Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in Senior Dogs (original) (raw)
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Journal of Small Animal Practice, 2009
Prevalence and risk factors of behavioural changes associated with age-related cognitive impairment in geriatric dogs OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and severity of behavioural changes associated with age and their relationship to risk factors such as sex, reproductive status, bodyweight and age. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was chosen. A total of 325 geriatric dogs were included. Owners of dogs older than nine years were interviewed by a veterinary behaviourist. Structured phone interviews were used to gather information about four behavioural categories related to cognitive impairment: sleep/wake cycles, social interaction, learning and house training and signs of disorientation. RESULTS: Signs of cognitive impairment showed a prevalence of 22 5 per cent in geriatric dogs. Sex and age emerged as significant predictor variables. Females and neutered dogs were significantly more affected than males and entire dogs, respectively. Prevalence and severity increased with age. Although weight was not a statistically significant predictor variable, smaller animals had greater odds of showing age-related cognitive impairment. The most impaired behavioural categories were social interaction and house training. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Age-related behavioural changes should be considered by practicing veterinarians because of their relative high prevalence among geriatric dogs, especially in females.
Behavior Problems in Geriatric Pets
Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 2005
Aging pets often suffer a decline in cognitive function (eg, memory, learning, perception, awareness) likely associated with age-dependent brain alterations. Clinically, cognitive dysfunction may result in various behavioral signs, including disorientation; forgetting of previously learned behaviors, such as house training; alterations in the manner in which the pet interacts with people or other pets; onset of new fears and anxiety; decreased recognition of people, places, or pets; and other signs of deteriorating memory and learning ability [1]. Many medical problems, including other forms of brain pathologic conditions, can contribute to these signs. The practitioner must first determine the cause of the behavioral signs and then determine an appropriate course of treatment, bearing in mind the constraints of the aging process. A diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction syndrome is made once other medical and behavioral causes are ruled out.
The Veterinary Journal, 2012
Changes in social interactions with owners and other dogs are frequently observed in dogs with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). The aim of this work was to assess the effect of age and severity of CDS on social responsiveness. This is the second part of a 2-part report on spontaneous activity in pet dogs. A human interaction test and a mirror test were administered at baseline and 6 months later to assess social responses to humans and conspecifics, respectively, to four groups of privately-owned dogs: young (n=9), middle-aged (n=9), cognitively unimpaired aged (n=31), and cognitively impaired aged (n=36). The severity of cognitive impairment was considered in the last group and dogs were categorised as having either mild or severe CDS. The influence of the person and the mirror on locomotion and exploratory behaviour was also studied. Dogs were recorded in a testing room and the video recordings were subsequently analysed. Young dogs displayed more interactions involving physical contact with a person. Young and middle-aged dogs showed more vocalisations in response to social isolation. In contrast, aged animals spent more time in front of the mirror. Changes in social responsiveness associated with severe CDS included decreased response to social isolation and human interaction and increased time in front of the mirror, suggesting a deficit in habituation. Testing of spontaneous activity might help to characterise CDS in aged dogs, a condition increasingly diagnosed in veterinary clinics and a potentially useful natural model of Alzheimer's disease in humans.
PLOS ONE, 2020
Dogs demonstrate behavioural changes and cognitive decline during aging. Compared to laboratory dogs, little is known about aging in pet dogs exposed to different environments and nutrition. In this study, we examined the effects of age, an enriched diet and lifelong training on different behavioural and cognitive measures in 119 pet dogs (>6yrs). Dogs were maintained on either an enriched diet or a control diet for one year. Lifelong training was calculated using a questionnaire where owners filled in their dog's training experiences to date. Before commencing the diet and after one year of dietary treatment, they were tested in the Modified Vienna Canine Cognitive Battery (MVCCB) consisting of 11 subtests to examine correlated individual differences in a set of tasks measuring general, social and physical cognition and related behaviours. Fourty two behavioural variables were coded and were subjected to principle component analyses for variable reduction. Twelve subtest level components and two Z-transformed variables were subjected to exploratory factor analysis which resulted in six final factors: Problem solving, Trainability, Sociability, Boldness, Activity-independence and Dependency. Problem solving, Sociability, Boldness, and Dependency showed a linear decline with age, suggesting that the MVCCB can be used as a tool to measure behavioural and cognitive decline in aged pet dogs. An enriched diet and lifelong training had no effect on these factors, calling attention to the fact that the real world impact of nutritional and other interventions in possibly counteracting the effects of aging, should be further investigated in pet dogs living under diverse conditions, in order to understand their ultimate effects.
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2011
Aging is associated with behavioral and cognitive changes in all mammals. Unlike most clinical presentations, changes associated with aging do not always reflect an underlying pathology and therefore baselines for normality can be difficult to establish. Using data from a large crosssectional survey of older dog owners, we aimed to identify normative behavioral changes associated with ''successful aging'' in dogs, and the rate of deterioration that could be expected over a 6-month period. Binary logistic regression identified significant age group effects from 18 items (difference in reported item incidence across age group: 4.5%-30.3%, P , 0.001-0.038). Significant age group effects on the percentage of dogs deteriorating over the preceding 6 months were evident in 21 items (difference in item deterioration across age group: 3.5%-25.7%, P , 0.001-0.033). The modal frequency of problem behaviors and abnormal ingestive or locomotory items was found to be low and the effect on memory and learning was minimal. Despite this, more than half of the items were reported to have shown a greater than 10% incidence of deterioration. In particular, activity and play levels, response to commands, and fears and phobias showed considerable deterioration. These findings represent the first steps toward the development of baseline values for normal behavioral changes in ''successfully aging'' dogs.
A Preliminary Study toward a Rapid Assessment of Age-Related Behavioral Differences in Family Dogs
Animals
Over the last few years, several efforts have been undertaken to characterize the aging process in dogs. In the present study, we evaluate a short protocol measuring dogs’ cognitive, social, and physical capacities. Our aim was to develop a feasible test battery, with minimal pre-training requirements, no complex devices, and which is set outdoors (i.e., a specific testing room is not needed). As ageing in dogs is usually associated with a decrease in activity, we also assessed the personality trait activity/excitability with a dog personality questionnaire. Four subtests proved sensitive to the dogs’ age. In particular, old dogs displayed less approaching and following behaviors toward an unknown but friendly human, showed both less avoidance and interest toward a novel object, looked less at the owner when faced with an unsolvable problem, and performed worse on the short-term memory task. Previous test procedures for investigating age-related changes involve expensive and/or comp...
Simple Summary: Many domestic dogs are uncomfortable when humans perform everyday actions because the animals perceive them as threatening. One way to treat this is to expose a dog to the problematic stimulus with increasing intensity while the dog remains relaxed, resulting in desensitization. However, when it is the owner's actions that the dog feels threatened by, it is difficult to apply such treatment. We present a programme for dogs with impaired social functioning towards the owner, consisting of (1) increasing owner knowledge and awareness regarding dog body language and perception of owner actions, (2) management of everyday life with the dog through general stress reduction and avoidance of stressful situations, and (3) behaviour modification through training. We also describe five cases to examine the results that can be obtained using this programme and propose future research. Abstract: Many domestic dogs are uncomfortable when humans perform trivial and benign actions that the animals perceive as threatening. A common technique for addressing canine emotional discomfort involves desensitization, where the intensity of a problematic stimulus is gradually increased while the dog remains relaxed. Desensitization requires a skillful owner and is complicated when actions of the owner are the stimuli to be desensitised. This paper introduces a behaviour modification programme for dogs with impaired social functioning in relation to the (inter)actions by their owners, consisting of (1) increasing owner knowledge and awareness regarding dog body language and perception of owner actions, (2) management of the daily life of the dog through general stress reduction and avoidance of stressful situations, and (3) behaviour modification through training. The latter component entails a non-threatening, predictable exercise in which the dog has control over any perceived threats, the introduction of the safety cue with subsequent desensitization, and engaging activities with the owner that the dog finds enjoyable. We also present a case series report to examine a selection of dogs with impaired social functioning, from signalment to outcome, when treated with the proposed behaviour modification and examine which adaptations were made to the plan according to individual dogs. Finally, we avenues for future research.
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2012
Variation in breed longevity in the dog has led to the inference that large dogs age at a faster rate than small dogs, possibly because of an increased oxidative load. Potential differences in behavioral aging (the rate of age-related decline in cognito-behavioral performance) across breeds represent a significant challenge to veterinarians and scientists. Using data from a large cross-sectional survey of older dog owners, we aimed to identify breed differences in behavioral aging in successfully aged dogs R8 years of age. Differences based on longevity (short-lived, ,11 years; medium-lived, 11-13 years; and long-lived, .13 years), size (small-sized, ,35 cm; medium-sized, 35-55 cm; and large-sized, .55 cm), and breed (pure vs. crossbred) were identified using binary logistic regression. Significant breed differences across longevity group were seen in 2 behavioral responses: dogs drinking .1 L/d (P 5 0.001, maximum difference between groups 5 16.4%) and dogs showing aggression (P 5 0.006, maximum difference between groups 5 15.1%). In purebred dogs, 8 responses (P , 0.001-0.008, maximum difference between groups 5 8.4%-20%) showed significant differences across size group compared with 1 response, in crossbred dogs (P 5 0.008, max difference between groups 5 28.4%). Significant differences were observed across longevity group in the prevalence of arthritis (P 5 0.014) and across size group in the prevalence of arthritis (P , 0.001) and blindness (P 5 0.014). In medium-sized dogs, 2 age ! breeding group interactions were seen in ingestive behavior (P 5 0.037) and aggression (P 5 0.028). In large-sized dogs, 1 age ! breeding group interaction was seen in abnormal locomotion (P 5 0.025). A consistent direction in the differences identified was not seen across all analyses. In general, these data did not suggest an increased rate of behavioral aging in large, short-lived dogs. It is possible that size-dependent aging affects body systems differently or, alternatively, owner's management may differ between small and large dogs, resulting in differences in behavior.
Effects of dog-assisted intervention on behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia
Nursing Older People, 2014
Aim To evaluate the effect of a dog-assisted intervention on the behavioural and psychological symptoms of residents with dementia during a six-month period. Method The study was conducted in eight nursing homes in Sweden. A total of 33 residents with dementia, 20 in the intervention group and 13 in the control group, were recruited. The Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) and the Multi-Dimensional Dementia Assessment Scale (MDDAS) were used to assess the effects of a dog-assisted intervention on participants' behavioural and psychological symptoms. The intervention comprised ten sessions, lasting between 45 and 60 minutes, once or twice a week. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse background data, comparisons between groups at baseline were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to test differences in groups over time.