Abstract
Body condition score（BCS）is a method that is commonly used in the assessment of nutritional status in small animals. BCS has been recognized as one of the screening method of nutrition assessment by American Animal Hospital Association（AAHA）in 2010. In response to the AHHA 's proposal, World Small Animal Veterinary Association（WSAVA）decided BCS as a global standard. However, BCS is subjective method because of its evaluation being assessed by visual and palpatory manner. Therefore, we built a BCS model for increasing its accuracy. Twenty four dogs with varied on a BCS were used for this examination. The BCS model was made by stacking rubber sheets with different thickness on the molded ribs by resin to simulate each BCSs. BCS assessment was performed by students in the department of animal nursing. They were divided into two groups and one group assessed without the BCS model and another group used the BCS model. The body fat percentage was also measured by using a Body Fat Analyzer for Dogs（Kao Healthlab IBF-D02）. Statistically significant differences were observed between these two groups. Data variability was greater in the group that was not used the BCS model while the data variability using the BCS model was less. In parallel, we also asked dog owners to assess a BCS of their dogs by using the BCS model. Most of dog owners recognized the usefulness of BCS model to grasp their dog 's nutritional status. These results suggest that the BCS model increases the reproducibility of the BCS assessment in clinical practice. In addition, the BCS model is useful for pet owners to grasp their dog 's nutritional status.
