Feeding Your Dog in Pounds and Ounces

Quick answer One ounce is 28.3495 g and one pound is 453.592 g. A daily 294 g is 10.37 oz, or 0.648 lb; 495 g is 17.46 oz, or 1 lb 1.5 oz. A 10 kg bag is 22.05 lb. Divide grams by 28.35 for ounces, and use a scale that reads to a quarter ounce or in grams.

A dog’s feeding plan is often worked out in grams, because that is how calculators and vets express it, and then carried out in a kitchen where the scale reads in ounces and the bag is sold in pounds. The conversion is easy, but small slips matter at the scale of a dog’s meal: confusing weight ounces with fluid ounces, reading 10.37 as 10 lb 37 oz, or rounding a 294 g ration to “about 10 oz” and feeding 4% too little every day. This guide gives the two factors, a table for the amounts dogs eat, the way to read pounds-and-ounces, how long the common bag sizes last in pounds and a rule for rounding. It uses the same dog as the rest of the site: a neutered 20 kg adult on a 3,600 kcal/kg food. The Pet Weight Converter does the sums.

The factors

From	To	Multiply by
grams	ounces	0.035274 (÷ 28.3495)
ounces	grams	28.3495
grams	pounds	0.0022046 (÷ 453.592)
pounds	grams	453.592
kilograms	pounds	2.20462
pounds	ounces	16

These are ounces of weight (avoirdupois), not fluid ounces, which measure volume. A fluid ounce of water weighs about 1.04 ounces, but a fluid ounce of kibble weighs something quite different, so do not mix them.

Daily amounts in grams, ounces and pounds

Grams a day	Ounces	Pounds (decimal)	Pounds and ounces
100	3.53	0.220	3.5 oz
150	5.29	0.331	5.3 oz
200	7.05	0.441	7.1 oz
294	10.37	0.648	10.4 oz
400	14.11	0.882	14.1 oz
495	17.46	1.091	1 lb 1.5 oz

For the 20 kg dog, 294 g is 10.37 oz, which is 10 oz and a third of an ounce. In a split of two meals, each is 147 g, or 5.19 oz. A kitchen scale that reads to a quarter ounce can show 5.25 oz, which is 148.8 g: 1.2% high, and acceptable.

Reading pounds and ounces

The decimal part of a pound is not ounces. To convert, multiply the decimal by 16.

Decimal pounds	Working	Pounds and ounces
0.648	0.648 × 16	10.4 oz
1.091	1 lb + 0.091 × 16	1 lb 1.5 oz
2.50	2 lb + 0.50 × 16	2 lb 8 oz

The common slip is to read 1.09 lb as 1 lb 9 oz. It is 1 lb 1.5 oz. When you write a weight, write the unit next to each number.

Bags in pounds

Dog food is sold in pounds in some countries. How many days a bag lasts is the bag in grams divided by the daily grams (see how long a bag of dog food lasts).

Bag	Grams	Days at 294 g	Days at 495 g
5 lb	2,268	7.7	4.6
15 lb	6,804	23.1	13.7
22 lb	9,979	33.9	20.2
33 lb	14,969	50.9	30.2
40 lb	18,144	61.7	36.7

A 22 lb bag is almost exactly 10 kg and lasts 34 days for the 20 kg dog. The Pet Food Bag Duration Calculator does the sum for any weight, and our guide to reorder reminders turns it into dates.

Kilograms and pounds for the dog

The dog’s own weight is often in pounds in a US vet’s record and kilograms in a calculator.

Dog	kg	lb
Small	5	11.0
Medium	10	22.0
Reference dog	20	44.1
Large	30	66.1
Very large	40	88.2

Convert the weight to kilograms before you use an energy formula, since RER = 70 × kg^0.75 needs kilograms. For 44 lb: 44 ÷ 2.20462 = 19.96 kg, and RER = 70 × 19.96^0.75 = 661 kcal. See kilograms to pounds for pets for a full chart.

Rounding rules

The scale limits how close you can get.

Scale reads to	Smallest step	Error on a 10.37 oz ration
1 oz	28 g	up to 4.8% (rounds to 10 oz)
0.25 oz	7 g	up to 1.2%
0.1 oz	3 g	up to 0.5%
1 g	1 g	up to 0.2%

A scale that reads to whole ounces rounds 10.37 oz to 10 oz, which is 283.5 g, 3.6% below the need. Over a month that is a shortfall of about 320 g, and it is a bias in one direction. Use grams if the scale offers them, or a scale that reads to a quarter ounce. If you must round, round up on some days and down on others, so that the average comes out right; the log in how to split a day’s food into meals shows how.

A worked example

Eve lives in the United States. Her vet records her dog at 44 lb, and the food’s feeding chart in ounces says “10 to 11 oz”. She wants to check it with the calorie sum. The food is 3,500 kcal/kg.

Step	Working	Result
Weight in kg	44 ÷ 2.20462	19.96 kg
RER	70 × 19.96^0.75	661 kcal
Daily energy (neutered, × 1.6)	661 × 1.6	1,058 kcal
Grams of food	1,058 ÷ 3.5	302 g
In ounces	302 ÷ 28.3495	10.66 oz
Chart range	10 to 11 oz	283.5 to 311.8 g

The chart range includes 10.66 oz, so the chart is about right. Eve’s scale reads to 0.25 oz, so she feeds 10.75 oz (304.8 g, 0.9% above the need) in two meals of 5.25 and 5.5 oz, and weighs the dog monthly.

Cans in ounces

US wet food is sold in cans labelled in ounces. Convert to grams to compare with a daily need.

Can	Grams	Energy at 1.0 kcal/g
3 oz	85	85 kcal
5.5 oz	156	156 kcal
13 oz	369	369 kcal
22 oz	624	624 kcal

A 13 oz can at 1.0 kcal/g holds about 369 kcal, so the 20 kg dog’s 1,059 kcal is 2.9 cans a day if wet food were the only diet. Check the kcal on the can, since wet foods vary. These are weight ounces, and the can’s fluid content does not matter.

Kitchen scales

Scales differ in how they display and round.

Type	Reads to	Good for
Basic kitchen scale	1 g or 0.1 oz	Daily meals
Precision scale	0.1 g	Very small meals, supplements
Spring scale	5 to 10 g	Rough checks only
Bathroom scale	100 g	Not for food

Check that the scale resets to zero with the container on it, and that it is on a hard, level surface. Test it with a known weight, such as a sealed 500 g pack of flour, and write the result on the scale.

Writing amounts on the container

Write the amount in both units on the container: “294 g (10.4 oz)”. A person who uses a different scale then has the right number in front of them. Add the date and the food, and update both when the amount changes.

Common mistakes

Confusing fluid ounces with weight ounces.
Reading decimal pounds as pounds and ounces.
Rounding to whole ounces every day.
Using pounds in the energy formula.
Forgetting that scales may switch units.
Writing a weight without its unit.
Using the chart without checking the calories.

Quick summary

1 oz = 28.3495 g; 1 lb = 453.592 g; 1 kg = 2.20462 lb.
294 g is 10.37 oz or 0.648 lb; 495 g is 17.46 oz, or 1 lb 1.5 oz.
Decimal pounds × 16 = ounces; 0.648 lb is 10.4 oz.
A 22 lb bag is about 10 kg and lasts 34 days at 294 g a day.
Use a scale that reads to a quarter ounce or in grams; whole-ounce scales can be 3.6% off.
Use the Pet Weight Converter.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert grams to ounces?

Divide by 28.3495. For 294 g that is 10.37 oz.

How do I convert ounces to grams?

Multiply by 28.3495. Ten ounces is 283.5 g.

How many pounds is 10 kg of dog food?

10 kg is 22.05 lb.

Can I weigh dog food in ounces?

Yes. Many kitchen scales switch between grams and ounces. Grams are more precise for small amounts.

Are these fluid ounces?

No. Fluid ounces measure volume. This guide uses ounces of weight (avoirdupois).

Do the calories change with the unit?

No. The food and its energy are the same; only the number changes.

Sources

NIST Guide to the SI (SP 811), Appendix B.8 and B.9: 1 avoirdupois pound = 453.59237 g; 1 ounce = 28.349523 g
Pure arithmetic: ounces = grams ÷ 28.3495; pounds = grams ÷ 453.592

Reviewed by the CalcuPaw Veterinary Review Team

Last reviewed 19 Oct 2026 · Meet the review team · This guide is general information, not veterinary advice.