Small breeds

Breeds with an adult weight under 10 kg — 12 of them, with published ranges and the resting energy requirement each range implies.

• Cavalier King Charles Spaniel5–8 kg · resting energy 248–333 kcal/day
• Chihuahua (dog breed)1–3 kg · resting energy 70–160 kcal/day
• Continental Toy Spaniel1.5–2.5 kg · resting energy 95–139 kcal/day
• Dachshund5–14 kg · resting energy 234–520 kcal/day
• Havanese dog3–6 kg · resting energy 167–282 kcal/day
• Jack Russell Terrier5–6 kg · resting energy 234–268 kcal/day
• Maltese dog3–4 kg · resting energy 160–198 kcal/day
• Miniature Schnauzer4–8 kg · resting energy 198–333 kcal/day
• Pomeranian dog1–3 kg · resting energy 90–167 kcal/day
• Pug6–8 kg · resting energy 282–339 kcal/day
• Shiba Inu8–10 kg · resting energy 333–394 kcal/day
• Shih Tzu4–8 kg · resting energy 198–317 kcal/day

Small dogs burn more per kilogram, not less

The most common mistake with small dogs is scaling a large dog's ration down by weight. Because metabolic rate follows roughly the three-quarter power of body mass, a 1 kg dog needs around 70 kcal for every kilogram it weighs, while a 14.5 kg dog needs closer to 36. Proportionally, the small dog eats far more.

The practical consequence is that portion errors are punishing at this size. A single biscuit can be a tenth of a toy breed's daily allowance, which is why small dogs get fat on quantities their owners think of as trivial.

Growth and ageing

Small breeds finish growing early — many are at adult weight by around ten months — so the window in which puppy feeding rates apply is short, and staying on them too long is a common cause of early weight gain. They also tend to live longer than large breeds, which means the standard ageing curve, fitted on a mid-sized breed, runs fast for them.

Using the calculators with these breeds

Every breed page above runs the calorie calculator pre-set to that breed's range, and the puppy growth check bounded by it, so a projection that falls outside the published range is flagged instead of reported as fact. The figures shown in this list are breed-standard ranges taken from English Wikipedia; they describe the breed, never an individual dog.