PetCost › Dogs › Rankings › Dogs that eat the least

Dogs that eat the least

The cheapest breeds to feed, by computed annual food cost. The top pick is the Chihuahua.

Dogs that eat the least — top 6

Chart: the six top-ranked dogs by food cost/yr — taller bars rank higher on this metric.

What this ranking shows

Across 272 dogs, food cost/yr ranges from $125 to $2,015 — a 16.1× spread, with a median around $720. The Chihuahua leads at $125, while the Pyrenean Mastiff sits at the far end. Rounding out the top three are the Pomeranian ($135) and the Poodle (Toy) ($135). Most of the gap comes down to three things: body size (which sets how much a dog eats and its medication doses), breed health risk (which sets insurance premiums and likely vet bills), and lifespan (which multiplies every recurring annual cost). Use the sorter below to re-rank by your own budget, home size and grooming tolerance.

#	Breed	Size	Food cost/yr	Lifetime cost
1	Chihuahua	Small	$125	$21,200
2	Pomeranian	Small	$135	$25,700
3	Poodle (Toy)	Small	$135	$27,900
4	Toy Fox Terrier	Small	$135	$20,600
5	Yorkshire Terrier	Small	$145	$26,000
6	Biewer Terrier	Small	$155	$25,500
7	Russian Toy	Small	$155	$19,600
8	Bolognese	Small	$175	$21,400
9	Maltese	Small	$175	$24,800
10	Papillon	Small	$185	$22,600
11	Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka	Small	$185	$23,000
12	Affenpinscher	Small	$205	$22,500
13	Brussels Griffon	Small	$215	$22,600
14	Japanese Chin	Small	$215	$17,600
15	Miniature Pinscher	Small	$215	$21,100
16	Chinese Crested	Small	$230	$23,400
17	Havanese	Small	$230	$25,100
18	Silky Terrier	Small	$230	$23,600
19	Italian Greyhound	Small	$240	$22,200
20	English Toy Spaniel	Small	$245	$19,300
21	Portuguese Podengo Pequeno	Small	$245	$21,500
22	Coton de Tulear	Small	$255	$32,000
23	Norfolk Terrier	Small	$255	$22,300
24	Manchester Terrier (Toy)	Small	$265	$25,200
25	Norwich Terrier	Small	$265	$21,700
26	Russell Terrier	Small	$265	$21,000
27	Tibetan Spaniel	Small	$265	$21,700
28	Löwchen	Small	$270	$23,300
29	Maltipoo	Small	$270	$25,600
30	Poodle (Miniature)	Small	$270	$24,200
31	Shih Tzu	Small	$270	$30,200
32	Border Terrier	Small	$280	$21,900
33	Lancashire Heeler	Small	$280	$21,400
34	Schipperke	Small	$280	$21,200
35	Cairn Terrier	Small	$290	$22,700
36	American Hairless Terrier	Small	$295	$26,100
37	Pekingese	Small	$295	$23,000
38	Bichon Frise	Small	$310	$31,300
39	Lhasa Apso	Small	$310	$24,000
40	Parson Russell Terrier	Small	$310	$23,100
41	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel	Small	$320	$29,200
42	Miniature Schnauzer	Small	$320	$29,500
43	Pug	Small	$330	$23,300
44	Smooth Fox Terrier	Small	$335	$22,600
45	Teddy Roosevelt Terrier	Small	$335	$24,900
46	Wire Fox Terrier	Small	$335	$22,600
47	Lakeland Terrier	Small	$345	$22,800
48	Manchester Terrier (Standard)	Small	$345	$26,500
49	Australian Terrier	Small	$350	$22,100
50	Danish-Swedish Farmdog	Small	$350	$20,100
51	Japanese Spitz	Small	$350	$22,100
52	Rat Terrier	Small	$350	$25,100
53	West Highland White Terrier	Small	$350	$28,100
54	Boston Terrier	Small	$365	$20,800
55	Cesky Terrier	Small	$375	$23,200
56	Jagdterrier	Small	$380	$20,700
57	Bedlington Terrier	Small	$385	$25,000
58	Scottish Terrier	Small	$385	$22,500
59	Shetland Sheepdog	Small	$385	$24,100
60	Shiba Inu	Small	$385	$24,900
61	Welsh Terrier	Small	$385	$25,000
62	American Eskimo Dog	Small	$395	$24,200
63	Dandie Dinmont Terrier	Small	$400	$27,900
64	Cirneco dell’Etna	Small	$410	$22,300
65	French Bulldog	Small	$415	$26,800
66	Basenji	Small	$430	$23,400
67	Miniature Bull Terrier	Small	$430	$21,100
68	Mudi	Small	$435	$22,700
69	Sealyham Terrier	Small	$435	$24,800
70	Dachshund	Small	$445	$26,500
71	Tibetan Terrier	Small	$445	$29,200
72	Beagle	Small	$460	$23,600
73	Cocker Spaniel	Medium	$460	$29,800
74	German Spitz	Medium	$460	$31,600
75	Nederlandse Kooikerhondje	Medium	$460	$28,900
76	Norrbottenspets	Medium	$460	$32,800
77	Norwegian Lundehund	Medium	$460	$28,900
78	Pumi	Medium	$465	$26,500
79	Irish Terrier	Medium	$470	$29,500
80	Finnish Spitz	Medium	$480	$30,200
81	Icelandic Sheepdog	Medium	$490	$28,400
82	Kromfohrlander	Medium	$490	$32,000
83	Swedish Vallhund	Medium	$490	$28,800
84	Pembroke Welsh Corgi	Medium	$510	$27,600
85	Lagotto Romagnolo	Medium	$520	$34,100
86	English Cocker Spaniel	Medium	$525	$30,400
87	Kai Ken	Medium	$525	$29,300
88	Miniature American Shepherd	Medium	$525	$31,800
89	Puli	Medium	$525	$34,300
90	Basset Fauve de Bretagne	Medium	$540	$26,900
91	Staffordshire Bull Terrier	Medium	$540	$29,000
92	Cardigan Welsh Corgi	Medium	$545	$30,100
93	Peruvian Inca Orchid	Medium	$545	$28,500
94	Boykin Spaniel	Medium	$560	$29,700
95	Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen	Medium	$560	$29,200
96	Whippet	Medium	$560	$29,700
97	Xoloitzcuintli	Medium	$560	$33,700
98	Norwegian Buhund	Medium	$565	$30,300
99	Taiwan Dog	Medium	$565	$25,200
100	American Water Spaniel	Medium	$590	$29,000
101	Brittany	Medium	$590	$31,200
102	German Pinscher	Medium	$590	$29,100
103	Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier	Medium	$590	$31,200
104	Glen of Imaal Terrier	Medium	$600	$30,300
105	Croatian Sheepdog	Medium	$610	$30,400
106	Kerry Blue Terrier	Medium	$610	$32,500
107	Drever	Medium	$620	$33,700
108	Swedish Lapphund	Medium	$620	$30,000
109	Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog	Medium	$635	$31,300
110	Slovensky Kopov	Medium	$635	$28,600
111	Jindo	Medium	$650	$32,600
112	Keeshond	Medium	$650	$33,100
113	Polish Lowland Sheepdog	Medium	$650	$34,600
114	Skye Terrier	Medium	$650	$34,600
115	Spanish Water Dog	Medium	$650	$37,200
116	Standard Schnauzer	Medium	$650	$35,400
117	Sussex Spaniel	Medium	$650	$34,300
118	Treeing Tennessee Brindle	Medium	$650	$26,200
119	Schapendoes	Medium	$660	$31,600
120	Australian Cattle Dog	Medium	$680	$32,400
121	Border Collie	Medium	$680	$33,700
122	Field Spaniel	Medium	$680	$29,700
123	Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen	Medium	$680	$33,000
124	Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever	Medium	$680	$30,800
125	Sloughi	Medium	$680	$29,700
126	Finnish Lapphund	Medium	$690	$32,000
127	Azawakh	Medium	$700	$32,200
128	Braque du Bourbonnais	Medium	$700	$26,200
129	Working Kelpie	Medium	$700	$31,600
130	Bulldog (English)	Medium	$710	$26,000
131	Canaan Dog	Medium	$710	$32,300
132	English Springer Spaniel	Medium	$710	$31,200
133	Kishu Ken	Medium	$710	$28,500
134	Mountain Cur	Medium	$710	$27,500
135	Shikoku	Medium	$710	$26,800
136	Welsh Springer Spaniel	Medium	$710	$32,300
137	Karelian Bear Dog	Medium	$730	$28,800
138	Portuguese Pointer	Medium	$735	$33,200
139	Deutscher Wachtelhund	Medium	$740	$31,600
140	Ibizan Hound	Medium	$740	$30,000
141	Irish Red and White Setter	Medium	$740	$31,600
142	Portuguese Water Dog	Medium	$740	$33,200
143	Siberian Husky	Large	$740	$37,100
144	Yakutian Laika	Medium	$740	$27,100
145	Portuguese Sheepdog	Medium	$745	$30,600
146	Bohemian Shepherd	Medium	$755	$32,300
147	Barbet	Large	$770	$39,700
148	Bearded Collie	Large	$770	$43,900
149	Pharaoh Hound	Large	$770	$39,700
150	Plott Hound	Large	$770	$39,200
151	Samoyed	Large	$770	$41,300
152	Segugio Italiano	Large	$770	$36,900
153	Small Munsterlander Pointer	Large	$770	$39,200
154	Stabyhoun	Large	$770	$42,000
155	Czechoslovakian Vlcak	Large	$775	$38,300
156	Portuguese Podengo	Large	$775	$34,100
157	Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound	Large	$790	$41,300
158	Norwegian Elkhound	Large	$790	$41,300
159	Vizsla	Large	$795	$40,000
160	Australian Shepherd	Medium	$800	$35,400
161	Basset Hound	Large	$800	$40,100
162	Chinese Shar-Pei	Large	$800	$31,100
163	Entlebucher Mountain Dog	Large	$800	$36,700
164	Harrier	Large	$800	$41,500
165	Saluki	Large	$800	$41,000
166	Wirehaired Pointing Griffon	Large	$800	$41,500
167	Afghan Hound	Large	$825	$46,200
168	American English Coonhound	Large	$825	$35,600
169	American Staffordshire Terrier	Large	$825	$42,800
170	Eurasier	Large	$825	$45,000
171	French Spaniel	Large	$825	$36,000
172	Hokkaido	Large	$825	$41,900
173	Thai Ridgeback	Large	$825	$38,500
174	Transylvanian Hound	Large	$825	$37,500
175	Wirehaired Vizsla	Large	$825	$39,900
176	Irish Water Spaniel	Large	$845	$39,200
177	American Leopard Hound	Large	$855	$42,300
178	Chow Chow	Large	$855	$33,200
179	Dalmatian	Large	$855	$37,900
180	German Shorthaired Pointer	Large	$855	$31,100
181	Hamiltonstovare	Large	$855	$47,500
182	Poodle (Standard)	Large	$855	$47,400
183	Pudelpointer	Large	$855	$43,200
184	Redbone Coonhound	Large	$855	$42,300
185	Slovakian Wirehaired Pointer	Large	$855	$41,700
186	Dutch Shepherd	Large	$865	$39,500
187	Porcelaine	Large	$865	$39,000
188	Appenzeller Sennenhund	Large	$870	$42,500
189	Airedale Terrier	Large	$885	$41,200
190	Belgian Laekenois	Large	$885	$35,300
191	Belgian Malinois	Large	$885	$47,100
192	Belgian Sheepdog	Large	$885	$42,700
193	Belgian Tervuren	Large	$885	$42,700
194	Berger Picard	Large	$885	$39,200
195	Bull Terrier	Large	$885	$39,700
196	German Wirehaired Pointer	Large	$885	$47,100
197	Pointer	Large	$885	$45,600
198	Treeing Walker Coonhound	Large	$885	$39,200
199	Drentsche Patrijshond	Large	$890	$39,800
200	Bluetick Coonhound	Large	$910	$37,100
201	Collie	Large	$910	$43,100
202	English Setter	Large	$910	$40,000
203	Gordon Setter	Large	$910	$40,000
204	Wetterhoun	Large	$910	$41,000
205	American Foxhound	Large	$940	$38,400
206	Boxer	Large	$940	$35,400
207	Flat-Coated Retriever	Large	$940	$29,900
208	Golden Retriever	Large	$940	$37,800
209	Greyhound	Large	$940	$36,900
210	Irish Setter	Large	$940	$45,000
211	Chesapeake Bay Retriever	Large	$965	$39,100
212	English Foxhound	Large	$965	$37,200
213	German Longhaired Pointer	Large	$965	$41,700
214	Labrador Retriever	Large	$965	$35,700
215	Chinook	Large	$990	$44,100
216	Clumber Spaniel	Large	$990	$36,500
217	German Shepherd	Large	$990	$30,200
218	German Shepherd Dog	Large	$990	$28,800
219	Giant Schnauzer	Large	$990	$48,400
220	Lapponian Herder	Large	$990	$39,500
221	Bergamasco Sheepdog	Large	$995	$45,100
222	Bracco Italiano	Large	$1,020	$39,300
223	Catahoula Leopard Dog	Large	$1,020	$41,300
224	Weimaraner	Large	$1,020	$38,300
225	Briard	Large	$1,070	$44,300
226	Curly-Coated Retriever	Large	$1,070	$36,900
227	Hovawart	Large	$1,070	$40,000
228	Rhodesian Ridgeback	Large	$1,070	$34,200
229	Alaskan Malamute	Large	$1,095	$42,200
230	American Bulldog	Large	$1,095	$37,200
231	Doberman Pinscher	Large	$1,095	$37,200
232	Old English Sheepdog	Large	$1,095	$38,900
233	Borzoi	Large	$1,120	$39,500
234	Slovensky Cuvac	Large	$1,120	$41,100
235	Tornjak	Large	$1,155	$46,300
236	Black and Tan Coonhound	Large	$1,170	$38,400
237	Hanoverian Scenthound	Large	$1,185	$41,400
238	Beauceron	Giant	$1,195	$43,900
239	Bouvier des Flandres	Giant	$1,195	$46,100
240	Komondor	Giant	$1,195	$48,300
241	Bernese Mountain Dog	Giant	$1,220	$34,900
242	Great Pyrenees	Giant	$1,220	$42,900
243	Kuvasz	Giant	$1,220	$42,900
244	Scottish Deerhound	Giant	$1,220	$37,100
245	Dogo Argentino	Giant	$1,235	$46,200
246	Bloodhound	Giant	$1,245	$43,200
247	Perro de Presa Canario	Giant	$1,265	$39,300
248	Otterhound	Giant	$1,270	$45,300
249	Akita	Giant	$1,295	$49,200
250	Dogue de Bordeaux	Giant	$1,340	$27,100
251	Estrela Mountain Dog	Giant	$1,340	$47,900
252	Rafeiro do Alentejo	Giant	$1,340	$51,600
253	Black Russian Terrier	Giant	$1,345	$47,700
254	Rottweiler	Large	$1,370	$36,500
255	Tibetan Mastiff	Giant	$1,390	$46,100
256	Greater Swiss Mountain Dog	Giant	$1,415	$39,300
257	Irish Wolfhound	Giant	$1,415	$29,800
258	Anatolian Shepherd Dog	Giant	$1,440	$49,100
259	Bullmastiff	Giant	$1,440	$33,500
260	Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog	Giant	$1,440	$52,900
261	Broholmer	Giant	$1,485	$37,700
262	Newfoundland	Giant	$1,530	$40,400
263	Leonberger	Giant	$1,575	$41,700
264	Neapolitan Mastiff	Giant	$1,575	$34,900
265	Caucasian Shepherd Dog	Giant	$1,620	$48,600
266	Great Dane	Giant	$1,690	$37,500
267	Saint Bernard	Giant	$1,755	$40,500
268	Tosa	Giant	$1,755	$48,300
269	Spanish Mastiff	Giant	$1,930	$52,000
270	Boerboel	Giant	$1,970	$46,400
271	Mastiff	Giant	$1,970	$37,700
272	Pyrenean Mastiff	Giant	$2,015	$55,200

Ranked from our sortable database. Food = vet RER/MER calorie formula; insurance = NAPHIA US average × breed health-risk tier; lifespan from breed standards. US planning estimates.

Compiled by the PawCosts data team from breed standards, NAPHIA averages and AAFCO/vet nutrition formulas.

Frequently asked questions

Which dog eats the least?

Small breeds — they need less food, so annual food cost is lowest.

How is this ranking calculated?

From our sortable cost database: food via the vet RER/MER calorie formula, insurance from NAPHIA US averages by breed health-risk tier, and lifespan from published breed standards.

What is the typical food cost/yr for dogs?

The median across 272 breeds is about $720.

Are these exact prices?

No — they are modelled US planning estimates; your real cost varies by region, provider and the individual animal.

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