Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog owners better judge large dog weight using a 5-point chart
By Liyanage, Ashan Thishanka et al.·Published in Topics in companion animal medicine·2022·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Owner-misperception of Canine Body Condition Reduces After Using a Five-point Body Condition Score Chart: A Study of 95 Large-Sized Purebred Dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Many dog owners struggle to accurately assess their dog's weight and body condition, which can lead to health issues. In a study involving 95 large-sized purebred dogs, only 23 owners initially evaluated their dog's body condition correctly. However, after using a simple five-point body condition score chart, the number of accurate assessments jumped to 50. This shows that using a BCS chart can help owners better understand if their dog is at a healthy weight, which is important for their overall health and wellbeing.
People also search for: how to tell if my dog is overweight · dog body condition score chart · healthy weight for large breed dogs
Abstract
The body condition score (BCS) is a popular method used to assess the body condition of dogs. However, owner-misperception of canine body condition has shown to persist even after being guided by a BCS chart. We compared the BCS assessments performed by the owners of 95 large-sized, purebred dogs without and with the guidance of a 5-point BCS chart. Initially, only 23 of 95 dog owners accurately assessed the BCS of their dogs and the correct assessments significantly increased after being guided by a BCS chart (50/95, p < 0.001). In addition, initially there was only a poor agreement between the owners and the primary investigator (κ = 0.14) that improved significantly after the owners were guided by a BCS chart (κ = 0.6). The present findings suggest that BCS charts are useful for reducing owner-misperception on canine body condition in large-sized, purebred dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35667620/