BRisk assessment

Understand your dog’s BRisk score

BRisk combines six pieces of information to help the surgical team assess the risk of major complications after airway surgery. Use veterinary records or the clearly marked home observations below; leave anything uncertain for your vet.

This is an educational estimate. Some inputs are measured at hospital admission, so an at-home result is provisional. If your dog is struggling to breathe or collapsing, seek urgent veterinary care instead of completing this form.

Your dog’s information

Use this tool for brachycephalic dogs being considered for BOAS surgery.

Where was the temperature recorded?

Home and earlier clinic readings let you explore a provisional score. They are not equivalent to the admission measurement studied in the paper.

Why temperature is included — and recording it at home

The researchers suggested that lower rectal temperatures might partly reflect reduced oxygen delivery, but this was an explanation they proposed, not a proven oxygenation test. Sedation may also have affected admission readings. Temperature cannot tell you your dog’s oxygen level, and a warmer reading is not proof that breathing is safe.

If your veterinary team has shown you how and your dog tolerates it comfortably, you can enter a home rectal reading. Do not force a measurement or restrain a dog struggling to breathe. Leave the field blank if uncertain.

Read the temperature-taking guide

Your result

No score yet

A lower score does not mean there is no risk. BRisk supports the veterinary assessment; it does not replace it or measure every aspect of airway disease.

How this relates to pricing

Your estimate reflects the planned operation and expected care, alongside BRisk. A score does not automatically select a price tier.

Standard • Tier 2

CAD $4,500–6,000 pre-tax

Standard surgical and recovery plan.

Enhanced • Tier 3

CAD $5,800–8,000 pre-tax

Greater anticipated surgical work, time or recovery support.

Both include the usual 2–3 hours of staffed recovery. Planned high-flow nasal oxygen is reserved for very high-risk cases and moves the estimate toward the upper end of Tier 3; it is not a routine inclusion.

Planning ranges are confirmed through consultation and a written estimate. Dr Wood confirms the appropriate care plan before surgery.

See the points and research

Each answer contributes the points below. Body condition uses the paper’s 0–5 scale; temperature uses °F to preserve its exact boundaries.

Based on Figure 1 in Tarricone and colleagues (2019). The original study compared scores above 3 with scores of 3 or below. External validation in 2025 found that performance differed by breed. We therefore show neither an individual complication percentage nor an automatic price cutoff.