Get Real Feeding Guide: How Much to Feed as a Full Meal or Topper
This Get Real feeding guide shows how to check your dog's portion with the published kcal per pack and daily calories, as a full meal or topper, plus how to split meals, thaw packs, and switch foods.
BVMS MRCVS
Medically reviewed by Dr. Pippa Elliott, BVMS MRCVS · Last reviewed
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This Get Real feeding guide answers the question every new fresh food owner asks first: how much goes in the bowl? Chewy sets the exact Get Real portion for each dog through its online plan, using your dog's profile, so the plan is your starting amount. You can check that portion yourself by dividing your dog's daily calories by the recipe's kcal per ounce.
Chewy does not publish a weight-by-amount feeding chart for Get Real, so this guide does not invent one. Instead, it uses the published calories for each recipe and pack, a standard veterinary calorie formula, and worked examples for small, medium, and large dogs, both as a full meal and as a topper. It also covers splitting meals, thawing and storing packs, and switching foods safely.
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How Get Real portions are set
- 1The online plan sets your dog's Get Real portion from weight, breed, age, and activity level.
- 2The calorie method checks it: daily calories divided by the recipe's kcal per ounce gives ounces per day.
- 3As a topper, give a share of the daily calories as Get Real and reduce kibble by the same calories.
- 4Thaw packs in the fridge, use thawed food within 3 to 5 days, and switch over 7 to 10 days.
The easiest way to start is to let your dog try more than one recipe. Chewy offers a Sampler Pack as a risk-free trial, so you can see which recipe your dog eats best before setting up a plan.
Try more than one Get Real recipe first, then let the online plan set portions for the one your dog prefers.
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Chewy sets Get Real portions from the profile you enter when you build a plan, and no weight-by-amount chart is published. That profile becomes a daily amount, and the pre-portioned packs make it simple to serve: thaw, measure, and feed. Because the plan does the sizing, most owners never need to calculate anything. Still, knowing the method helps you sanity-check a portion, adjust for a dog that is gaining or losing weight, or work out a topper amount.
If you have used a raw dog food feeding chart before, the approach here is different. Raw feeding charts usually set portions as a percentage of body weight, often 2 to 3 percent a day for adults. Get Real is gently cooked rather than raw, and its recipes differ in calorie density, so calories are a more accurate guide than a body-weight percentage. The method in this guide works for any dog size and either feeding style, which a generic chart cannot do.
Calories in each Get Real recipe and pack
Get Real prints the calories for every recipe and pack size, so portions can start from the label. The table lists the kcal per pack for each recipe, as listed on Chewy's product page,, along with the guaranteed analysis minimums for protein and fat.
The lightest Get Real recipe at 428 kcal per 12 oz pack, which gives a fuller bowl for the same daily calories.
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| Get Real recipe | 5 oz mixer pack (kcal per pack) | 12 oz pack (kcal per pack) | 24 oz pack (kcal per pack) | Guaranteed analysis: protein / fat (min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken & Brussels Sprouts | 179 | 428 | 856 | 10% / 8.5% |
| Beef & Sweet Potato | 188 | 451 | 902 | 9% / 7% |
| Turkey & Cranberry | 198 | 474 | 948 | 8% / 10% |
Each recipe also lists fiber at 1 to 1.5 percent maximum and moisture at 75 percent maximum. That high moisture is why fresh food looks like a lot more volume than kibble for the same calories.
To work out calories per ounce, divide the 12 oz pack calories by 12. That gives about 35.7 kcal per ounce for the Get Real Chicken & Brussels Sprouts Recipe, about 37.6 for Beef & Sweet Potato, and about 39.5 for Turkey & Cranberry; the 24 oz packs give the same figures. Every portion below is built on these per-pack numbers.
A note on human calories to dog calories: the "kcal" on a pet food label is the same unit as the "Calorie" on a human food label. A 451 kcal pack has the same energy as a 451 Calorie meal for a person, but a dog's daily need is far smaller than an adult human's, so the amounts look small by comparison.
Working out your dog's daily calories
Veterinarians usually start with the resting energy requirement (RER), the calories a dog burns at rest. The Merck Veterinary Manual gives it as 70 times body weight in kilograms raised to the 0.75 power. To find how many calories per day a dog needs, multiply RER by a factor for life stage and activity:
- Neutered or spayed adult: about 1.6 times RER.
- Intact adult: about 1.8 times RER.
- Weight loss: about 1.0 times RER, calculated at the ideal weight, under veterinary guidance.
- Active or working dog: about 2.0 to 5.0 times RER, depending on the work.
- Puppy under 4 months: about 3.0 times RER, then about 2.0 times RER until adult size.
For a typical neutered adult, that comes to about 350 kcal at 10 lb, about 790 kcal at 30 lb, and about 1,340 kcal at 60 lb. Notice that the need does not rise in step with weight. A 60 lb dog weighs six times as much as a 10 lb dog but needs only about four times the calories.
These numbers are estimates, and every dog is an individual, so check body condition every few weeks: you should be able to feel the ribs under a thin layer of fat and see a waist from above. The WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines include body condition scoring tools. If your dog is gaining, trim the daily calories by about 10 percent; if losing, add 10 percent. For a full chart by weight and age, see the WebVet guide on how much to feed a dog has a full chart.
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Full meal portions: turning calories into ounces
The full meal portion equals daily calories divided by kcal per ounce. Here are ounces-from-calories worked examples for three neutered adult dogs, using the per-pack calories for each recipe.
A complete and balanced full meal recipe at about 37.6 kcal per ounce, which keeps the portion math simple.
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For each dog, the amounts by recipe (Chicken & Brussels Sprouts, Beef & Sweet Potato, Turkey & Cranberry) come out to:
- Small dog, 10 lb, about 350 kcal a day: about 9.8 oz, 9.3 oz, or 8.8 oz a day, or roughly 4.5 to 5 oz per meal over two meals.
- Medium dog, 30 lb, about 790 kcal a day: about 22 oz, 21 oz, or 20 oz a day, or 10 to 11 oz per meal.
- Large dog, 60 lb, about 1,340 kcal a day: about 37.5 oz, 35.5 oz, or 34 oz a day, or 17 to 19 oz per meal.
In pack terms, the medium dog on the Get Real Beef & Sweet Potato Recipe eats a little less than one 24 oz pack a day. The small dog eats about three quarters of a 12 oz pack, and the large dog eats about one and a half 24 oz packs.
Compare these to the portion your online plan suggests. If the two are close, you are set. If they differ a lot, remember the plan uses weight, breed, age, and activity level, which the simple formula does not fully capture, so start with the plan and adjust by body condition. Get Real is formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages, including growth of large-size dogs, and each recipe can be fed as a full meal.
Feeding Get Real as a topper
Fresh dog food toppers are an easy way to bring fresh food into a dog's routine without giving up kibble, adding moisture and aroma to the bowl.
The most calorie-dense Get Real recipe, so a smaller spoonful covers the same topper share of daily calories.
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A healthy topper for dogs is complete and balanced, so it can take a meaningful share of the bowl without diluting the nutrients in the base diet. Get Real can fill that role: each recipe can be fed as a full meal or a topper, is made with 10 ingredients or less plus vitamins and minerals, and is formulated to meet AAFCO all life stages profiles. Its guaranteed analysis lists 8 to 10 percent minimum protein, a protein rich addition to kibble. The Get Real Turkey & Cranberry Recipe is the most calorie-dense of the three, so a smaller spoonful covers the same share.
The topper math that subtracts kibble calories keeps the daily total steady: give a topper share of daily calories as Get Real and reduce kibble to match by removing the same calories. For the 30 lb dog at about 790 kcal a day with a kibble at 380 kcal per cup:
- Topper: one 5 oz Beef & Sweet Potato mixer pack, 188 kcal, about 24 percent of the day.
- Kibble to remove: 188 divided by 380, about half a cup.
- New bowl: about 1.6 cups of kibble plus the mixer pack, instead of about 2.1 cups of kibble alone.
A topper works only when it replaces calories rather than adding them; skipping the kibble reduction slowly adds weight. Start the topper small, increase gradually, and weigh your dog after a few weeks. Get Real can be served as a topper, a kibble mixer, or a full meal, so the share is your choice. For choosing the share, see the WebVet guide on how much topper to add.
The 5 oz mixer pack is sized for this job. Chewy calls it a mixer pack, meant for mixing into another food rather than serving as a full meal.
Splitting meals, thawing, and storing packs
Most adult dogs do well with the daily portion split into two meals, morning and evening. Divide the daily amount evenly, so the 30 lb dog eating about 21 oz of beef gets about 10.5 oz per meal. Puppies usually eat three or more meals a day. The WebVet dog feeding schedule covers meals per day by age.
Get Real arrives frozen and should go into the freezer as soon as it is delivered. Thaw only what you need for the next few days:
- 5 oz and 12 oz packs: thaw in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.
- 24 oz packs: thaw in the fridge for 35 to 48 hours.
- After thawing: keep in the fridge and use within 3 to 5 days.
- Safety check: discard food that smells off or has sat at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Thawed food that is still at 40°F or below can go back into the freezer or stay in the fridge. For more on safe methods, the WebVet guide on how to thaw frozen dog food goes into detail.
Switching to Get Real over 7 to 10 days
A gradual switch schedule gives your dog's digestion time to adjust. Chewy recommends mixing in a small amount of Get Real and increasing it over 7 to 10 days, or 10 to 14 days for sensitive dogs. As a topper, start with a small amount and increase gradually.
| Gradual switch schedule: days (standard) | Days (sensitive dogs) | Old food share | Get Real share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 1 to 3 | about 75% | about 25% |
| 3 to 5 | 4 to 7 | about 50% | about 50% |
| 6 to 8 | 8 to 11 | about 25% | about 75% |
| 9 to 10 | 12 to 14 | 0% | 100% |
Keep the total calories the same throughout, using the portions you worked out above. A little looseness in the stool can happen early on; if it lasts, slow down and hold at the current step for a few days. The WebVet guide to transitioning dog food has more detail, and for planning the order itself, see Get Real dog food cost by dog size.
Get Real feeding questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do you feed a dog homemade food?
Feed homemade or fresh food by daily calorie needs, not by volume: estimate calories from your dog's weight and activity, then divide by the food's calories per ounce. A homemade diet also needs to be a complete and balanced recipe, ideally formulated by a veterinary nutritionist, because most home recipes miss key nutrients. A commercial fresh food that meets AAFCO profiles handles that part for you.
How many calories does my dog need a day?
Start with the resting energy requirement, 70 times body weight in kilograms to the 0.75 power, then multiply by about 1.6 for a typical neutered adult. Activity level, age, and body condition shift the factor up or down. A 30 lb neutered adult needs roughly 790 kcal a day.
How many calories are in Get Real dog food?
Chewy's product pages list the calories per 12 oz pack as 428 kcal for Chicken & Brussels Sprouts, 451 for Beef & Sweet Potato, and 474 for Turkey & Cranberry, and a 24 oz pack holds twice that.
How much Get Real should I add as a topper?
Choose a topper share, often 10 to 50 percent of daily calories for a complete food, and reduce kibble by the same calories. For a 30 lb dog, one 5 oz mixer pack is about a quarter of the day and replaces about half a cup of typical kibble.
Can I feed the 5 oz pack as a full meal?
No. Chewy sells the 5 oz size as a mixer pack, meant as a topper portion alongside another food. At 179 to 198 kcal, it is far less than a full day's food for most dogs; use the 12 oz or 24 oz packs for full meals.
How long does thawed Get Real last?
Use thawed Get Real within three to five days with refrigerator storage. Discard any food that smells off or has been at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Should I split Get Real into two meals?
For most adult dogs, yes. Divide the same daily total into two meals, morning and evening; puppies usually do better with three or more smaller meals.
Editor
The Webvet Editorial Team is the in-house group of pet-care editors and writers behind Webvet, operated by Smart Pet Collective. The team researches, writes, and maintains Webvet's pet health, behavior, and medication content. Every article follows a defined editorial process: research from reputable veterinary and scientific sources, careful drafting, mandatory review of medical content by a credentialed veterinarian, and dated publication. Health and medication articles are medically reviewed by a licensed veterinary professional before they go live and are kept current over time.
Veterinarian · BVMS MRCVS
Dr. Pippa Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS, is a veterinarian with nearly 30 years of experience in companion animal practice. Dr. Elliott earned her Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery from the University of Glasgow. She was also designated a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Married with 2 grown-up kids, Dr. Elliott has a naughty Puggle named Poggle, 3 cats and a bearded dragon.
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