"BCS Body Condition Score"

BCS means Body Condition Score.
It's on a scale from 1 through 7

BCS 1: Emaciated and if someone saw him they'd want to put him to sleep or put you in jail. All ribs showing, tail segments visible, and head muscles sunken-in. The starving dogs you see on TikTok.

This is a BCS 1 - Click the image to see another example of this BCS

BCS 2: Too lean, with all ribs showing and no fat on the dog at all. Head and legs aren't really "sunken in" but his veins show everywhere and his spine is boney and evident. This isn't "terrible" but there is NO need for any dog to be THIS skinny. It's not nice.

This is a BCS 2 - Click the image to see another example of this BCS

BCS 3: LEAN. My estimation of "longevity-perfection" with only four ribs showing, there's some fat on the dog, and the muscles are defined and bulgey. He's got plenty to eat, but it's high quality, low carb and carefully measured. He's LEAN. This is how my dog "Ajax" is. All I do is feed him 1 level kitchen cup of food twice a day. He weighs 60 pounds. So easy.

This is a BCS 3 - Click the image to see another example of this BCS

BCS 4: In nature this is "perfect" with no ribs showing but ALMOST. When they sit down, there's practically no "roll" of skin hanging over the knees. Their body tapers when viewed from the top AND from the sides. You can pick up the skin on their backs. These guys are NOT lean but they are just what Mother Nature would grant a dog getting just the right amount of food.

BCS 4+ is a BCS 4 except it's at the TOP END before it hits a BCS 5. The BCS 5 is "practically fat" but a BCS4+ is *almost* fat. In particular, it REALLY means this: From the side they're a BCS4, but from the TOP they're a BCS5. So I call them a BCS 4+

They're on the way to overweight. It's not good for their backs. Legs. Hearts.

This is a BCS 4 - Click the image to see another example of this BCS

BCS 5: This is the super-common residential "kinda tubular" thick bodied guys that get too much food, too many treats and not enough exercise. They're "just-okay" at this weight, but it's rushing their "arthritis-days" a little. In small dogs, a "five" score is increasing blood pressure and stressing the heart. You can put the brakes on arthritis and downregulate aging by feeding the right amount of food. (Easy to Understand Chart Click Here)

This is a BCS 5 - Click the image to see another example of this BCS

BCS 6: These dogs are beyond residential and are equally 'tubular' when viewed from the side and the top. When they sit down, there's a roll over the knees. They're "slowing down" and barely eating at this size, and they're close to rupturing knee ligaments. Your fingers can go through fat to find a rib. Most of this size dog won't take dry food served dry-and-plain. So to cause weight loss, that's all you do.

This is a BCS6 - Click the image to see another example of this BCS

BCS 7: These dogs are losing mobility and they are nearly twice their ideal weight. Close to, or over 100% overweight. The head is the narrowest part of the body besides the tail. The neck and waist are both wider than the head and the legs cannot be observed when the dog is viewed from the top. The torso defines a 'head-to-tail' horizon BELOW the knees and BELOW the elbows. When seated the knees disappear under a roll of adipose. The undertail is sticky and unclean because the dogs can't bend around to self-maintain and there's a "ledge" of fat at the base of the tail that shrouds the whole undertail. These "BCS Sevens" are the most satisfying because weight loss is super-quick and easy. These dogs won't eat any dry food. All you do is measure, and feed ONLY dry food. BAM.

This is a BCS7 - Click the image to see another example of this BCS

DO THIS:  Download THIS Feeding Page.

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