Lesson 1

Nutrients 101: Understanding What Dogs Need

Before you can prepare homemade dog food safely, it helps to understand how nutrition for dogs is actually measured. The NRC (National Research Council) publishes scientific nutrient requirements for dogs, including the vitamins, minerals, fats, amino acids, and energy they need each day. These guidelines form the foundation of homemade feeding — and once you understand how they work, everything else becomes clearer.


This lesson walks you through what NRC guidelines are, how they apply to your dog, why nutrients matter, and how homemade meals can support those needs.

What Are NRC Guidelines?

The NRC (National Research Council) creates science-based nutrition recommendations for dogs. These guidelines outline the minimum nutrients a dog needs each day for normal health, based on research, feeding trials, metabolism studies, and observed biological requirements.


NRC guidelines include recommended amounts for:

  • vitamins
  • minerals
  • amino acids (from protein)
  • fatty acids (from fats)
  • daily caloric needs


These guidelines are the foundation for understanding what makes a diet complete — whether commercial, raw, or homemade.

How NRC Breaks Down Nutrient Needs

NRC guidelines organize a dog’s nutrient requirements into several major categories. Each category serves a different purpose in your dog’s health, and together they form the complete picture of what a balanced diet should supply. Understanding these categories helps you see why homemade dog food must include more than just meat or a handful of ingredients.


NRC provides values for:

  • Energy Requirements (Calories)

    NRC also outlines how many calories dogs need per day based on their weight, age, and activity level. Calories determine how much of each nutrient your dog needs, since nutrient requirements scale with total energy intake.


    For example:


    A small dog eating fewer calories has lower total nutrient needs — but still needs the correct nutrient density.


    A larger dog eating more calories has higher total nutrient needs — but still needs nutrients in correct proportion.


    Understanding calorie needs helps you put NRC guidelines into context. It shows why nutrient density matters and why simply “adding more food” is not the same as “adding more nutrition.”

  • Vitamins

    Vitamins are essential compounds that support everything from vision to metabolism to immune function. Each vitamin has its own role:


    • Vitamin A supports skin, coat, and eye health.
    • B vitamins support energy metabolism, brain function, and digestion.
    • Vitamin D helps regulate calcium and phosphorus balance.
    • Vitamin E functions as an antioxidant and supports immune health.

    • Vitamin K helps with normal blood clotting.

    NRC lists the minimum amount of each vitamin a dog should receive per day based on their calorie intake. Some vitamins are easily supplied through fresh foods (like B vitamins), while others (like Vitamin D) are harder to obtain from whole foods alone. This is why understanding vitamin needs is critical before preparing homemade meals.

  • Minerals

    Minerals are inorganic nutrients required for structural support and metabolic processes. Some appear in higher amounts in certain foods, while others are more difficult to obtain naturally.


    Key examples:


    • Calcium supports bones, teeth, and nerve function.
    • Phosphorus works with calcium to support skeletal health.
    • Zinc supports skin, immune function, and cellular repair.
    • Copper helps with iron metabolism and enzyme function.

    • Iodine supports thyroid function.

    NRC provides clear minimums for each mineral and helps show how important balance is — especially for minerals like calcium and phosphorus, which must remain in proper proportion for safe feeding.

  • Essential Fatty Acids

    Fatty acids are more than just energy sources — they are involved in inflammation control, skin health, coat quality, brain function, and cell structure.


    NRC distinguishes between:


    Omega-6 fatty acids (often abundant in meats and oils)


    Omega-3 fatty acids (often lacking in homemade diets unless added intentionally)


    Omega-3s like EPA and DHA play important roles in skin, coat, and joint health. Because these nutrients are naturally low in most fresh ingredients, NRC guidelines help highlight where additional support may be needed.

  • Amino Acids (from Protein)

    Proteins are made of amino acids — the building blocks of your dog’s body. Dogs require specific amino acids that must come from food, such as lysine, methionine, and tryptophan.


    Amino acids support:


    • muscle maintenance
    • immune system activity
    • hormone and enzyme production
    • tissue repair

    NRC guidelines help ensure that a homemade diet includes enough high-quality protein sources to meet your dog’s daily amino acid requirements. This is especially important because different proteins (chicken, beef, fish, eggs) vary in their amino acid profiles.

How NRC Requirements Change With Dog Weight

When you look at NRC nutrient charts, it’s important to understand that they are standardized examples, not one-size-fits-all instructions.


NRC presents nutrient requirements “per 1,000 calories,” and then often includes an example dog (such as a 33-lb adult dog eating around 1,000 calories per day).


This example dog is used only to illustrate the math, not to suggest that all dogs need the same amounts.

Here's what that means

  • ✔ The NRC chart shows nutrient amounts for a hypothetical dog

    NRC uses an average-weight dog with an average calorie requirement to show how nutrients scale.


    This makes the chart easier to read — but it can accidentally make beginners think all dogs should meet those same numbers.

  • ✔ Dogs do not all need the same calories — or the same total nutrients

    A dog’s actual nutrient needs depend on things like:


    • body weight
    • age
    • activity level
    • metabolism
    • health conditions
    • spay/neuter status

    Two dogs of the same breed or size may have very different calorie needs — and because nutrients scale with calories, their nutrient totals will differ too.

  • ✔ Important: Nutrient Needs Must Be Calculated for Your Individual Dog

    While NRC charts provide standardized examples, your dog’s actual nutrient needs depend on their body weight, calorie intake, age, activity level, and metabolism.


    Two dogs of the same breed—or even the same weight—may require very different amounts of calories per day, which means their total nutrient requirements will differ as well.


    This is why the example values in NRC charts cannot be applied universally.


    Nutrient needs must always be estimated based on your individual dog, not the sample dog used in NRC illustrations.

Applying NRC Guidelines to Your Dog

Remember, NRC gives nutrient amounts per 1,000 calories of food. Your goal is just to adjust those numbers to match how many calories YOUR dog eats. Most people overthink this. It’s actually VERY simple once someone shows you how.


Here are the only two steps you need:

01

Figure Out How Many Calories Your Dog Eats Each Day

There are a few reliable ways to estimate how many calories your dog should eat each day. You don’t need an exact number — just a realistic starting point that fits your dog. The options include:


  • Use your veterinarian’s recommendation, which is personalized for your dog’s age, weight, and health.
  • Use the calories your dog already eats if they are maintaining a healthy weight on their current food.
  • Use a trusted online calorie calculator, which estimates daily needs based on weight, age, neuter status, and activity level.
  • Use the NRC method, which calculates a dog’s resting energy requirement and then multiplies it by a lifestyle factor (we cover this step-by-step in a dedicated blog).

02

Calculate Your Dog’s NRC Nutrient Amount

To get your dog’s requirement for each value, use this calculation:


Scale the number: NRC requirements are based on a dog requiring 1000 calories per day. Therefore, divide your dog’s required daily calories by 1,000, then multiply the NRC value (ie calcium, phosphorus) by that amount.


  • Example: A 1,500-daily calorie dog → 1,500 ÷ 1,000 = 1.5 → NRC value × 1.5
  • Example: An 800-daily calorie dog → 800 ÷ 1,000 = 0.8 → NRC value × 0.8.
  • Example: A 300-daily calorie dog → 300 ÷ 1,000 = 0.3 → NRC value × 0.3.


Why These Nutrient Numbers Matter & How They Guide Balanced Homemade Meals

Now that you’ve calculated your dog’s specific nutrient requirements, those values become the foundation for building balanced homemade meals. These numbers aren’t just theoretical—they show you exactly what your dog needs each day to stay healthy, and they help you understand how different ingredients contribute to those needs. With this information in hand, you’re now ready for the next step: learning how to choose and combine foods to meet those nutrient targets.


In the following lesson, we’ll break down which ingredients supply which nutrients, how proteins, organs, fats, vegetables, and calcium sources fit together, and how to build meals that align with the needs you’ve just identified. This is where we start turning the numbers on your chart into real, everyday homemade meals your dog can thrive on.