Researchers Discover Clue to Preventing Doggy Dementia (and Yes, They Can Get It Too)

Dogs suffering from dementia might undergo significant changes to their behavior and even cause some minor trouble to their owners. But the onset of the disease seemingly might be delayed or prevented, while medications can ease symptoms if it hits your pet.

US researchers announced some good news for canine-lovers ̶ and on International Dog Day no less. The scientists, in cooperation with the Dog Aging Project Consortium, found a clue to preventing canine cognitive dysfunction, also known as "doggy dementia".

Like humans, some doggos may start to lose their cognitive functions, especially with age, acting weirdly and sometimes seemingly falling back to their early habits when they were just cubs. The recent findings suggest that as many as 1.4% of dogs may suffer from this condition.

However, after gathering health info and carrying out surveys of owners of 15,000 dogs, researchers found that the canines which engaged in active exercise throughout their lives were 6.5 times less likely to develop the condition. Even simply taking walks with your dog apparently helps reduce the risk of dementia (in them and in you, human studies suggest).

Still, exercise or not, the risk of developing dementia will increase on average by 50% each year for doggos 10-years and older, scientists suggested, but active canine lifestyle may reduce that number.

What Does Doggy Dementia Look Like?

In canines, "dementia" manifests in various behavioral changes linked to cognitive functions. The dogs may have trouble moving in the correct direction, forget baths around the house, or get spooked at things, pets and people they have long known about and got used to.

They might also seek more or less attention than usual, get abnormally anxious, and even forget faces they have long known. Some even revert to the state of a mind of a cub and unlearn doing their toilet outside.

Despite the abundance of telltale signs, the condition is still difficult to diagnose. More importantly, it's incurable right now. Your veterinarian, however, can prescribe you medicine that will slow down dementia's progression in your beloved doggo and reduce symptoms.