If you don’t regularly walk your dog, then the results could be ruff, new research finds.
Dogs that live inactive lives are 6.47 times more likely to develop memory loss condition of canine cognitive dysfunction, researchers at the University of Washington recently reported.
That study also indicated that CCD — a major veterinary concern — and Alzheimer’s disease found in humans “have many similarities.”
It appears that studying the canine condition could lead to breakthroughs in people with neurodegenerative diseases, per the research.
“Dogs with CCD could serve as candidates for AD preventative and/or therapeutic
strategies,” according to author Sarah Yarborough, who added that further studies “may help to advance the treatment of cognitive disease in dogs.”
Researchers also found the “inverse association” with dogs who remained active throughout their lives was due to exercise positively affecting a “variety of biologic mechanisms” on the puppers’ brains.
“The reduced odds of CCD among more active dogs in our cohort may be a result of these same mechanisms.”
Nationwide, over 15,000 dogs were studied from late October to December of 2020 and, like Alzheimer’s, CCD was also found to be consistent with dogs of an older age.
“Clinical signs of this decline appear to be related to learning and memory deficits, loss of spatial awareness, altered social interactions and disrupted sleeping patterns,” according to the study, which noted “assessment tools” were developed to distinguish dogs with CCD from those who aged healthily.
It was also noted that a COVID-19 related sedentary lifestyle developed by pet owners and dogs impacted findings.
The study also reported that “owners spending more time at home with their dog may have an impact [on] a dog’s actual health.”
“It may increase the likelihood of observing specific health behaviors that would affect a dog’s reported health status.”