Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome, sometimes called “doggy dementia,” is common, but under-recognized. Early CCDS signs are subtle and often mistaken for normal aging. A consensus in veterinary medicine for diagnosing and monitoring CCDS as shared in this article, is a step toward practical, real-world diagnosis.
Source: AKC Canine Health Foundation, January 13, 2026. Link. With support from the AKC Canine Health Foundation, experts came together to issue the first-ever medical consensus statement that defines how CCDS is diagnosed, and it gives the entire field a shared framework to advance care and research. The group’s work was published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association <Link>.
CCDS hides in plain sight and requires a multimodal diagnostic approach.”
NOTE: To potentially improve the understanding of the diagnostic process, we asked CoPilot to create a diagnosis flow chart from the article <Link>. The diagram was not vetted.