It’s a new year and that means many of us have returned to the treadmill, yoga mat or swimming pool to undo the excesses of the holiday season. It turns out our dogs may need the same treatment, since a recently published study of more than 50,000 dogs in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine found that overweight dogs had a reduced lifespan by about 2.5 years on average compared to dogs of the same age and breed with an ideal body condition score.

Veterinarians use a body condition scoring (BCS) system to help identify overweight or obese pets. There are two different numerical systems: a 5-point scale and a 9-point scale. In both systems, the high number (5 and 9 respectively) refers to obese pets and a score of 1 refers to dangerously underweight pets. This system works well for animal healthcare professionals but is hard for pet families to use. In October, I created a BCS for cats using “famous” cats for reference. This post does the same with “famous” dogs.