A new behavioral test for detecting decline of age-related cognitive ability in dogs

A simple test for detecting decline of cognitive ability in aged dogs is needed in modern society. We used a basic place-selection test to develop a new test to assess cognitive ability in dogs, using 25 house dogs. Three covered bowls were placed in front of the subject. One of them was the correct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of veterinary behavior Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. 220 - 224
Main Authors Nagasawa, Miho, Yatsuzuka, Aiko, Mogi, Kazutaka, Kikusui, Takefumi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Inc 01.07.2012
Subjects
age-related cognitive dysfunction
central nervous system diseases
cognitive ability
dog
dogs
foods
society
age-related cognitive dysfunction
dog
cognitive ability
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Summary:A simple test for detecting decline of cognitive ability in aged dogs is needed in modern society. We used a basic place-selection test to develop a new test to assess cognitive ability in dogs, using 25 house dogs. Three covered bowls were placed in front of the subject. One of them was the correct bowl, from which the subject was rewarded with a food treat when he/she chose it. If the subject made an incorrect selection, he/she was returned to the starting point and the trial was repeated. Cognitive ability was assessed by the number of errors needed to fulfill the criterion. We found a significantly high correlation between the dogs’ ages and the number of error trials, suggesting that age-related cognitive dysfunction may reliably be assessed by the documented place-learning test.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2011.09.002
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ISSN:1558-7878
DOI:10.1016/j.jveb.2011.09.002