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.
Keywords: body condition score; canine; large-sized; overweight; owner-misperception; purebred.
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