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

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.