The Furry Fitness App follow two inputs from you to find your dog's healthy weight, or ideal weight. Then the app will calculate what your dog's healthy (ideal) weight should be.
1. You do a Body Condition Score (BCS) on your dog
Here you can read about what a body condition score is
The Furry Fitness App use the scale of 1 to 5 body condition scoring (BCS).
In the app, you will be offered to do a BCS assessment of your dog.
When you complete the assessment, you give it a rating of 1 to 5, 3 being the ideal BCS.
2. You do a weigh-in of your dog
You do a weigh-in of your dog in the Furry Fitness App.
The Furry Fitness App has a nice weigh-in feature as shown here:
Select to update your dog's weight
Follow the weigh in wizard
3. The Furry Fitness App will calculate the ideal weight for your dog
When the Furry Fitness App has recorded your BCS rating and your dog's actual weight, the app will then calculate the ideal weight for your dog.
What is the calculation method behind it?
Let´s use an example to explain it:
Assume you give your dog a BCS of 4, 3 being ideal weight. Your dog is slightly overweight (obese) and should lose some weight. You also weigh the dog, and the dog is 20 kg.
The calculation formula is as follows:
1. Take your dogs starting BCS 4 and subtract 3 (the ideal score)
4-3=1
2. Multiply the result (1) by 10
1*10=10
3. Add 100
10+100=110
4. Divide 100 by the result from step 3. Round to 3 digits
100/110= 0,909 (this number is rounded to 3 digits)
5. Multiply the result from step 4 above by your dog's weight
0,909*20= 18,18
Your dog's healthy (ideal) weight is 18,18 kg.
The Furry Fitness App will also then tell you the deviation weight, which will be 20kg minus 18.18 kg = -1,82kg. In this example, your dog should lose 1,82kg to be at its ideal weight. This calculation method will also work if your dog is underweight.
Why is it important to know your dog's ideal weight?
If your dog is obese (or underweight), you need to know what target weight to strive for. And you also need to give your dog the right amount of food. As many dogs are obese, this entails going into a weight loss program. The Furry Fitness App will help you with this through a nutritional assessment.
The sum of doing a BCS, weighing your dog and knowing the ideal weight of your dog gives you the knowledge of how to go about feeding your dog the correct amount of food. The end result is improved quality of life for your dog and longevity.