Investigating Owner Use of Dietary Supplements in Dogs with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction

Julia Haake; Nina Meyerhoff; Sebastian Meller; Friederike Twele; Marios Charalambous; Volker Wilke; Holger Volk

doi:10.3390/ani13193056

Investigating Owner Use of Dietary Supplements in Dogs with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction

Animals (Basel). 2023 Sep 29;13(19):3056. doi: 10.3390/ani13193056.

Authors

Julia Haake¹, Nina Meyerhoff¹, Sebastian Meller¹, Friederike Twele¹, Marios Charalambous¹, Volker Wilke², Holger Volk¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 30559 Hannover, Germany.
² Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine, Foundation, 30173 Hannover, Germany.

Abstract

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is becoming increasingly recognized in veterinary medicine, as dogs live longer and with CCD being highly prevalent among the elderly dog population. Various studies have shown that diet and dietary supplementation can positively influence the clinical signs of CCD, especially if given at an early stage. The aim of this study was to investigate owner use of dietary supplements (DSs) in dogs with age-related behavioral changes. An observational study based on an online questionnaire for owners of dogs with age-related behavioral changes was performed. Out of a total of 394 owners who completed the survey, after noticing age-related behavioral changes, over half of the dogs received DSs (54%), whereas only 8% reported changing their dog's base diet. The most used DS was fish oil (48%). The use of DSs should be discussed with and monitored by veterinary surgeons since many geriatric patients have multi-morbidities, may have specific nutritional requirements and receive multi-faceted medications.

Keywords: canine cognitive dysfunction; diet; dietary supplements; geriatrics; veterinary neurology.

Grants and funding

This open access publication was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—491094227 “Open Access Publication Funding”—and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation.