As our canine companions enter their senior years, it’s natural for them to experience a decline in various cognitive and physical functions. Changes in memory, learning ability, awareness, and even senses like sight and hearing can occur. These age-related transformations can also impact their social interactions with both humans and other pets. Recognizing and understanding these changes is crucial for providing compassionate and effective care, especially when behavioral issues arise.
It is vital to report any observed changes in your dog’s behavior to your veterinarian. Do not dismiss these shifts as simply “getting old,” as many can be indicators of treatable medical conditions. Early detection and intervention can significantly improve your dog’s quality of life, manage symptoms, and alleviate any pain they might be experiencing.
Beyond veterinary care and professional behavioral guidance from experts like Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists (CAABs), maintaining your older dog’s health and happiness relies on continued engagement. Keeping them active through play, exercise, and training throughout their lives is essential. While you may need to adapt activities to accommodate their reduced energy, slower movements, or sensory impairments, the goal remains to keep their minds and bodies stimulated. Certified Professional Dog Trainers (CPDTs) can offer creative strategies for teaching new tricks or reinforcing old behaviors, even with a slower learning curve. They can also assist with adapting training methods, such as using hand signals for dogs with hearing loss or adjusting for physical limitations. Remember, a mentally and physically stimulated senior dog is a healthier and happier dog. The principle of “use it or lose it” applies equally to our canine friends as it does to humans.
Checklist for Cognitive Dysfunction in Senior Dogs
The following list outlines potential changes and symptoms in senior dogs that may indicate cognitive dysfunction syndrome:
Confusion and Spatial Disorientation
- Difficulty navigating familiar environments.
- Getting stuck or unable to maneuver around obstacles.
- Confusing directions, such as approaching a door from the hinge side.
Changes in Social Behavior and Relationships
- Reduced interest in social interactions, including petting, greetings, and engagement with people or other dogs.
- Increased clinginess and a constant need for contact, indicating heightened dependency.
Increased or Repetitive Activity
- Staring or fixating on unseen objects.
- Aimless pacing or wandering.
- Excessive licking of self, people, or objects.
- Increased vocalization.
- Eating food more rapidly or consuming larger quantities.
Decreased Activity and Apathy
- Reduced exploration and responsiveness to surroundings.
- Decreased self-grooming.
- Reduced food intake.
Increased Anxiety and Irritability
- Appearing restless or agitated.
- Experiencing separation anxiety from family members.
- General increase in irritable behavior.
Altered Sleep-Wake Cycles
- Restless sleep with frequent nighttime awakenings.
- Sleeping more during daylight hours.
House Soiling and Learning Impairments
- Eliminating indoors in inappropriate or random locations.
- Soiling indoors immediately after returning from an outdoor trip.
- Eliminating in sleeping areas, such as crates or beds.
- Decreased use of social cues and body language.
- Developing incontinence, leading to accidental urination.
Impaired Learning and Memory
- Demonstrating a reduced ability to perform tasks or work.
- Difficulty recognizing familiar people and pets.
- Showing decreased responsiveness to known commands and cues.
- Slower or impaired ability to learn new tasks or cues.
Ruling Out Other Causes for Behavioral Changes
Before attributing behavioral changes solely to aging, it’s crucial to consult with your veterinarian. Many medical conditions can mimic the symptoms of cognitive dysfunction. These include, but are not limited to, arthritis, dental disease, hypothyroidism, cancer, vision or hearing impairment, urinary tract infections, and Cushing’s disease. Such ailments can lead to increased sensitivity, irritability, anxiety, aggression, reduced responsiveness, and difficulty with house training. Addressing these underlying medical issues is the essential first step.
If medical problems are ruled out, and if the behavior issues are not related to primary behavioral problems that began earlier in life or in response to recent environmental changes, then the symptoms are likely due to the aging process affecting the brain, diagnosed as cognitive dysfunction syndrome.
Treatment of Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome
The primary symptoms of cognitive dysfunction syndrome can be remembered using the acronym CRASH:
- Confusion/Disorientation
- Responsiveness/Recognition decreases
- Activity changes
- Sleep-wake cycle disturbances
- House training lapses
Your veterinarian may prescribe selegiline hydrochloride (Anipryl®) for your dog. Other medications and supplements can also be considered. The most effective treatment approach often combines pharmacological therapy with behavioral modifications tailored to your dog’s specific issues. For further insights into managing dog behavior, resources such as dog behavior modification can be beneficial.
Specific Geriatric Behavior Problems and Behavioral Treatment
Anxiety, Including Separation Anxiety
Aging dogs may exhibit increased sensitivity, irritability, fear of strangers (people and pets), and a reduced tolerance for touch. They may also become more clingy and anxious when left alone. Hearing loss can exacerbate anxiety, leading to increased vocalization in response to noises. It’s important to manage your own reactions, as your frustration can inadvertently increase your dog’s anxiety.
Crating a senior dog, especially if they are unaccustomed to it or if they have incontinence issues, can heighten anxiety. If the anxiety is primarily due to your absence, it is diagnosed as separation anxiety. Key indicators include:
- Pre-departure anxiety: Pacing, panting, trembling, or depression as you prepare to leave.
- In-home distress: House soiling, destructiveness, or vocalization shortly after your departure.
- Targeted destruction: Damaging exit points like doors and windows.
- Food refusal: Not eating even tempting treats while alone, but eating after your return.
Crucially, these behaviors should occur only in your absence. If they happen when you are home, other issues may be at play, such as a general house-training problem or destructiveness related to boredom.
Geriatric separation anxiety can also manifest as nighttime distress, where your dog perceives your sleep as a form of separation. This may involve pacing, panting, and demanding attention throughout the night. Such behavior warrants a thorough veterinary examination to rule out underlying medical conditions. Effective treatment involves addressing any medical issues and employing desensitization and counterconditioning (DSCC). Modifying your own behaviors that may be exacerbating the anxiety is also important. For more in-depth information, refer to our article on Separation Anxiety.
Excessive Vocalization
When vocalization becomes excessive or occurs at inconvenient times, it can be problematic. Anxious vocalization often presents as howling or whining. If it only happens when you’re gone, it might be separation anxiety. If it occurs while you’re home, a behaviorist can help pinpoint the cause.
Potential contributors to excessive vocalization include hearing loss, cognitive dysfunction, central nervous system disorders, and medical conditions. Your dog might vocalize due to increased urges to eliminate, hunger, or pain. Increased fear and anxiety can also lead to vocalizing in response to stressors like noises or visitors. Punishing vocalization can worsen anxiety.
After treating underlying medical and cognitive issues, behavioral interventions focus on modifying your responses and rewarding quiet behavior. For some dogs, bark-control collars may be necessary. Medication can also help if anxiety is the driving force. Learn more about managing howling in our article on Howling.
Restlessness and Nighttime Wakefulness
Dogs who sleep more during the day may become more active and restless at night. They might overreact to stimuli they previously ignored. Keeping a log can help identify triggers for nighttime activity.
Sensory decline, cognitive dysfunction, or central nervous system disorders can disrupt sleep-wake cycles. A comprehensive veterinary examination is essential to rule out medical causes for restlessness, discomfort, or increased urination/defecation needs. Once medical issues are addressed, gently retraining your dog to reestablish normal sleep patterns is key. Increasing daytime activity through walks, play, training, and puzzle toys can help. Your veterinarian may also suggest sleep-inducing or daytime-activating medications.
House Soiling
Numerous medical issues can contribute to house soiling, including sensory decline, mobility problems, brain tumors, cognitive dysfunction, endocrine disorders, and conditions affecting bladder or bowel control.
If house soiling occurs only when you are absent and is accompanied by other signs of separation anxiety, this disorder may be the cause. Consult our article on Separation Anxiety for detailed information.
Changes in routine, environment, or household composition can also lead to house soiling in older dogs. Once an indoor area becomes associated with elimination, it can be difficult to break the habit. A professional behavior history is often necessary to determine the root cause and develop an effective treatment plan. Resources for finding professional help can be found in our article, Finding Professional Behavior Help.
After medical issues are managed, re-establishing house training with puppy-like methods is crucial. This involves close supervision, confinement when unsupervised, and a consistent schedule of outdoor trips with positive reinforcement. Adjusting your schedule for more frequent potty breaks may be necessary, or hiring a dog walker or providing an indoor elimination area like a potty pad.
Destructive Behavior
Determining the underlying cause of destructive behavior is essential for effective treatment. This can include pica (ingesting non-food items), excessive licking or chewing, and scratching or digging. A thorough medical and behavioral evaluation is necessary. Cognitive dysfunction may play a role in licking, chewing, or pica. While treating underlying conditions can help, environmental modifications and providing appropriate chew toys are also important. Addressing anxiety, phobias, or fears is also critical.
Fears and Phobias
Sensory decline, cognitive dysfunction, and anxiety can all contribute to fears and phobias. Managing underlying medical and cognitive issues is the first step. Common fears include noises and thunderstorms. Your reactions, especially punishment, can worsen the problem. Keeping your dog away from triggers and masking noises can help. Behavioral modification techniques, guided by a professional, can change your dog’s emotional response to fear triggers. Veterinary consultation for anti-anxiety medication or pheromone therapy is also recommended.
Compulsive and Stereotypic Behaviors
These repetitive, goal-less behaviors can include excessive licking, spinning, pacing, air biting, and staring at walls. Medical conditions like cognitive dysfunction can contribute. Conflict or anxiety often leads to displacement behaviors, which can become compulsive. Identifying and reducing stressors is key. While drug therapy is often necessary, identifying and eliminating sources of conflict can sometimes negate the need for medication.
Aggression
Numerous factors can increase aggression in senior dogs, including medical conditions affecting appetite, mobility, cognition, senses, or hormones, as well as pain or irritability. Changes in family structure, the introduction of new pets, or a dog’s own weakening assertiveness can also contribute. Increased anxiety and sensitivity with age can lead to aggression towards unfamiliar individuals and animals.
Effective treatment requires a diagnosis and determination of the cause. Consulting a qualified animal behavior expert is highly recommended. Treatment plans will vary based on the type and cause of aggression, and may include drug therapy, behavior modification, or environmental changes. For fear-based aggression, desensitization and counterconditioning, along with improved owner control, are often employed. Management strategies, such as head halters for better control, can also enhance safety. For comprehensive information on aggression, please refer to our article, Aggression in Dogs.
