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Kat Hart, a Registered Veterinary Nurse and Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Nursing at the University is currently undertaking a part-time PhD on canine obesity.

Kat Hart, a PhD researcher and Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Nursing at SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Kat is being supervised by (Harper-Keele Veterinary School), Dr Ellen Williams & Professor Dawn Arnold. Health and welfare are intrinsically linked, and Kat’s work is part of the broader remit of the Animal Behaviour and Welfare Research Group. Kat is also a member of the Companion Animal Health Sciences Research Group. 

Kat is aiming to improve the management of canine obesity through a number of different methods and she is seeking help from the public – you don’t even need to own a dog to assist with some of it!

Public Questionnaire

Kat has produced an online questionnaire, designed to capture knowledge of the UK’s public understanding and awareness of canine body condition. Anyone over the age of 18 who is not a veterinary professional and who does not have significant training in body condition scoring in dogs is invited to take part in the online questionnaire, you don’t even need to be a pet owner!

The questionnaire should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You will need to answer a few demographic questions and then be asked to review a series of photos like the one below, giving your opinion on their body condition.

An example of images including in the questionnaire - persons completing the questionnaire will be asked to review a series of photos and allocate body condition descriptors to each dog 

Kat said: “Unfortunately, obesity in dogs is on the increase, with recent descriptions including it being a ‘modern day epidemic’. It is now one of the most prevalent disorders seen in dogs.”

Recognised as a significant medical condition due to its ability to impact welfare and reduce quality of life in dogs, obesity can predispose dogs to other complex conditions such as osteoarthritis and diabetes. Understanding public perceptions of canine body conditions is paramount in improving the way we handle obesity in dogs - and so your input is hugely valuable!

The questionnaire can be accessed .

Conversations with Owners of Overweight Dogs

The second part of Kat’s PhD involves interviewing owners who currently have dogs considered to be overweight. Kat wants to use this opportunity to delve further into owner understanding and awareness of this condition.

If you own an overweight dog - or know somebody who does - and are interested in taking part in an interview, or would like any further information on the canine obesity PhD project, please contact Kat by email.