A shorter stride between front legs of a senior dog could be an early warning sign of dementia, similar to how a reduced step length is a sign of cognitive decline among humans, according to a study.
Changes to stride are thought to be driven by a deterioration in the function of the brain’s frontal cortex and the cerebellum, responsible for planning and monitoring movement, researchers said.
Results published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science indicate that a 10-point increase in dementia score of a dog may translate into a 1.2 per cent reduction in the relative stride length of the front legs.
They also suggest that a change in stride length of one’s pet should prompt owners to seek veterinary help earlier.
“Here we show that the length of front leg stride taken by dogs decreases with age, but even more importantly, decreases with a cognitive impairment. In fact, we found that the effect of cognitive decline is larger than the effect of age by itself,” lead author Natasha J. Olby, a professor of veterinary neurology and neurosurgery at North Carolina State University, US, said.
The researchers followed 88 senior and geriatric dogs (females and males, and purebred or mixed breed) as part of the ‘Longitudinal Study of Canine Neuroaging’, who were enrolled upon reaching 75 per cent of the life expectancy for their size and breed, corresponding to 12.7 years old on average.
For the remainder of their lives, the dogs were studied three days every six months and underwent a comprehensive battery of physical, neurological, physiological, and orthopedic examinations, including tests for cognition, mobility, vision, hearing, and strength.
Owners responded to questionnaires such as the Canine Dementia Scale (CADES) to measure cognitive impairment and the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) to assess chronic pain.
While the relative stride length of the front legs were seen to decrease across visits, detailed analyses showed that the reduction was not driven to a significant extent by increasing age itself when age and cognition were included in the same statistical model.
Rather, the relative stride length decreased with worsening CADES (dementia) scores, indicating that as dogs age, greater cognitive decline results in shorter strides of the front legs, the researchers said.
The relative stride length of the hind legs did not significantly change over time, either in association with greater chronological age or worsening cognitive performance.
“It is fascinating to see that cognitive decline affects front legs and hind legs differently. In dogs, the hind legs are important for moving forwards, while the front legs also change direction and initiate braking,” Olby said.
“The cerebral cortex integrates more sensory information into the neuronal circuits which produce steps in the front legs, and so loss of high-level sensorimotor integration affects them differently,” the lead author said.
The relative stride length of the front legs also decreased with higher CBPI ratings, meaning that chronic pain further worsens the gait, the researchers said.
Front leg stride length may thus be an objective measure of mobility, reflecting changes associated with age-related cognitive decline, they said.
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Shorter stride length in senior dog may indicate dementia, similar to human
