Dataset Information

Inaccurate Assessment of Canine Body Condition Score, Bodyweight, and Pet Food Labels: A Potential Cause of Inaccurate Feeding.

ABSTRACT: The objectives were to investigate owners' ability to assign the correct bodyweight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) to their dog and to interpret wet and dry pet food labels by estimating how much to feed daily. One hundred and seventy-four questionnaires were completed. Owner estimated BW was compared to actual BW, correct being defined within ±10% of actual BW. Correct interpretation of the total amount of food required was determined by the number of cans (±25% of cans) required for wet food and grams (±20% of grams) for dry food, based on the dog's actual BW, the feeding guidelines on the label, and a comparison with the owner's estimate. Eleven percent of owners overestimated BCS and 19% overestimated BW. Only 48% of owners could correctly estimate their dog's BW. Only 23% and 43% of owners could correctly estimate how much wet and dry food to feed, respectively. Chi-square analysis demonstrated a significant positive association for owners correctly estimating their dog's BW and interpreting the wet pet food label. Many owners are not aware of their pet's BCS and BW and cannot accurately interpret pet food labels. Further owner education to improve these skills is needed if dogs are to be fed correctly.

SUBMITTER: Yam PS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5606605 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Inaccurate Assessment of Canine Body Condition Score, Bodyweight, and Pet Food Labels: A Potential Cause of Inaccurate Feeding.

Yam Philippa S PS Naughton Gregory G Butowski Christina F CF Root Amanda L AL

Veterinary sciences 20170609 2

The objectives were to investigate owners' ability to assign the correct bodyweight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) to their dog and to interpret wet and dry pet food labels by estimating how much to feed daily. One hundred and seventy-four questionnaires were completed. Owner estimated BW was compared to actual BW, correct being defined within ±10% of actual BW. Correct interpretation of the total amount of food required was determined by the number of cans (±25% of cans) required for wet f ...[more]

PMID: 29056689

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Project description:ObjectivesWe examined the effect of 'labels' versus 'descriptions' across four asymptomatic health conditions: pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension, mild hyperlipidaemia, and chronic kidney disease stage 3A, on participants' intentions to pursue further tests. There were four secondary objectives: 1) assessing confidence and satisfaction in their intention to test further; 2) revealing psychological drivers affecting intentions; 3) exploring whether intentions, confidence and satisfaction differ by label vs. description and health condition; and 4) producing a perceptual map of illnesses by label condition.MethodsPractitioner validated health-related scenarios were used. Two variants of each condition were developed. Participants were recruited through Qualtrics from Australia, Ireland and Canada and randomly assigned two 'labelled' or two 'descriptive' scenarios.ResultsThere was no significant difference in intentions to test between label and description conditions (95% CI -0.76 to 0.33 points, p = 0.4). Confidence and satisfaction were both positively associated with intentions: regression coefficient (β) for confidence β = 0.58 points (95% CI 0.49 to 0.68, p < .001) and for satisfaction 0.67 points (95% CI 0.57 to 0.77, p < .001). Predisposition to seek healthcare (β = 0.72; 95% CI 0.47 to 0.98), attributing illness to bad luck (β = -0.16 points; 95% CI -0.3 to -0.02), and concern about the health condition (β = 0.51; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.65) also significantly predicted intentions.ConclusionsUnlike studies investigating symptomatic illnesses, the disease label effect on behavioural intentions was not supported suggesting that reducing demand for medical services for borderline cases cannot be achieved by labelling. The average intention to test score was higher in this sample than previous symptomatic health-related studies and there was a positive relationship between increased intentions and confidence/satisfaction in one's decision. Exploratory insights suggested perceptions of the four labelled asymptomatic illnesses all shifted toward greater levels of dread and concern compared to their respective description condition.Trial registrationACTRN12618000392268.

Project description:The relationship between ewe body condition score (BCS) and liveweight (LW) has been exploited previously to predict the former from LW, LW-change, and previous BCS records. It was hypothesized that if fleece weight and conceptus-free liveweight and LW-change, and in addition, height at withers were used, the accuracy of current approaches to predicting BCS would be enhanced. Ewes born in 2017 (n = 429) were followed from 8 mo to approximately 42 mo of age in New Zealand. Individual ewe data were collected on LW and BCS at different stages of the annual production cycle (i.e., prebreeding, at pregnancy diagnosis, prelambing, and weaning). Additionally, individual lambing dates, ewe fleece weight, and height at withers data were collected. Linear regression models were fitted to predict current BCS at each ewe age and stage of the annual production cycle using two LW-based models, namely, unadjusted for conceptus weight and fleece weight (LW alone1) and adjusted (LW alone2) models. Furthermore, another two models based on a combination of LW, LW-change, previous BCS, and height at withers (combined models), namely, unadjusted (combined1) and adjusted for conceptus and fleece weight (combined2), were fitted. Combined models gave more accurate (with lower root mean square error: RMSE) BCS predictions than models based on LW records alone. However, applying adjusted models did not improve BCS prediction accuracy (or reduce RMSE) or improve model goodness of fit (R 2) (P > 0.05). Furthermore, in all models, both LW-alone and combined models, a great proportion of variability in BCS, could not be accounted for (0.25 ≥ R 2 ≥ 0.83) and there was substantial prediction error (0.33 BCS ≥ RMSE ≥ 0.49 BCS) across age groups and stages of the annual production cycle and over time (years). Therefore, using additional ewe data which allowed for the correction of LW for fleece and conceptus weight and using height at withers as an additional predictor did not improve model accuracy. In fact, the findings suggest that adjusting LW data for conceptus and fleece weight offer no additional value to the BCS prediction models based on LW. Therefore, additional research to identify alternative methodologies to account for individual animal variability is still needed.

Dataset Information

Inaccurate Assessment of Canine Body Condition Score, Bodyweight, and Pet Food Labels: A Potential Cause of Inaccurate Feeding.

Publications

Inaccurate Assessment of Canine Body Condition Score, Bodyweight, and Pet Food Labels: A Potential Cause of Inaccurate Feeding.

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