Use this form to see how much room the USDA says a dog needs in a puppy mill.

    Step 1 - Measure your dog's length, in inches, not counting its tail.

    Enter that number here: inches.

    Then click Compute
    Step 2 - Add 6 inches to your dog's length. You get inches.

    Note: This added 6 inches is the same, whether you are measuring a Chihuahua or a Bull Mastiff.
    Step 3 - Square that number (multiply it by itself) to get square inches of floor space.

    The basic formula for computing square inches of cage space require by the USDA for a dog is:

    (dogs length in inches+6)2=square inches of requires cage space.
    Final Result - Divide the result from Step 2 by 12 to convert to feet. Divide the result from Step 3 by 144 to get square feet and you get the following results:

    According to USDA regulations, your dog could live in a cage measuring feet by feet, in other words, a cage with square feet of floor space.

    Account for the fact that most dogs have tails, and the average dog will not be able to stand straight in its cage, without touching 2 opposing sides of the cage at the same time.

    Dogs in USDA licensed puppy mills are only required to have six inches of head room in their cages.