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FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Despite the deep desire to help your dog age gracefully and stay mentally sharp, new research suggests that even the best diet<\/a> and training won’t slow the ravages of time for your furry friend.<\/p>\n Just like their human owners, dogs<\/a> can experience thinking declines and behavioral changes as they age. They might display less curiosity about novel objects and show decline in social responsiveness, memory and attention, the researchers explained.<\/p>\n Studies have suggested that lifelong training and an enriched diet<\/a> could slow dogs<\/a>‘ mental aging<\/a>, but few have explored aging<\/a> in pet dogs in real-life settings.<\/p>\n In this latest study, an international team of researchers led by Durga Chapagain, from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, found that middle-aged to elderly dogs who were trained throughout their life and fed a nutrient-enriched diet<\/a> for a year performed no better on thinking tests than dogs who received less training and ate a regular diet<\/a>.<\/p>\n The study included more than 100 pet dogs over the age of 6 years and of varying breeds. The participating dogs were split randomly into two groups: half were fed a nutrient-enriched diet, including antioxidants and omega fatty acids, while the other half consumed a regular diet. The researchers also collected information from the pets’ owners about their dogs’ previous training.<\/p>\n After a year on the diet, the researchers evaluated the dogs’ mental capacities using a cognitive test that is designed for older canines.<\/p>\n Sadly, diet and training were found to have no significant impact on mental decline, the study authors said.<\/p>\n The aging<\/a> dogs experienced declines in four particular areas: problem-solving, sociability, boldness and dependency. However, the findings showed that their trainability and activity independence appeared to remain sharp.<\/p>\n The study was published online Sept. 16 in the journal PLOS ONE<\/i>.<\/p>\n — Serena McNiff<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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