NutriPaw Calculator
This raw dog food calculator was specifically developed to help dog owners create more balanced raw meals at home. Many people want to switch to raw dog food, but figuring out the right ingredients, nutrients, and proportions can quickly become overwhelming.
Balancing a raw diet involves much more than simply combining meat, organs, and bones. Dogs require specific amounts of essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and other nutrients. That’s why I created this dog food calculator—to make the nutritional side of raw feeding easier to understand and manage.
I collected nutrient data primarily from USDA FoodData Central, along with additional reliable food-composition sources where necessary. The calculator compares the nutrients provided by your selected ingredients with AAFCO nutritional recommendations for dogs, helping you identify potential nutrient deficiencies or excesses.
The goal is to give dog owners a practical tool for evaluating their own raw dog food recipes without having to perform complicated nutritional calculations manually.
The calculator can be used with both Prey Model Raw (PMR) and BARF raw feeding models. It is not designed for Whole Prey feeding because components such as fur, feathers, and other whole-animal tissues are not included in the nutrient calculations.
The Raw Dog Food Calculator is free to use, so you can experiment with different ingredients and see how changes to your dog’s meals affect the overall nutritional profile.
NutriPaw Calculator for Raw Dog Food – User Manual
Follow these steps to use it effectively:
1. Input the Time Frame
- Navigate to the first tab and select the length of the period for which you prepare meals. Choose one of the following options:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- This time frame determines the total amount of ingredients needed for your selected period.
- DAILY is not the preferred input. A diet does not need to be perfectly balanced in every single meal or on every single day. What matters is achieving nutritional balance over a longer period, such as a week or a month, through variety and rotation of foods.
2. Add Ingredients
- Input the ingredients you plan to add for the selected time frame (if you prepare meals for a week or a month)
- Enter the total amount of each ingredient in ounces (oz), except for eggs.
- Eggs should be input as pieces. So add total number of eggs you would use for selected time frame.
- For 1 lb of food, enter 16 oz. For 2 lb of food, enter 32 oz …
- Remember, the amounts entered should reflect the total for the selected time frame.
3. Switch to the Nutrition Tab
- After entering all ingredients, switch to the Nutrition tab to view the calculated nutritional breakdown.
4. Understand the Nutrition Tab
This calculator is based on nutritional requirements for Adult Maintenance.
1. Pay attention to the colored cells.
🔴 Red cells indicate that a nutrient is too low or missing.
🟡 Yellow cells indicate that a nutrient is too high.
Pay special attention to both red and yellow cells when adjusting your recipe.
2. Pay attention to the daily calorie intake (kcal). If your dog needs fewer calories per day, reduce the total amount of ingredients for the selected time frame accordingly.
5. Get Help with Results and Join My Community
- This calculator is based on nutritional requirements for Adult Maintenance. Diets for Growth & Reproduction have different nutritional requirements and need to be adjusted accordingly.
- If you need assistance interpreting your results, modifying the diet for Growth & Reproduction, or balancing your dog’s diet, I am happy to help!
- Join my FREE community, where you can get detailed explanations, watch my courses, and ask additional questions.
Thank you for using the Nutri Paw Calculator! This is version 1.2 of the calculator, created to help you make raw dog food and better understand your dog’s nutritional needs. Updates will be made based on feedback and suggestions, which are always welcome.
Looking for cooked meals? Try my Home-Cooked Dog Food Calculator.