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

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

Julia Haake  1 , Nina Meyerhoff  1 , Sebastian Meller  1 , Friederike Twele  1 , Marios Charalambous  1 , Volker Wilke  2 , Holger Volk  1
Affiliations

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

Julia Haake et al. Animals (Basel). .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diet change and the use of dietary supplements to manage age-related behavioral changes. (a) Less than 10% of owners changed their dog’s diet to manage behavioral changes. (b) About half the owners currently give dietary supplements.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Types of DSs used by owners to manage age-related behavioral changes in percent (%). Around half the owners administer DSs and three out of four dogs receive fats or oils, such as fish oil, CBD oil, and coconut oil in addition to their normal diet.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Owners’ reasons not to administer DSs to manage age-related behavioral changes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Owners’ reasons to stop administering DSs to manage age-related behavioral changes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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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.

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