# BARF Portion Calculator and Budget Worksheet



## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

Hi, all --

I created this handy customizable worksheet to calculate how much RMB, MM, OM and Veg to give at each meal, depending on your dog's weight. I also included a budget table that calculates monthly/daily/weekly costs based on the prices of your RMB/MM/OM/Veg items.

*You can download it for your own use here (you can't edit it unless you download it in Excel first): http://bit.ly/r2mFgu*

To download, go to FILE --> Download as --> Excel 

*How to use it:
*
1) Enter your dog's desired weight in the first yellow box. Right now it's set to 85lb, my expected weight for Batman (Alta-Tollhaus Gavin son, coming to me in 14 weeks!) 

2) Select the daily food weight for your dog in ounces and enter it in the second yellow box. I selected a daily food intake of 3% of my dog's body weight, which comes to 40.8oz/day.

I made a chart calculating the food weight in 0.25% intervals between 2%-4% of body weight, but you can change the percentages to whatever you want.

If I did it right, all the food weights should automatically update for you whenever you change the values in the yellow squares. Let me know if it works! 

I based my ratios on recipes and guidelines in Dr. Karen Becker's Real Food for Dogs and Cats. Dr. Becker recommends a ratio of roughly 40% Raw Meaty Bones, 25% Muscle Meat, 10% Organ Meat, 25% Veggies.

I realize that not everyone does veggies -- you can zero-out that line and change the ratios in whatever way you wish. It's fully customizable to suit what's best for your dog. Just make sure it all adds to 100!

The great thing about this worksheet is, you can adjust the food weight at any time (i.e. adjust the daily food weight if Batman needs to lose a few, or is not gaining enough), and it will automatically update the values for you. 

Finally, I made a budget chart under each recipe to calculate costs. You can change all the prices in there too, of course.

Happy BARF-ing!


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## mahhi22 (Jul 14, 2009)

Darn! I was able to open the Google doc but the download didn't work. I'm wondering if its cuz I have an older version of Excel. I'm new to raw & am buying the premade stuff from the pet food store which is eating a hole in my wallet. Will most likely be going DIY at some point but sitting down to do the math is a bit of the inhibitor for me. I was so excited when I saw your post & spreadsheet cuz it looked like just what I needed for the calculating. Too bad for me!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Thanks for the tool. I've been looking for spreadsheets like this one. I'm also looking to bring home a puppy in the upcoming months.

I'm trying to be a bit more detailed in my research, and come up with the macro-nutritional requirements. Stuff like iron per ounces of meat...and other such silliness. Have you had luck with this kind of information?


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

mahhi22 said:


> Darn! I was able to open the Google doc but the download didn't work. I'm wondering if its cuz I have an older version of Excel. I'm new to raw & am buying the premade stuff from the pet food store which is eating a hole in my wallet. Will most likely be going DIY at some point but sitting down to do the math is a bit of the inhibitor for me. I was so excited when I saw your post & spreadsheet cuz it looked like just what I needed for the calculating. Too bad for me!


You can PM me with your email address -- I can send it to you as an attachment in Excel 2007.


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

marshies said:


> Thanks for the tool. I've been looking for spreadsheets like this one. I'm also looking to bring home a puppy in the upcoming months.
> 
> I'm trying to be a bit more detailed in my research, and come up with the macro-nutritional requirements. Stuff like iron per ounces of meat...and other such silliness. Have you had luck with this kind of information?


I highly recommend Dr. Becker's book for that info. She lists the Iron, Calcium, Copper, and all the other micronutrient values for each recipe, along with the macronutrient values (protein, fat, moisture, ash, carbs). 

I'm new to this myself, and am still trying to decipher it all. I will say, I've probably spent more time figuring out my puppy's nutritional needs than I have on my own!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

SitUbuSit said:


> I highly recommend Dr. Becker's book for that info. She lists the Iron, Calcium, Copper, and all the other micronutrient values for each recipe, along with the macronutrient values (protein, fat, moisture, ash, carbs).
> 
> I'm new to this myself, and am still trying to decipher it all. I will say, I've probably spent more time figuring out my puppy's nutritional needs than I have on my own!


That's exactly how I feel about it. My pupper is no where to be seen yet...I was supposed to get one in 4 weeks but injured my ankle pretty severely... YET, here I am playing with nutritional spreadsheets.


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## mkinttrim (Jul 3, 2011)

So if I have a growing puppy at 43 pounds can I just add to the top row up to 8% of his current weight and it will automatically figure this?


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## Josie/Zeus (Nov 6, 2000)

Yay! This is a great tool, the book is awesome. Thank you lady!!


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

Josie/Zeus said:


> Yay! This is a great tool, the book is awesome. Thank you lady!!


You're so welcome! I figured I may as well put my Excel skills to use on something other than data sets. I can only imagine how much you have to feed that big hunk Koda!

Dr. Becker's book is my favorite so far. It's simple, clear and quantitative (I'm a numbers gal).


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

mkinttrim said:


> So if I have a growing puppy at 43 pounds can I just add to the top row up to 8% of his current weight and it will automatically figure this?


Just overwrite the 4% cell with 8% (or overwrite any of the existing 2-4% cells in the top row) -- that should produce the 8% weight in ounces for you to input into the second yellow box, and update all the values in the sheet.

The only fixed thing I provided for you is the formulas -- all the inputs in the top row, the RMB/MM/OM/V percentage columns, and the prices columns can be changed to meet your needs. The formulas should automatically update the outputs based on your changed inputs.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

SitUbuSit said:


> I highly recommend Dr. Becker's book for that info. She lists the Iron, Calcium, Copper, and all the other micronutrient values for each recipe, along with the macronutrient values (protein, fat, moisture, ash, carbs).
> 
> I'm new to this myself, and am still trying to decipher it all. I will say, I've probably spent more time figuring out my puppy's nutritional needs than I have on my own!


My end goal is to make a spreadsheet that outputs the micronutritional values given the type of food you put in. Example, feed 2 lbs beef tongue. Spreadsheet outputs iron, copper, calcium etc. 

But I haven't found enough data to make the sheet yet. Specifically, I'm missing the nutritional requirements for GSDs by pound. 

I'm also a quantitative gal, so the lack of precision in raw feeding frustrates me.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

marshies said:


> But I haven't found enough data to make the sheet yet. Specifically, I'm missing the nutritional requirements for GSDs by pound.


The nutritional requirements for dogs (it's not breed-specific) can be found here:

Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats

It's only $295 and 424 pages!

You might be able to find the info online but make sure it's the CURRENT (2006 - yeah, that's current) version.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Lauri & The Gang said:


> The nutritional requirements for dogs (it's not breed-specific) can be found here:
> 
> Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats
> 
> ...


You know what, I have a friend in vet school. She can probably access that form her school library. 
Let me ask her about it.

Thanks!


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

marshies said:


> My end goal is to make a spreadsheet that outputs the micronutritional values given the type of food you put in. Example, feed 2 lbs beef tongue. Spreadsheet outputs iron, copper, calcium etc.
> 
> But I haven't found enough data to make the sheet yet. Specifically, I'm missing the nutritional requirements for GSDs by pound.


You know, I think I can help you here. I'll work on it.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

SitUbuSit said:


> You know, I think I can help you here. I'll work on it.


THANK YOU THANK YOU! :wub:

I've been swamped with exams and haven't had time to finish researching. Please let me know if you make any progress or need any help.


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## SitUbuSit (Aug 1, 2011)

Alright, try this one: http://bit.ly/v1JIVK

I've added a NUTRIENT tab for the micronutrient info, which I got from Dr. Becker's book. She uses AAFCO requirements, which are measured per calorie, not by your dog's body weight.

In other words, the nutrient guidelines are pegged to the number of calories that your dog consumes. Your dog's body weight and energy level will determine the calories consumed. You can get the nutrient info from there.

I've calculated this all out in the nutrients tab. It will automatically calculate the calories that your dog eats per day by multiplying the cups of food your dog eats (auto pulls this data from the BARF tab) by the calories per cup (you have to provide this info). 

From there, you can see how much of each nutrient is required per serving, according to AAFCO guidelines. If you know how much of each nutrient you are actually feeding your dog, you can input those values, and the difference will be calculated for you, so you know how much of each you need to supplement to meet the AAFCO requirement.

I uploaded the Excel sheet in the 2004 compatible version, as people had trouble downloading the 2007 version. 

Let me know if it works for you!


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## zorroGSD (Jan 24, 2012)

Is this the book mentioned in this thread?

Dr. Becker's Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats: Simple Homemade Food


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