An estimated 28 percent of dogs 11 to 12 years old develop at least one sign of canine cognitive dysfunction — the medical term for age-related dementia. For dogs 15 to 16, the prevalence goes up to 68 percent — two out of three. It’s a difficult process to watch a beloved dog go through. Many dogs with the condition lose all pleasure in life, no longer respond to their own name, stare at walls, don’t engage socially, urinate inside, won’t eat, can’t perk up, and can’t be calmed down if agitated.
No doubt that’s why some people turn to supplements marketed for people with encroaching dementia and give them to their dogs once they’ve exhausted proven treatments, like the drug deprenyl (Anipryl) — the only pharmaceutical approved for cognitive decline in our canine pets.
Supplements touted for treating cognitive decline include everything from ginkgo biloba to ginseng, various B vitamins, and certain fruit extracts. The head of the Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic, Stephanie Borns-Weil, DVM, understands the desperation that would lead to purchasing unproven treatments. But she remains very concerned about this approach, asking rhetorically, “Is it okay to use something experimentally and say, ‘It seems plausible that it might work, but we don’t have any evidence that it’s helpful for dogs?’”
She points to ginkgo as an example. “Ginkgo looked really promising until there were placebo-controlled trials and it didn’t perform,” she says. “If it’s not going to work, it’s not going to work. You have to look to the evidence and treat a supplement as you would any pharmaceutical. People tend to think there’s conventional medicine versus alternative medicine, but there’s only medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t. If it works, it’s not alternative.”
Then, too, Dr. Borns-Weil points out, “in the absence of evidence, we frankly don’t know whether a product could be helpful or could hurt a dog. Anything with potential beneficial effects also brings with it a risk for side effects.”
Supplements go unregulated
Another problem with supplements is that they’re essentially unregulated, Dr. Borns-Weil points out. Unlike a drug, which goes through an approval process with the Food and Drug Administration, a supplement could be contaminated with substances that might cause a dog harm. For instance, the doctor says, a number of cannabis products on the market contain an ingredient known as THC, and THC (which is what produces marijuana’s “high”) is toxic for dogs.
In addition, a supplement might not have the amount of a substance that the label says it does. And it might not be formulated in such a way that a dog’s digestive system is able to break it down sufficiently for use by the body.
For these reasons, Dr. Borns-Weil says, if you are going to try a supplement on your dog for canine cognitive dysfunction, it’s important to buy a product that has been evaluated by an independent third party to make sure it’s safe and contains what the label says it does. ConsumerLab.com is one such third party. Another is the US Pharmacopeia, or USP. If you see the letters USP on a supplement label, the product has been evaluated for contents and safety. Ditto for supplements with labels saying the contents have been certified by an organization called NSF (National Sanitation Foundation).
New evidence always emerging
What might help a dog with canine cognitive dysfunction is a moving target, Dr. Borns-Weil says. There’s new research coming out all the time. You can track the scientific studies on your own or talk to your dog’s veterinarian about it. It’s perfectly reasonable, she says, to ask the vet, “What’s the evidence for such-and-such a supplement, and can you recommend a brand that’s safe?”
