for weight loss (RER at ideal weight × 1.0)—

Each body condition point above 5 is about 10% extra body weight (Laflamme 1997). Overweight dogs live up to 2.5 years less (Salt 2019). Talk to your vet before a weight-loss plan, especially for dogs with heart, kidney or endocrine disease.

Scoring body condition at home

  1. Ribs. Slide flat fingers along the chest. Ideal feels like the back of your hand: bones under a thin cover. Knuckles means too thin; the palm means overweight.
  2. Waist from above. Stand over your dog. An hourglass narrowing behind the ribs is ideal. Straight sides or a bulge means overweight.
  3. Tuck from the side. The belly should rise from chest to hips. A level or sagging line means overweight.
  4. Tail base and back. Fat pads over the tail base and a "table top" back mean a score of 8 or 9.
Check with your vet first

Sudden weight gain with a pot belly, thirst or hair loss can be Cushing's disease or hypothyroidism, not overfeeding. Sudden weight loss needs bloodwork. Confirm the score and the plan at a vet visit before cutting food, especially for puppies and dogs with medical conditions.

Once you have a target, the calorie calculator converts it into cups per day.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my dog is overweight?

Run flat fingers along the ribs: you should feel them with light pressure under a thin fat layer, like the back of your hand. From above there should be a visible waist behind the ribs; from the side the belly should tuck up. If ribs need pressure to find and the waist is gone, the score is 7 or above.

How fast should a dog lose weight?

About 1% of body weight per week, up to 2% under veterinary supervision. Faster loss risks muscle loss and, in some dogs, liver problems. A 30 kg dog that should weigh 25 kg needs roughly 18 weeks.

Does a few extra pounds really matter?

Yes. Overweight dogs lived 5 months to 2.5 years less than ideal-weight dogs across 12 breeds. Excess weight also drives arthritis, cruciate injuries, breathing problems in flat-faced breeds and diabetes.

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Sources

  1. Laflamme D. Development and validation of a body condition score system for dogs. Canine Practice. 1997;22(4):10-15.
  2. Salt C, Morris PJ, Wilson D, Lund EM, German AJ. Association between life span and body condition in neutered client-owned dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2019;33(1):89-99. doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15367
  3. WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee. Global Nutrition Guidelines and calorie requirement charts. wsava.org/global-guidelines/global-nutrition-guidelines/