How we calculate
Ingredients
274 ingredients from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain. Values are per 100 g of the food as described, raw or cooked. When USDA lists no value for a nutrient, we store “no data”, never zero. Data built 2026-10-31.
Iodine and chloride
USDA’s standard data has no iodine or chloride. Iodine comes from the USDA, FDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Iodine Content of Common Foods, Release 4.0 (October 2024), matched to 52 of our ingredients. Ingredients it doesn’t list count as 0, and iodine is marked “estimated”. Chloride is estimated from sodium: 1.0 × sodium in foods, and from the formula for added salt (60.7% chloride).
The standard
AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles, adult maintenance (per 1,000 kcal ME). We checked every value against AAFCO’s own document on 2026-10-31: AAFCO Pet Food Committee, revised Dog Food Nutrient Profiles (2014 Annual report, Appendix A; in the AAFCO Official Publication since 2016). AAFCO PDF. We present these as reference values; we don’t reproduce the document.
| Nutrient, per 1,000 kcal | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 45 g | – |
| Arginine | 1.28 g | – |
| Histidine | 0.48 g | – |
| Isoleucine | 0.95 g | – |
| Leucine | 1.7 g | – |
| Lysine | 1.58 g | – |
| Methionine | 0.83 g | – |
| Methionine + cystine | 1.63 g | – |
| Phenylalanine | 1.13 g | – |
| Phenylalanine + tyrosine | 1.85 g | – |
| Threonine | 1.2 g | – |
| Tryptophan | 0.4 g | – |
| Valine | 1.23 g | – |
| Fat | 13.8 g | – |
| Linoleic acid (omega-6) | 2.8 g | – |
| Omega-6 to omega-3 ratio(Linoleic + arachidonic) : (alpha-linolenic + EPA + DHA), at most 30:1. | – | 30:1 |
| Calcium | 1.25 g | 6.25 g |
| Phosphorus | 1 g | 4 g |
| Calcium to phosphorus ratioBetween 1:1 and 2:1. | 1:1 | 2:1 |
| Potassium | 1.5 g | – |
| Sodium | 0.2 g | – |
| ChlorideUSDA data has no chloride. Estimated from sodium: 1.0 × sodium in whole foods, 1.54 × sodium in added salt. | 0.3 g | – |
| Magnesium | 0.15 g | – |
| IronAAFCO: iron from carbonate or oxide sources does not count toward the minimum. | 10 mg | – |
| CopperAAFCO: copper from oxide sources does not count toward the minimum. | 1.83 mg | – |
| Manganese | 1.25 mg | – |
| Zinc | 20 mg | – |
| IodineIodine values come from the USDA/FDA/NIH Iodine Database. Foods it does not list count as 0 (estimated). | 0.25 mg | 2.75 mg |
| Selenium | 0.08 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Vitamin APreformed vitamin A (retinol) only: 1 µg = 3.33 IU. Beta-carotene from vegetables is not counted. | 1250 IU | 62,500 IU |
| Vitamin D1 µg = 40 IU. | 125 IU | 750 IU |
| Vitamin E1 mg alpha-tocopherol = 1.49 IU. AAFCO recommends at least 0.6 IU per gram of polyunsaturated fat, so diets rich in oils need more. | 12.5 IU | – |
| Thiamine (B1)Cooking destroys thiamine. Use the cooked entry for ingredients you cook. | 0.56 mg | – |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 1.3 mg | – |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 3 mg | – |
| Niacin (B3) | 3.4 mg | – |
| Pyridoxine (B6) | 0.38 mg | – |
| Folic acid (folate) | 0.054 mg | – |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.007 mg | – |
| Choline | 340 mg | – |
Energy
Metabolizable energy by Atwater factors: 4 kcal per g of protein, 9 per g of fat and 4 per g of carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber), as for highly digestible home-prepared diets. A dog’s needs: RER = 70 × kg0.75, times 1.6 for a typical neutered pet, 1.8 intact, 1.4 less active, 2.0 active and 3.0 working; weight loss uses 1.0 × RER at the ideal weight. Owners can enter their own number.
Units
- Vitamin A: preformed retinol only, 1 µg = 3.33 IU, for the minimum and the maximum. Beta-carotene from vegetables is not counted.
- Vitamin D: 1 µg = 40 IU. Vitamin E: 1 mg alpha-tocopherol = 1.49 IU, at least 0.6 IU per g of polyunsaturated fat.
- Iron and copper from oxide (and iron carbonate) supplements would not count toward the minimums; our supplement list has none.
Short, OK, over and “no data”
Each nutrient is summed over the recipe and divided by its calories. If some ingredients have no data for a nutrient, we compute the range it could fall in, using the highest value any similar food in our data has. We call it short, OK or over only when that holds across the whole range; otherwise it is “no data”, never OK.
The balancer (paid)
A linear program (HiGHS) keeps your ingredients within ±30% of your proportions (±50% if you allow it), matches your dog’s daily calories, and adds the fewest supplements that bring every nutrient between its minimum and maximum. It plans with a margin: at least 3–10% above each minimum, below 80% of the maximum for vitamins A and D, iodine and selenium, and Ca:P between 1.1 and 1.9. Missing data counts as zero toward minimums and at the highest similar value toward maximums (a blank on your own label can’t be bounded, so that nutrient shows as “no data”). Doses are then rounded to amounts you can measure per batch and the rounded batch is checked again against the AAFCO range itself. Rounding never keeps a dose that goes over a maximum: when a single drop or tablet is too much for one day, the batch is made longer (up to 14 days), and if it still doesn’t divide evenly the plan says which nutrient ends up short.
Supplements it can use
- Calcium carbonate powder: Pure calcium carbonate: 400 mg calcium per gram
- Eggshell powder, homemade: About 370 mg calcium per gram (eggshell is about 94% calcium carbonate) (estimated)
- Calcium phosphate powder (tricalcium phosphate): Tricalcium phosphate: 388 mg calcium and 200 mg phosphorus per gram
- Zinc tablet, 15 mg (gluconate or picolinate): 15 mg zinc per tablet
- Copper tablet, 2 mg (gluconate or bisglycinate): 2 mg copper per tablet (not copper oxide)
- Manganese tablet, 10 mg: 10 mg manganese per tablet
- Vitamin E softgel, 100 IU (d-alpha-tocopherol): 100 IU vitamin E per softgel
- Vitamin D3 drops, 400 IU per drop: 400 IU vitamin D3 per drop
- Kelp (iodine) tablet, 150 µg iodine: 150 µg iodine per tablet
- Iodized table salt: 52 µg iodine per gram on average (FDA/USDA measured 34–89 µg)
- Salt, not iodized: 393 mg sodium per gram
- Potassium chloride (salt substitute): Pure potassium chloride: 525 mg potassium per gram
- Magnesium capsule, 100 mg (citrate or glycinate): 100 mg magnesium per capsule
- Choline capsule, 250 mg (bitartrate): 250 mg choline per capsule
- Vitamin B-50 complex tablet: 50 mg B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6; 400 µg folic acid; 50 µg B12 per tablet
- Fish oil softgel, 1,000 mg (180 mg EPA, 120 mg DHA): 180 mg EPA and 120 mg DHA per 1,000 mg softgel
- Iron tablet, 18 mg (ferrous bisglycinate or sulfate): 18 mg iron per tablet (not iron oxide or carbonate)
- Selenium tablet, 50 µg (selenomethionine): 50 µg selenium per tablet
- Vitamin A softgel, 10,000 IU (retinyl palmitate): 10,000 IU vitamin A per softgel
- Safflower oil, high linoleic: About 75% linoleic acid
What we don’t do
- Puppies, pregnancy, nursing, or any disease or prescribed diet.
- Cats: standard ingredient data has no taurine, and we won’t guess.
- Raw bone: we have no lab data we trust for its calcium, so raw recipes get calcium from a powder you can weigh, or from your supplier’s analysis.
- Real food varies from database values. Review any diet with your veterinarian.