Everything you need to know about building balanced meals for your dog.
Yes, when properly balanced. The biggest risk is calcium deficiency. Muscle meat is high in phosphorus and very low in calcium, so without supplementation the Ca:P ratio in a homemade diet can run as low as 1:10, well below the FEDIAF minimum of 1:1. Over time this leaches calcium from bones. Eggshell powder or bone meal in every bowl, plus a quality daily supplement, is essential, not optional.
FullPup tracks calories, protein and fat, and those can be hit through real food. Calcium cannot. Muscle meat is naturally almost zero in calcium but high in phosphorus, creating a dangerous imbalance that cannot be fixed through diet alone without eggshell powder or bone meal. On top of that, homemade diets are typically short on vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc and EPA/DHA omega-3. A quality all-in-one supplement covers those remaining gaps.
The nutritional figures in FullPup (calories, protein, fat) reflect the food in the state your dog actually eats it. Ingredients like rice, oats, sweet potato and fish change significantly when cooked: rice roughly triples in weight as it absorbs water, and fish loses moisture as it cooks. If the nutritional data is for cooked food, the weight you measure must also be cooked weight. Weigh these ingredients after cooking, not before. Ingredients without the label can be weighed as-is.
FullPup calculates your dog's daily calorie target using the standard veterinary RER formula (70 × bodyweight in kg to the power of 0.75) adjusted for activity level, breed and life stage. The gram weights shown are the exact amounts needed to hit that target.
FullPup is based on FEDIAF nutritional guidelines (the European Pet Food Industry Federation standard) used across the UK and Europe. It's the correct reference for UK-based homemade feeding.
When you add ingredients, FullPup automatically calculates the exact gram weights needed to hit your dog's daily calorie target based on their breed, weight, age and activity level. The bowl rescales every time you add or remove an ingredient.
Neutering and spaying affect a dog's metabolism. Without the hormones produced by the reproductive organs, neutered and spayed dogs typically burn around 15–20% fewer calories than intact dogs of the same weight and activity level. FullPup applies a 15% calorie reduction for neutered or spayed dogs, in line with FEDIAF guidance.
Yes. FullPup has a life stage selector: Puppy, Adult and Senior, each with different nutritional targets. Puppy targets follow FEDIAF growth guidelines, which require higher protein and fat than adult maintenance.
Yes! The Batch Size section lets you scale the shopping list to 1 Day, 3 Days, 1 Week, 2 Weeks or 1 Month. Perfect for Sunday meal prep.
Use Mixed Breed (Small), Mixed Breed (Medium) or Mixed Breed (Large) depending on your dog's size. We're regularly adding new breeds, so get in touch if yours is missing and we'll add it.
Yes, completely free. No sign-up, no subscription, no hidden costs. Just open it and start building your dog's meal.