Feeding by breed and weight / Toy group
Feeding · Toy group
How much to feed a Pekingese
A neutered adult Pekingese at 14 lb needs about 448 kcal a day, which is 1¼ cups of a 369 kcal/cup food. That is the maintenance figure before treats, from the resting energy requirement formula and the Merck Veterinary Manual's factor of 1.6 for a neutered adult.
- 1Adult weight up to 14 lb
- 2At 14 lb 448 kcal a day
- 3Cups 1¼ cups at 369 kcal/cup
Pekingese feeding table by weight and life stage
Each row is a Pekingese at that weight. Columns are the Merck factors: a neutered adult (×1.6), an intact adult (×1.8) and a dog that is inactive or gains weight easily (×1.4). Cups assume 369 kcal per cup, the label figure for Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice (adult dry); change it to your bag's number on the sizer.
| Weight | RER | Neutered adult | Cups | Intact adult | Cups | Inactive / weight-prone | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 lb (6.4 kg) | 280 | 448 kcal | 1¼ | 504 kcal | 1¼ | 392 kcal | 1 |
| 14 lb (6.4 kg) | 280 | 448 kcal | 1¼ | 504 kcal | 1¼ | 392 kcal | 1 |
RER = 70 × kg0.75; factors from the Merck Veterinary Manual. Calorie density from the Purina product page (3790 kcal/kg, 369 kcal per 8 oz cup, about 96 g). Checked 2026-10-20.
Why the number is lower than the bag says
Bag feeding guides are written for an active, intact adult and often run above the neutered-maintenance figure; for a 14 lb Pekingese the gap between the intact and neutered columns is 56 kcal a day, roughly 0.2 cups. A dog that is already carrying extra weight should start from the inactive column (392 kcal at 14 lb) and be weighed every two weeks. Treats and chews count: a single dental chew can be 70–100 kcal, a sizeable share of a small dog's day.
Formulas get a healthy adult into the right range; body condition keeps it there. Ribs should be easy to feel under a thin layer of fat, and the dog should have a visible waist from above. If that is not the case after four weeks, adjust by about 10% and re-check — and ask your vet before changing a dog with a medical condition, a pregnant or nursing female, or a working dog in season.
Grams and meals
At 14 lb and 448 kcal, 1¼ cups is about 120 g a day of a 96 g/cup kibble — a kitchen scale is more repeatable than a scoop. Split into two meals for an adult. Puppies eat more per pound and more often: see the Pekingese puppy feeding chart.
How the Pekingese compares
Calories per pound fall as dogs get bigger, because RER scales with weight to the 0.75 power rather than linearly. A 14 lb Pekingese needs 32 kcal per pound; a 14 lb Cairn Terrier needs 448 kcal (32 per lb), a 20 lb Toy Fox Terrier needs 585 kcal (29 per lb), a 15 lb Lhasa Apso needs 472 kcal (31 per lb). The breed ranks 26 of 132 by weight on this site.
Adult weight from AKC breed standard (PDF), checked 2026-10-21. The AKC standard states the weight but not the height, so the height here is from Wikipedia breed infobox/body. Figures are maintenance starting points for a healthy adult; they are not veterinary advice.