In Doggy Dementia, Age 10 Is a Big Year

Among vets, it's called canine cognitive dysfunction. Among pet owners, it's more familiarly known as doggy dementia. Now a large new study in Scientific Reports sheds some more light on the condition, which can be tricky to diagnose. Some key takeaways:

• Exercise: The study of more than 15,000 dogs found that active dogs were less likely to get CCD than inactive ones, reports the New York Times. Specifically, dogs that got regular exercise were about 6.5 times less likely to develop it. One complicating, chicken-and-egg factor: CCD can often cause dogs to become less active.
• Age: The study found that age 10 is a crucial one for dogs in regard to CCD. A dog's risk of developing it increases more than 50% annually beginning that year, per IFL Science. In fact, the condition is virtually non-existent in dogs younger than 10, per the Guardian.
• Other factors: Dogs with hearing or vision problems also were more likely to develop CCD. As study co-author Annette Fitzpatrick of the University of Washington puts it: “When you don’t get stimulation from the outside world, it seems to increase the risk of our not even being able to use our brains as well.”

• Symptoms: How to tell if your dog might have CCD? A sample of the questions asked in the study of dog owners might provide a sense. Per the Times, they include: "How often does your dog pace up and down, walk in circles and/or wander with no direction or purpose?" "How often does your dog get stuck behind objects and is unable to get around?" "How often does your dog walk into walls or doors?" and "How often does your dog have difficulty finding food dropped on the floor?"

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