Body Condition Scoring

Often clients ask how much their pets should weigh, but rather than focus on a specific weight it is often better to consider total body condition which is where body condition scoring comes into play.  Body condition scoring is a helpful tool to ensure that your pet is at a healthy weight.  It combines visual assessment with palpation of specific areas of your pet’s body.  There are different scales but they all range from underweight to overweight.  On a nine point scale an ideal body condition is generally scored with a five.  Once you become familiar with the scale it can be used routinely to assist you with maintaining a healthy weight for your pet.  If you try out the scales below and discover your pet is not at an ideal score we are happy to help with suggestions on how to get your pet to a healthier weight.  Also if you would like us to body condition score your pet to compare with the score you arrived at or just to give you a starting point we are happy to do so.

-Jennifer D'Amato-Anderson, MS (Animal Nutrition)

References: Body Condition Scoring System Nestle Purina PetCare Company

Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition, First Ed. Edited by Andrea J. Fascetti and Sean J. Delaney.