Webb Thomas L, Molina Jenifer, Sheridan Libby, du Plessis Hugues, Brown Joanna, Abraham Hannah, Morton Oliver, McKay Susan
School of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Nestlé Purina PetCare, Barcelona, Spain.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Jan 7;11:1483130. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1483130. eCollection 2024.
Obesity is a serious and prevalent problem in dogs. The causes are multifactorial, but owners play a key role and so this paper reports the development and evaluation of a health pack designed to help owners to manage the weight of their dogs.
The pack was informed by previous research, behavior change theory (i.e., the COM-B model), and interviews with 12 veterinary professionals to identify challenges and potential solutions. Six workshops with a total of 28 dog owners provided feedback on the initial ideas. The pack included information on the importance of weight management, how to weigh and assess body condition score (BCS), a journal to track progress, an infographic illustrating the calorific value of treats, cards to help owners manage difficult situations, and a collar tag for the dog. The acceptability of the materials and potential outcomes were evaluated in a pre-registered pilot trial with a sample of 78 dog owners who were posted a health pack, 49 of whom completed a follow-up questionnaire.
The findings suggested that owners were willing to weigh their dog, found the pack acceptable, and there was preliminary evidence that the weight and BCS of dogs was lower at follow-up than at baseline.
The findings illustrate the potential of a health pack for supporting dog owners and provide the basis for a larger RCT to formally evaluate effectiveness.
肥胖是犬类中一个严重且普遍的问题。其病因是多方面的，但主人起着关键作用，因此本文报告了一个旨在帮助主人管理犬类体重的健康包的开发与评估情况。
该健康包参考了先前的研究、行为改变理论（即COM - B模型），并与12名兽医专业人员进行了访谈以确定挑战和潜在解决方案。与总共28位犬主举办了六次研讨会，他们对初步想法提供了反馈。该健康包包含体重管理的重要性信息、如何称重和评估身体状况评分（BCS）、一本用于跟踪进展的日志、一张说明零食热量值的信息图、帮助主人应对困难情况的卡片以及一个给狗狗佩戴的项圈标签。在一项预先注册的试点试验中，对78位收到健康包的犬主样本评估了材料的可接受性和潜在结果，其中49位完成了后续问卷调查。
研究结果表明，主人愿意给狗狗称重，认为该健康包可接受，并且有初步证据表明，随访时狗狗的体重和身体状况评分低于基线水平。
研究结果说明了健康包在支持犬主方面的潜力，并为一项更大规模的随机对照试验正式评估其有效性提供了基础。
