An investigation of the impact of body condition score on the grade of intervertebral disc disease and recovery time

Abstract

Background: Risk factors for Hansen type I intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) have been widely investigated, but studies looking at the impact of body condition score (BCS) on recovery times have had many limitations. Aims: To investigate whether BCS is associated with IVDD grade; and whether BCS affects recovery time following thoracolumbar hemilaminectomy in Dachshunds. Methods: An owner questionnaire was shared through social media between 11 November 2021 and 11 January 2022. 294 responses were received from owners of Dachshunds that had had thoracolumbar hemilaminectomies. Data on Dachshund variety, age, gender and neuter status were collected as well as information about the time of developing IVDD including age, weight and BCS using a Dachshund specific scale. Postoperative data included days spent in hospital and times to consciously urinate and to walk without assistance. BCS was then compared with IVDD grade, recovery time (days in hospital, days to urinate, days to walk unaided) to look for any significant differences. Results: BCS was not associated with grade of IVDD (p=0.566). There was no significant association between body condition and days to walk unaided or days in hospital. However, there was an association between body condition and number of days to consciously urinate (p=0.016). Conclusion: Dachshunds that are overweight (BCS ≥ 6) took longer to consciously urinate following IVDD surgery than those of ideal weight. This is new evidence that being overweight can delay time to consciously urinate, highlighting the importance of maintaining ideal BCS in this breed, which commonly suffers with IVDD. No conclusion could be drawn about underweight Dachshunds from this study and so further research about underweight dogs is required.