Body condition score in large pure bred dogs: a preliminary study on agreement between owner's perception and scientific evaluation

Abstract

SUMMARY: Obesity is a severe health issue among companion dogs. It may seriously impair the quality of a dog's life predisposing to many other disease conditions. Incorrect assessment of the body condition (BC) of their pets by the dog owners has been identified as an obstacle which would prevent early intervention in canine obesity. This study was designed to assess the degree of agreement between the dog owner's perception of their pet's BC and the scientific assessment of body condition score (BCS). Eighty-two large pure bred dogs were included in the study. Scientific evaluation was performed using 1-5 BCS system proposed by Royal Canin™ (1-emmaciated, 2-thin, 3-ideal, 4-over weight, 5-obese). Following the scientific evaluation the owners were asked to assess their pet's BC using a grading system which included appropriate lay terms to describe the 1-5 scoring positions in the scientific method (1=very thin, 2=thin, 3=ideal, 4=fat, 5=very fat). In addition the knowledge of necessity of feeding adjustments and exercise, health risk of obesity and awareness of scientific BC evaluation methods were evaluated using a short questionnaire. Agreement between the owner's perception and scientific method was analyzed using

Association between Birth Weight and Subcutaneous Fat Thickness at Adulthood in Dogs

“…A previous work, on a Labrador dog cohort, demonstrated an association between low birth weight and increased risk of overweight at adulthood, assessed through the body condition score (BCS) [ 23 ]. This score, established by palpation and visual observation on a 9-point scale, is widely used for body composition assessment both in clinical practice and for research because it is inexpensive, non-invasive and provides immediate results [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Although its correlation with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and deuterium oxide dilution is well established [ 25 , 27 ], studies have shown its subjectivity [ 28 , 29 ] with the influence of scorer experience [ 30 , 31 ].…”