OldieYour old dog stands in the middle of the kitchen as if she's forgotten why she came in. Or he's up at three in the morning, wandering. Once is easy to shrug off. A few times starts to nag.
Researchers use the term canine cognitive dysfunction for changes in thinking and behavior in older dogs. This post isn't about spotting it. Only your vet can do that. It's about what the research says on how these changes get noticed, and the small thing a household can do to help.
A condition that's easy to miss
When researchers built a questionnaire for owners to screen older dogs, they began from a survey of 957 dogs. They described the condition as common, yet severely under-diagnosed in community-based dogs1. The tool they ended up with has 13 behavior items for owners to rate.
Why might it go unnoticed? We can only guess, and we don't want to overstate it. Slow changes are hard to see in a dog you love and watch every day. An older dog sleeping more or pacing at night can look like ordinary aging from the inside of a busy house.
Vets rely on what you tell them
A more recent paper asked veterinarians in the United States how they handle these cases. The survey drew 318 responses from vets who regularly see companion dogs, and almost all of them, 97.2 percent, had diagnosed the condition at some point in their careers2. They named patient history and clinical signs or behavioral changes as the tools they use to make the diagnosis2.
Read that plainly. In an exam room, a lot rides on history: what the dog has been doing at home, and for how long. Your vet sees your dog for a short time. You see the rest of the day.
The same paper also describes how unsettled the field is. Its authors write that there are currently no accepted guidelines for diagnosis and management, and that responses reflected uncertainty about best practices2. We take two things from that. Vets are working with the information they're given, and a clear account from home is worth a great deal to them.
What a good account looks like
None of this is a checklist for diagnosing your dog. These are ordinary habits for describing what you see, and your vet decides what any of it means.
- Write down what you saw, in plain words. "Stood facing the wall for a few minutes" says more than "acting strange."
- Put a date on it. A note from last week and one from today show whether something is changing.
- Note the time of day. Whether something happens at night, after meals, or on walks can matter to your vet.
- Let everyone in the house add to it. The person who does the early shift sees a different dog from the one who does the evening shift.
- Mention changes even if they seem small or you think they're just age. Let your vet decide.
Oldie is a care tracker for senior dogs: medications, care tasks, vaccines and weight, shared with everyone in the household. A day's entry can carry a short note that anyone at home can read, and every care task has an optional notes field. More about Oldie.
There's a gentle side to this too. Writing down what we see is a way of staying close to a dog who's changing. It turns a vague worry into something we can hand to someone who can help, and it reminds us that we're paying attention. That counts for a lot.
This post is general information only, not a diagnosis. Your vet knows your dog.
Questions, or a topic you'd like us to dig into next? Reach out any time: help@myoldie.com. We read everything.
Sources
- The canine cognitive dysfunction rating scale (CCDR): A data-driven and ecologically relevant assessment tool (Salvin HE et al.). The Veterinary Journal 188(3):331-336, 2011. Accessed 2026-10-22.
- Current practices for diagnosis and management of Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in the United States (Simon et al.). Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2025. Accessed 2026-10-22.
This is general information, not a diagnosis. Your vet knows your dog.