Journal of Animal Science and Technology

Korean Society of Animal Sciences and Technology (한국축산학회)
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A simple method to evaluate body condition score to maintain the optimal body weight in dogs

  • Chun, Ju Lan (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Bang, Han Tae (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Ji, Sang Yun (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Jeong, Jin Young (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Kim, Minji (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Kim, Byeonghyeon (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Lee, Sung Dae (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Lee, Yoo Kyung (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Reddy, Kondreddy Eswar (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Kim, Ki Hyun (National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration)
  • Received : 2019.11.01
  • Accepted : 2019.11.08
  • Published : 2019.11.30
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Abstract

Overweight and obesity induce serious health problems that exert negative effects on dog's welfare. Body condition score (BCS) is a common method to evaluate the body fat mass in animals. By palpating and observing fats under the skin it is possible to predict animal's body fat accumulation condition. BCS is also a useful tool to estimate body fat composition in dogs. However, BCS can be subjective when it was performed by non-professionals like pet's owners. To develop a method to avoid the misevaluation of BCS twenty-four Beagles were enrolled and performed BCS evaluation. In addition, the length of chest and abdominal girths were measured. In correlation analysis, the sizes of chest and abdominal girth were significantly correlated with BCS. Especially, the difference and ratio of the chest and abdominal length were highly correlated with the BCS. With that, we suggested that this simple measurement of chest and abdominal girths by a measuring tape would be an effective method to estimate BCS scores in dogs that helps non-professionals to manage their own dog's nutritional condition by monitoring body fat accumulation condition.

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References

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