About the Border Collie
Intensely energetic, whip-smart herding dogs that rarely stop moving. A typical adult Border Collie weighs around 14–25 kg (Medium).
How many calories does a Border Collie need?
Calorie needs use the veterinary formula 70 × weight(kg)0.75 (the Resting Energy Requirement), multiplied by a lifestyle factor of ×2.2 for a typical dog at the life stage shown. Enter your own animal's details in the calculator for an exact figure. The Border Collie carries a breed metabolic adjustment of ×1.1, already applied below.
| Body weight | Daily calories | Dry kibble ~3,500 kcal/kg | Wet ~1,050 kcal/kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 kg | 1115 kcal | 318 g | 1062 g |
| 15.571 kg | 1207 kcal | 345 g | 1150 g |
| 17.143 kg | 1297 kcal | 371 g | 1236 g |
| 18.714 kg | 1386 kcal | 396 g | 1320 g |
| 20.286 kg | 1472 kcal | 421 g | 1402 g |
| 21.857 kg | 1557 kcal | 445 g | 1483 g |
| 23.429 kg | 1640 kcal | 469 g | 1562 g |
| 25 kg | 1722 kcal | 492 g | 1640 g |
Feeding a Border Collie for a healthy weight
Border Collies burn a lot of energy and need diet matched to their genuinely high activity. Under-exercised Collies can gain weight; hard-working ones need substantially more calories than average.
What to feed a Border Collie
Dogs are facultative carnivores: they thrive on meat-forward diets but can use carbohydrate and plant matter. A complete-and-balanced food (dry, wet, fresh, or properly-formulated raw) meeting AAFCO or FEDIAF standards should make up the vast majority of intake, with treats capped at 10% of daily calories.
Most adult dogs do best on two meals a day. Puppies under four months need three to four smaller meals; large-breed puppies should be fed a large-breed-specific formula to slow bone growth and protect their joints.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I feed a Border Collie?
A working Border Collie may need 30-40% more than a couch-potato dog of the same weight — often 1,100-1,400 kcal a day for a 19 kg dog in hard work. Match intake to their real daily activity.
How much should I feed my dog per day?
A 10 kg neutered adult dog at a healthy weight needs roughly 500-560 kcal per day — about 150-165 g of standard dry kibble split over two meals. Scale up or down with weight, activity and life stage using the calculator above.
Should I feed my dog once or twice a day?
Twice a day suits most adult dogs and helps regulate appetite and blood sugar. Puppies need three or more meals; some giant breeds prone to bloat also do better with smaller, more frequent meals.