White G A, Hobson-West P, Cobb K, Craigon J, Hammond R, Millar K M
University of Nottingham, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire.
J Small Anim Pract. 2011 Dec;52(12):622-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2011.01138.x. Epub 2011 Oct 22.
The overall aim of this study was to examine the nature of the relationship between dog-ownership and canine obesity, explored in two cohorts of overweight/obese or non-overweight dogs (n=125). This paper concentrates on the owners' perception of dog weight.
A researcher-mediated questionnaire was used to collect data from dog owners attending a small veterinary practice. Interviewees (n=121) were asked qualitative and quantitative questions, designed to examine the owners' views of their relationship with their dogs.
Although a high proportion of owners claimed to have discussed the dog's weight with their veterinarian, some discrepancies were apparent between owner perception of animal weight and the veterinarian's evaluation of body condition score. Owner disagreement was significantly greater for the veterinarian-defined overweight dogs (P=0·005). Owners often provide personal narratives to account for their dog's weight status.
This study confirms the important role of the vet in providing information about the issue of dog weight but also suggests that providing verbal information is sometimes insufficient. The study also indicates the potential value of qualitative research methods to further understand client perception of complex animal care issues and highlights the need for further in-depth research.
本研究的总体目标是在两组超重/肥胖或非超重犬（n = 125）中，探究养狗与犬类肥胖之间关系的本质。本文重点关注主人对犬体重的认知。
采用由研究人员介导的问卷，从一家小型兽医诊所的犬主人处收集数据。对121名受访者提出了定性和定量问题，旨在考察主人对其与犬关系的看法。
尽管很大一部分主人声称已与兽医讨论过犬的体重，但主人对动物体重的认知与兽医对身体状况评分的评估之间存在一些明显差异。对于兽医定义的超重犬，主人的分歧明显更大（P = 0.005）。主人经常提供个人叙述来解释其犬的体重状况。
本研究证实了兽医在提供有关犬体重问题信息方面的重要作用，但也表明仅提供口头信息有时是不够的。该研究还指出了定性研究方法在进一步理解客户对复杂动物护理问题认知方面的潜在价值，并强调了进一步深入研究的必要性。
