A study published by researchers at North Carolina State University in June 2026<\/a> 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\u2019s true for people too, which feels relevant at this point in history (*wink). Let\u2019s see what researchers found. Click through and scroll down to see video monitoring of Clover\u2019s stride.<\/p>\n Researchers studied 88 geriatric dogs<\/strong>. In the veterinary world, geriatric essentially means a dog is likely in the last 10% of life. <\/strong>What age that is really depends, of course, on a dog\u2019s size since smaller dogs tend to live longer. This veterinary author<\/a> puts geriatric at:<\/p>\n Geriatric also tends to refer to a dogs level of frailty,<\/a><\/strong> which I\u2019ve written about before.<\/a> <\/p>\n Among the 88 dogs, 32 (36.4%) were mixed breed,<\/strong> and 56 (63.6%) were purebred as follows:<\/p>\n One each of these breeds as well:<\/p>\n The study team evaluated the dogs enrolled in the study ~ every six months, including:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The dogs\u2019 families also completed questionnaires every six months or so, including the Canine Dementia Scale (CADES) and Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI). <\/p>\n Researchers tracked how the dogs walked across a straight, 5-meter indoor walkway on leash<\/strong> \u2014 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 \u201cwhether height-adjusted stride length is associated with owner-reported cognitive impairment in aging companion dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n Simply put, higher scores for cognitive decline in dogs is associated with a shorter stride, using front legs. <\/p>\n The paper says, \u201cIn this longitudinal study of aging companion dogs, owner-reported cognitive decline was associated with shorter mean thoracic limb stride length, adjusted for height. <\/strong>Higher CADES scores were associated with reduced stride length, and this relationship persisted after adjustment for age and owner-reported pain impact on mobility <\/strong>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.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n However, the researchers also point out that stride length alone cannot be used as the sole diagnostic tool.<\/strong> It does, however, add important information to the bigger picture. <\/p>\n \u201cThese findings support the use of thoracic limb stride length as an objective, scalable functional mobility measure<\/strong> that reflects changes associated with cognitive decline and may be a useful tool for research and clinical monitoring of aging in dogs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 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\u2019s stride \u2014 coming and going and also from the side \u2014 at different speeds. The goal is to know your dog\u2019s baseline so that you can notice any changes in their various types of gait later.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u2019t think I ever successfully got her into a pace gait. See what you think. <\/p>\n \nStudy Recap<\/h3>\n
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Study Design<\/h3>\n
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Mobility Assessments<\/h3>\n
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Study Findings<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nNot a Stand-Alone Measure<\/h3>\n
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Study Conclusion<\/h3>\n
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<\/figure>\nReal Life Example<\/h3>\n
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