Behavioural and cognitive changes in aged pet dogs: No effects of an enriched diet and lifelong training

Autor: Zsófia Virányi, Friederike Range, Lisa J. Wallis, Durga Chapagain, Nadja Affenzeller, Jessica Serra
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Male
Aging
Physiology
Psychological intervention
Social Sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Cognition
Cognitive Changes
Medicine and Health Sciences
Psychology
Cognitive decline
Problem Solving
media_common
2. Zero hunger
Mammals
Cognitive Impairment
Multidisciplinary
Animal Behavior
Behavior
Animal
Pets and Companion Animals
Cognitive Neurology
05 social sciences
Eukaryota
Pets
Exploratory factor analysis
Neurology
Vertebrates
Medicine
Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Female
Clinical psychology
Research Article
media_common.quotation_subject
Cognitive Neuroscience
Science
03 medical and health sciences
Dogs
Animals
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology
Set (psychology)
Nutrition
Behavior
Boldness
Organisms
Cognitive Psychology
Biology and Life Sciences
Animal Feed
Diet
Dietary treatment
Food
Amniotes
Cognitive Science
Physiological Processes
Zoology
Organism Development
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Developmental Biology
Neuroscience
Zdroj: PLOS ONE
PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 9, p e0238517 (2020)
PLoS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203
Popis: Dogs demonstrate behavioural changes and cognitive decline during aging. Compared to laboratory dogs, little is known about aging in pet dogs exposed to different environments and nutrition. In this study, we examined the effects of age, an enriched diet and lifelong training on different behavioural and cognitive measures in 119 pet dogs (>6yrs). Dogs were maintained on either an enriched diet or a control diet for one year. Lifelong training was calculated using a questionnaire where owners filled in their dog's training experiences to date. Before commencing the diet and after one year of dietary treatment, they were tested in the Modified Vienna Canine Cognitive Battery (MVCCB) consisting of 11 subtests to examine correlated individual differences in a set of tasks measuring general, social and physical cognition and related behaviours. Fourty two behavioural variables were coded and were subjected to principle component analyses for variable reduction. Twelve subtest level components and two Z-transformed variables were subjected to exploratory factor analysis which resulted in six final factors: Problem solving, Trainability, Sociability, Boldness, Activity-independence and Dependency. Problem solving, Sociability, Boldness, and Dependency showed a linear decline with age, suggesting that the MVCCB can be used as a tool to measure behavioural and cognitive decline in aged pet dogs. An enriched diet and lifelong training had no effect on these factors, calling attention to the fact that the real world impact of nutritional and other interventions in possibly counteracting the effects of aging, should be further investigated in pet dogs living under diverse conditions, in order to understand their ultimate effects.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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