Frequently Asked Questions

It takes about a minute to get a full meal plan:

1. Enter your dog's breed, weight, activity level, life stage and whether they are neutered.
2. The calculator sets the portion weights automatically to hit your dog's daily calorie target.
3. Add or remove ingredients as you like. Everything rebalances around your changes.
4. Check the results card at the bottom. The bars confirm protein and fat targets are met. The pie chart shows bowl composition.
5. Use the Batch Size section to scale up the shopping list for the week.
6. Print or share the recipe when you are happy with it.

When you add ingredients, FullPup calculates the exact portion weights needed to hit your dog's daily calorie target. Each ingredient category has a target share of the bowl (protein gets the largest slice, carbs get a smaller one, and so on). The bowl rescales every time you add or remove an ingredient. If you manually adjust an ingredient using the steppers, it gets pinned at that amount and everything else balances around it.

When you use the + or - steppers to adjust an ingredient manually, it gets pinned at that amount. Pinned ingredients are fixed and the rebalancer distributes the remaining calories across everything else. You will see a reset link appear next to the ingredient when it is pinned. Tap that to unpin it and let the calculator take over again.

Some ingredients have safety caps. Liver is capped by percentage of the bowl due to vitamin A toxicity risk. Eggshell powder and bone meal are capped at 8g. Fish portions are capped for similar reasons. If the calculator has reduced an ingredient, a warning will appear telling you exactly why and what it was reduced to. These limits are there for a reason and cannot be bypassed.

Yes. There is a kg/lbs toggle next to the weight input. Switch to lbs and the weight input, ingredient amounts and shopping list all convert automatically. The nutritional calculations always run in metric behind the scenes, so the results are the same either way.

The bars show how your current bowl compares to the FEDIAF minimum targets for protein and fat, scaled to your dog's actual calorie needs. Green means the target is met. If the bar is short, the bowl is below the minimum and you will see a message suggesting what to add. The calorie bar shows how close the bowl total is to your dog's daily target.

The pie chart breaks down your bowl by food group: Meat, Fish and Offal, Carbs, Veg and Fruit, and Dairy and Eggs. The percentages are by weight, which is how most homemade feeding guidelines quote their recommendations. The meat percentage is shown in the centre of the chart. If it drops below 60%, a note will flag it.

When you choose a breed, a card called Good to know may appear below the dog profile. It surfaces short, plain-language notes about dietary considerations worth knowing for that breed. Many breeds have nothing in particular to flag, so for them the card simply does not appear, and some breeds show more than one note.

The notes cover things like deep-chested breeds being prone to bloat, where smaller and more frequent meals help, small breeds prone to bladder stones, giant-breed puppies needing controlled calcium while they grow, or Dalmatians and their sensitivity to high-purine foods like offal. They are drawn from breed club health data, Kennel Club records and veterinary literature. The notes are general guidance based on breed tendencies, not a diagnosis, and they are purely informational, so they do not change the calorie or nutrient calculations in any way. If you have a specific health concern about your dog, your vet is always the best port of call.

Yes, when it's properly balanced. The biggest risk with homemade feeding is calcium deficiency. Muscle meat is high in phosphorus and almost zero in calcium, so without supplementation the ratio can run as low as 1:10, well below the FEDIAF minimum of 1:1. Over time that leaches calcium from bones. Eggshell powder or bone meal in every bowl, plus a quality daily supplement, is essential, not optional. Get those right and homemade feeding is genuinely excellent for your dog.

Gradually. Dogs' digestive systems need time to adjust, especially if they have spent years eating the same ultra-processed food every day. Start by replacing about 25% of their usual meal with homemade food and increase it over one to two weeks until you have fully transitioned. Some dogs sail through with no issues. Others get a bit of a dodgy stomach at first, which usually settles quickly. If your dog has ongoing digestive problems, a slower transition or a chat with your vet is the sensible move.

It depends what you were buying before. If you were spending serious money on premium kibble, homemade can actually work out similar or cheaper, especially if you buy in bulk and batch cook. If you were buying the bargain basement stuff, yes, real food will cost more. But the comparison is not really like for like. You know exactly what is in the bowl, the ingredients are human grade, and you are not paying for processing, packaging, or marketing.

You can, and plenty of owners do. Some people do homemade a few nights a week and use a good quality wet food on the other nights. That is absolutely fine. Just be aware that if you are mixing with kibble regularly, you need to account for the calories coming from both sources or you will end up with an overweight dog. FullPup calculates a full daily meal, so if you are only replacing part of the diet, adjust accordingly.

Three days in an airtight container is the standard rule. Anything beyond that, freeze it. Cooked meat and fish in particular should not hang around in the fridge too long. If you are batch cooking for a week or more, portion it up and freeze most of it, then defrost what you need each day. It keeps well frozen for up to three months.

Good coat condition, solid stools, a healthy weight, good energy levels, and a dog that actually looks forward to mealtimes are all good signs. Weigh your dog regularly and keep an eye on body condition, you should be able to feel their ribs easily but not see them. If anything seems off, a vet check and a blood panel will tell you if there are any nutritional gaps.

FullPup calculates your dog's daily calorie target using the standard veterinary RER formula (70 x bodyweight in kg to the power of 0.75), adjusted for activity level, breed size and life stage. The amounts shown in the results are what your dog needs to hit that target. These are starting points. Monitor your dog's weight and adjust if needed.

Yes. The Batch Size section scales the shopping list to 1 Day, 3 Days, 1 Week, 2 Weeks or 1 Month. The amounts shown are the total quantities you need to buy and cook for that period. Perfect for Sunday meal prep. Just cook, portion, and freeze what you are not using in the next three days.

Pick Mixed Breed (Small), Mixed Breed (Medium) or Mixed Breed (Large) based on your dog's size. The breed multiplier adjusts calorie targets to account for metabolic differences between breeds, so size is what matters most. We are regularly adding new breeds, so get in touch if yours is missing.

66 at the moment, across eight categories: proteins, fish, offal, carbs, veg, fruit, oils and supplements, and dairy. That covers 11 protein sources, 10 vegetables, 9 fruits, and everything from salmon oil to eggshell powder. We add new ingredients regularly, so if something you use is missing, let us know via the contact page.

Yes, completely free. No sign-up, no subscription, no hidden costs. Just open it and start building your dog's meal.

FullPup is built on FEDIAF 2025 nutritional guidelines, the standard for pet food in the UK and Europe, and is consistent with AAFCO recommendations used in the US. For homemade feeding purposes the two are closely aligned, so the targets in FullPup work wherever you are. We use their published minimum protein and fat targets per 1000 kcal, adjusted for life stage.

According to FEDIAF 2025, adult dogs need at least 45g of protein per 1000 kcal. Senior dogs need slightly more, at least 52g per 1000 kcal, because older dogs process protein less efficiently. Puppies need the most, around 50 to 62g per 1000 kcal depending on age. FullPup tracks this in real time and flags it if the bowl falls short.

The FEDIAF minimum for adult and senior dogs is around 13.75g of fat per 1000 kcal. Puppies need more, around 21g per 1000 kcal. Fat is important for energy, brain function, coat condition, and absorbing fat-soluble vitamins. Most real food diets hit fat targets easily, especially if you include oily fish or a quality oil like salmon oil.

Technically, no. Dogs have no strict dietary requirement for carbohydrates the way they do for protein and fat. They can convert protein and fat into energy perfectly well without them. That said, carbs like sweet potato, rice and oats are useful in a homemade diet as a way to hit calorie targets without overloading on protein or fat, and they are easy to digest. They are a tool, not a necessity. FullPup does not track carbs against a target for this reason.

Most nutritionists and homemade feeding communities recommend at least 60% meat, fish and offal by weight. FullPup is calibrated to hit that as a minimum. The bowl composition chart in the results card shows you exactly where your bowl lands, so there is no guesswork.

Because muscle meat, which forms the bulk of most homemade diets, contains almost no calcium but a lot of phosphorus. The result is a Ca:P ratio that can run as low as 1:10 in an unsupplemented bowl. FEDIAF requires a minimum ratio of 1:1. Over time, a calcium deficit causes the body to leach calcium from bones to maintain blood calcium levels, which is as bad as it sounds. Eggshell powder or bone meal in every bowl is essential. It is not optional and it is not a nice extra.

FullPup tracks calories, protein and fat, and those can be hit through real food. Calcium is harder to hit through food alone, which is why eggshell powder or bone meal is essential in every bowl. Beyond that, homemade diets are typically short on vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc and EPA/DHA omega-3. These are genuinely difficult to hit consistently through whole foods. A quality all-in-one dog supplement covers those remaining gaps and is the sensible safety net for anyone feeding homemade long term.

Eggshell powder is finely ground eggshell and one of the best natural sources of calcium for dogs. Half a teaspoon provides roughly 1000mg of calcium. You can buy it ready made or make your own by drying out eggshells in the oven and grinding them finely. Add it to the meal before serving. FullPup includes it as an ingredient in the calculator and sets a default amount, but you can adjust up or down with the steppers. Do not go above 8g per day.

Yes. Bone meal is an alternative calcium source and works well in homemade diets. It also contains phosphorus alongside calcium, so the ratio is different to eggshell powder. FullPup includes bone meal as an option in the calculator. The same 8g daily cap applies. Use one or the other, not both.

Yes. Select the right life stage using the Puppy, Adult or Senior buttons and FullPup adjusts the calorie target and nutritional minimums automatically. Puppy targets follow FEDIAF growth guidelines, which require higher protein and fat than adult maintenance. Senior targets increase the protein minimum to reflect the fact that older dogs need more protein to maintain muscle mass.

Puppies need more of almost everything. More calories for growth, more protein for muscle and tissue development, and more fat for brain development. They also have smaller stomachs, so some owners split the daily amount across two or three meals rather than one. FullPup calculates the full daily amount. How you split it across meals is up to you.

Senior dogs generally need fewer calories as their activity levels drop, but their protein requirements actually go up. Older dogs process protein less efficiently, so they need more of it to maintain muscle mass. FullPup uses the FEDIAF senior protein minimum of 52g per 1000 kcal, higher than the adult target of 45g. Oily fish is particularly good for senior dogs for the anti-inflammatory omega-3s. Keep an eye on weight and adjust portions if needed.

Neutering and spaying affect metabolism. Without the hormones produced by the reproductive organs, neutered and spayed dogs typically burn around 15 to 20% fewer calories than intact dogs of the same weight and activity level. Feed them the same amount as an intact dog and you will end up with an overweight dog. FullPup applies a 15% calorie reduction for neutered or spayed dogs, in line with FEDIAF guidance.

FullPup is not currently set up for pregnancy or lactation, which have significantly increased nutritional requirements above what the standard life stage settings cover. If your dog is pregnant or nursing, please work with your vet or a canine nutritionist to build an appropriate diet. This is one situation where getting it right really matters.

Because some ingredients change significantly when cooked. Rice roughly triples in weight as it absorbs water. Fish loses moisture and shrinks. The nutritional data in FullPup reflects the food in the state your dog actually eats it. If an ingredient says cooked weight, weigh it after cooking, not before. Ingredients without the label can be weighed as-is.

Liver is genuinely excellent for dogs, packed with vitamin A, B12, iron and zinc. But vitamin A is fat-soluble and accumulates in the body, so too much over time causes toxicity. The general recommendation is to keep liver to no more than 5% of the diet for chicken liver and 10% for beef or lamb liver. FullPup enforces these limits automatically and will reduce liver if you try to add too much, and tell you why.

Fish is brilliant for dogs. Oily fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon and trout are excellent sources of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, which support joints, coat, brain function and inflammation. Feeding fish a few times a week is ideal. FullPup caps individual fish portions (sardines at 120g, other oily fish at 150g) to keep things sensible, but there is no reason you cannot include fish in most meals if you want to.

Yes. Eggs are one of the most nutritionally complete foods you can give a dog. High quality protein, healthy fats, vitamins B2, B12, D and selenium. Cooked eggs are best. Raw egg white contains avidin, which can interfere with biotin absorption if fed in large amounts over time. The occasional raw egg is fine, but for regular feeding, cook them. FullPup includes whole eggs, egg yolk, and eggshell powder as separate ingredients.

Kale is nutrient dense and fine in moderation, but it contains oxalates and compounds called thiosulfates, which in large amounts can cause digestive issues and in very high quantities may affect red blood cells. Every day in small amounts is probably fine for most dogs, but a large bowl of kale daily is not a good idea. FullPup caps kale at 150g per meal for this reason. Rotate your greens rather than relying on one source.

The ones to absolutely avoid are onions, garlic, leeks and chives (all of the allium family), grapes and raisins, macadamia nuts, chocolate, xylitol (an artificial sweetener found in some peanut butters and sugar-free products), cooked bones that can splinter, and avocado. If in doubt, look it up before you add it to the bowl. The list is shorter than people think, but the ones on it are genuinely dangerous.

Rotating is better. Different proteins have different amino acid profiles, and varying what you feed gives your dog a broader nutritional base and reduces the chance of developing a food sensitivity to one protein. It also makes mealtimes a bit more interesting for them, which is never a bad thing. Chicken, lamb, beef, rabbit, turkey, fish all have their place. Mix it up over the course of a week or between batches.

Yes, in reasonable amounts. White rice is highly digestible and gentle on the stomach, which is why vets often recommend it for dogs with upset tummies. Brown rice has more fibre and nutrients but is a bit harder to digest. Neither is essential. They are a useful way to add bulk and calories to a bowl, particularly for larger or more active dogs who need more energy. FullPup includes both.

Not strictly, no. Dogs are primarily carnivores and can meet all their nutritional needs through meat, fish, offal and appropriate supplementation. Vegetables add fibre, some vitamins and variety, and most dogs enjoy them. They are a useful addition rather than a requirement. Keep them to a sensible proportion of the bowl, and stick to dog-safe options like carrots, courgette, green beans, broccoli and spinach in moderation.

Yes, and it is worth doing before you switch rather than after. Most vets are supportive of homemade feeding when it is done properly, though some will default to recommending commercial food out of habit. If your vet has specific concerns about your dog, this is the time to raise them. Annual blood panels are a good idea for any dog on a long term homemade diet, just to confirm everything is where it should be.

FullPup is designed for healthy dogs with standard nutritional requirements. Dogs with kidney disease, liver conditions, diabetes, allergies, or other health issues often need a modified diet that goes beyond what a general calculator can provide. If your dog has a health condition, please work with your vet or a qualified canine nutritionist to build an appropriate meal plan. FullPup can still be a useful reference, but the targets and ingredient choices may need adjusting.

Things to watch for include dull or flaky coat, low energy, weight loss or unexplained weight gain, loose stools, excessive shedding, and slow wound healing. Some deficiencies take months to show up in obvious ways, which is why a blood panel once a year is worth doing for any dog on a homemade diet. If something seems off, do not wait, get it checked.

We think so, when it is done properly. Kibble is convenient and nutritionally complete on paper, but it is also heavily processed, cooked at high temperatures that degrade nutrients, and the ingredient quality varies enormously depending on what you are buying. You also have no real visibility of what is actually in it beyond the label. Homemade food, done right, uses real whole ingredients you can see and weigh. That transparency is worth a lot. The catch is that "done right" requires effort and the right supplementation. Half-hearted homemade is worse than good quality commercial food.