Mass confusion

When it comes to body condition, we actually want your pet to get an “average” score, as this indicates that your pet is at their healthiest weight. A low score, however, suggests that your pet is underweight, whilst a high score indicates that your pet is overweight. Here’s how to assess your pet’s body condition score (BCS), and what their score could mean.

Determining your pet’s BCS
Body condition scoring is a method of assessing your pet’s weight by looking at their overall body shape, and comparing it to a pictorial scale for dogs or cats. It’s best for your pet to be in the middle of the scale, with lean, healthy muscling. If you are unsure of where your pet lies on the scale, our helpful team will be happy to assess your pet in-clinic.

Oops, my pet has a high BCS – how has this happened?
In all honesty, many well-loved animals are overweight due to inappropriate food quantities, too many unhealthy snacks and/or not enough activity.

However, dogs with an underactive thyroid gland can also be prone to excess weight gain, as can animals taking certain long-term medications, such as steroids or certain anti-seizure drugs.

Oh no, my pet has a low BCS – why?
Sometimes, pets can accidentally lose weight due to errors with food quantities (e.g. changing from one diet to a lower calorie one). However, weight loss can also occur with medical issues, such as an overactive thyroid gland, diabetes, kidney disease and gut problems causing issues with digestion.

If you think your pet may be underweight or overweight, or is experiencing sudden, unexpected changes in their body condition, it’s a good idea to have them assessed further by one of our vets. We’ll do our best to help your pet be average, in the best possible way!