Characteristics of obese or overweight dogs visiting private Japanese veterinary clinics

Abstract Objective To characterize obese or overweight dogs that visited private Japanese veterinary clinics located in humid subtropical climate zones. Methods Dogs were categorized into four body condition score groups and five body size groups based on their breed. Multilevel logistic regression models were applied to the data. A Chi -squared test was used to examine whether the percentage of obese or overweight dogs differed between breeds. Results There were 15.1% obese dogs and 39.8% overweight dogs. Obese dogs were characterized by increased age and female sex, whereas overweight dogs were characterized by increased age and neuter status ( P P Conclusions By taking age, body size, sex and neuter status into account, veterinarians can advise owners about maintaining their dogs in ideal body condition.