New Indicator of Cognitive Decline in Dogs

cognitive decline in dogs main graphic study header with color box

A study published by researchers at North Carolina State University in June 2026 shows that stride length of the front legs is associated with cognitive decline in dogs. Yep, how dogs walk is an additional sign of an aging brain. It’s true for people too, which feels relevant at this point in history (*wink). Let’s see what researchers found. Click through and scroll down to see video monitoring of Clover’s stride.

Study Recap

Researchers studied 88 geriatric dogs. In the veterinary world, geriatric essentially means a dog is likely in the last 10% of life. What age that is really depends, of course, on a dog’s size since smaller dogs tend to live longer. This veterinary author puts geriatric at:

  • 11.5 years for small dogs
  • 10.2 years old for medium dogs
  • 8.9 years old for large dogs

Geriatric also tends to refer to a dogs level of frailty, which I’ve written about before.

Among the 88 dogs, 32 (36.4%) were mixed breed, and 56 (63.6%) were purebred as follows:

  • 8 Labrador Retrievers
  • 4 Beagles
  • 3 Golden Retrievers
  • 3 Shih Tzus
  • 2 Border Collies
  • 2 Dachshunds
  • 2 Siberian Huskies
  • 2 Basset Hounds
  • 2 Jack Russell Terriers

One each of these breeds as well:

  • Australian Cattle Dog
  • Australian Shepherd
  • Bernese Mountain Dog
  • Border Terrier
  • Brittany Spaniel
  • Brussels Griffon
  • Cairn Terrier
  • Cardigan Welsh Corgi
  • Chihuahua
  • Chow Chow
  • Cocker Spaniel
  • Foxhound
  • German Shorthair Pointer
  • Great Dane
  • Irish Setter
  • Maltese
  • Miniature American Shepherd,
  • Pembroke Welsh Corgi
  • Plott Hound
  • Pomeranian

Study Design

The study team evaluated the dogs enrolled in the study ~ every six months, including:

The dogs’ families also completed questionnaires every six months or so, including the Canine Dementia Scale (CADES) and Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI).

Mobility Assessments

Researchers tracked how the dogs walked across a straight, 5-meter indoor walkway on leash — measuring their stride length of front legs and rear legs as well as their gait speed. Then, they did some fancy math to create height-adjusted stride lengths to evaluate for their hypothesis about “whether height-adjusted stride length is associated with owner-reported cognitive impairment in aging companion dogs.”

Simply put, higher scores for cognitive decline in dogs is associated with a shorter stride, using front legs.

Study Findings

The paper says, “In this longitudinal study of aging companion dogs, owner-reported cognitive decline was associated with shorter mean thoracic limb stride length, adjusted for height. Higher CADES scores were associated with reduced stride length, and this relationship persisted after adjustment for age and owner-reported pain impact on mobility as measured by the CBPI score. Together, these findings indicate that owner-perceived cognitive decline, particularly as captured by the CADES questionnaire, is reflected in measurable changes in gait characteristics in aging dogs. Notably, although CADES scores were correlated with age, the association between CADES and stride length remained after accounting for chronological age, suggesting that cognitive status captures aspects of functional decline not fully explained by age alone.”

Not a Stand-Alone Measure

However, the researchers also point out that stride length alone cannot be used as the sole diagnostic tool. It does, however, add important information to the bigger picture.

Study Conclusion

“These findings support the use of thoracic limb stride length as an objective, scalable functional mobility measure that reflects changes associated with cognitive decline and may be a useful tool for research and clinical monitoring of aging in dogs.”

Real Life Example

When I recently took an online class called Aged to Perfection: Keeping Your Senior Fit in Mind and Body from the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. The instructor recommends making a video of your dog’s stride — coming and going and also from the side — at different speeds. The goal is to know your dog’s baseline so that you can notice any changes in their various types of gait later.

  • Walk (each foot moving separately, 4 beats)
  • Trot (alternate side front and rear feet moving together, 2 beats)
  • Pace (both feet on the same side moving together, 2 beats)

Personally, I struggled to see for sure if I was moving Clover through the various types of gait, even with the video in slow motion, but here’s how it looked from the side last December. I think she is walking in the first pass and then trotting on the second and third passes in this video. I don’t think I ever successfully got her into a pace gait. See what you think.