Impact on life expectancy was the most important information to clients when considering whether to take action for an overweight or obese dog.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read More Add to Saved list
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: American Veterinary Medical Association Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7503067 Publication Model: Electronic-Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1943-569X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00031488 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Am Vet Med Assoc Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Mar. 1975- : Schaumburg, Ill. : American Veterinary Medical Association
      Original Publication: Ithaca, N.Y. : [American Veterinary Medical Association, 1915]-
    • Subject Terms:
      Obesity*/veterinary ; Dog Diseases* ; Overweight*/veterinary ; Life Expectancy*; Dogs ; Animals ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Male ; Female ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Ownership ; Adult ; Middle Aged
    • Abstract:
      Objective: To determine dog owner preferences for information communicated during veterinarian-client obesity-related conversations within companion animal practice.
      Sample: Dog owners recruited using snowball sampling.
      Methods: A cross-sectional online questionnaire was distributed to dog owners. A discrete choice experiment was used to determine the relative importance, to participating dog owners, of information about selected weight-related attributes that would encourage them to pursue weight management for a dog when diagnosed as overweight by a veterinarian.
      Results: A total of 1,108 surveys were analyzed, with most participating dog owners residing in Canada. The most important weight-related attribute was life expectancy (relative importance, 28.56%), followed by the timeline for developing arthritis (19.24%), future quality of life (18.91%), change to cost of food (18.90%), and future mobility (14.34%).
      Clinical Relevance: Results suggest that dog owners may consider information relating to an extension of their dog's life as the most important aspect of an obesity-related veterinary recommendation. By integrating dog owner preferences into discussions between clients and veterinary professionals about obesity, there is the potential to encourage more clients to engage in weight management efforts for their overweight or obese dog.
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: canine; communication; discrete choice experiment; obesity; veterinary
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20240321 Date Completed: 20240528 Latest Revision: 20240528
    • Publication Date:
      20240529
    • Accession Number:
      10.2460/javma.23.12.0697
    • Accession Number:
      38513358