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Old Dogs, New Tricks

Can old dogs learn new tricks? They can certainly perform, as evidenced by "Stump," the ten-year-old Sussex Spaniel who came out of retirement to win the 2009 "Best in Show" prize at the Westminster Kennel Club.

Old dogs can also learn. Neurobiologist Carl Cotman and colleagues studied the effects of aging on the learning abilities of beagles. They tested the dogs in a variety of tasks, and then enrolled groups of dogs in different enhancement programs. Some dogs ate a diet enhanced with fruits, vegetables, and antioxidant supplements; others received behavioral enrichment, consisting of exercise at least twice weekly, playtime with access to toys that were changed frequently, and socialization with other dogs. Some lucky dogs got both behavioral and dietary enrichment.

After two years, the dogs were retested. Those in the combination intervention-fortified diet and behavioral enrichment -performed better on cognitive tasks and were more likely to learn new tasks, including some they had not been able to do at the beginning of the study. Dietary fortification alone and behavioral enrichment alone produced some improvements, but the combination of the two was the most powerful.

"These studies show that behavioral enrichment improves learning and, together with diet, results in long-term improvements in learning and memory," Cotman says."The combination actually reversed learning deficits."

These findings expand long-standing observations from human population studies that have revealed strong associations between successful aging and antioxidant-rich diets, exercise, and cognitive stimulation. While scientists can't do the kind of carefully controlled studies on humans that are possible with animals, it's safe to say that, in this case at least, what is good for man's best friend is also good for man-and woman.