Field Guide · Glossary
Canine cognitive dysfunction
Health and safetyAn age-related decline in a dog's cognitive function, comparable in several respects to dementia in people.
How it works
The signs are usually behavioral before they are anything else: disorientation in familiar places, disrupted sleep, reduced interaction with people the dog knows well, anxiety, and house soiling in a dog who has been clean for years. It is diagnosable, and there are medications and management approaches. Because the early signs are easily dismissed as a dog simply getting old, the practical point is that it is worth raising with a vet rather than accepting.
What it looks like
A twelve-year-old dog begins standing in corners, waking at three in the morning, and no longer greeting their person at the door. Each change alone reads as age. Together they are worth a veterinary conversation.
Commonly confused with
- Shutting down
- Shutting down is a response to being overwhelmed in a particular situation and lifts when the situation changes. Cognitive dysfunction is a progressive medical condition, and its changes persist regardless of circumstances.
Related terms