Hide-and-seek for treats: a simple game that can spot memory trouble in ageing dogs

Your old dog's favourite game could become its health check. Researchers at the University of Arizona have built CANID, a set of simple cognitive tests — including hide-and-seek games with treats — that can efficiently and repeatedly measure memory and thinking changes in ageing dogs, published in Animal Cognition. The tool gives vets and researchers a standard way to study canine cognitive decline, a condition much like human dementia, in the animals who share our homes and age alongside us. Owners elsewhere in the USA can enrol their dogs in the nationwide Dog Aging Project, following 50,000 dogs — research the team hopes will one day help both species stay sharper for longer.

Mechanism: tech innovation