It’s long been known that people decline cognitively as they age. At least unless they are mindful of their cognitive health. But what about dogs? Does their cognitive health decline in the same way? And what can you do about keeping your dog’s brain healthy?
Studies have shown that dogs, like humans, experience a slowing of their cognitive processes as they age. Owners start seeing things like toileting accidents in the house, confusion in a familiar environment, increased irritability and greater intolerance for humans. They may sleep more and be less active in general.
But you don’t have to accept this as the new norm. Instead, pay attention to your dog’s cognitive health just as you do his physical health.
Here are a few things you and your dog can do together to keep your dog’s brain healthy. It will benefit you both.
- Participate in sports together. – Now that doesn’t mean you both should try out for the senior citizens softball team. Instead, focus on some type of dog sport like agility, rally, obedience, barn hunt. You can learn more about these activities and where you can find them at akc.org.
- Let your dog work a puzzle. – No, not a zigsaw puzzle. There are lots of puzzles made just for dogs and they come in different levels of difficulty.
Some of them have food hidden inside and really give the dog’s brain a good workout. - Let your dog use his natural instincts. – One more formal method of doing this is to train him in tracking or search and rescue. Or you could train him in scent discrimination. But you don’t have to make it that difficult. Just hide some food and let him find it. His reward will be the treat.
Give your dog regular exercise. – This is probably the easiest of all. And it will benefit your cognitive and physical health as well. Take a walk around the block. You never know what you might see.