Older age linked to less interest in odors in companion dogs
Most measures were repeatable when 25 dogs repeated the test at least four weeks later; age associations were assessed in 65 dogs.
Limit: Changes within individual dogs over time were not tracked
Stake: Prevent Blindness funded the study.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers evaluated a smell test in 65 untrained companion dogs older than one year and analyzed age differences in a cross-sectional study. They also assessed repeatability in 25 dogs tested at least four weeks apart.
Gently restrained dogs encountered 18 odors in identical metal containers; one odor pair was excluded from analysis. Each presentation lasted 30 seconds. Four presentations of the same odor preceded a different odor. Reviewers scored interaction times from videos without knowing the odor or presentation order. Measures were reliable between reviewers, and most were repeatable across visits. Older age was associated with a greater share of initial odor interactions lasting under one second and less renewed attention when the odor changed. Odor preferences varied between dogs. Bodyweight and sex were also associated with some measures, though less strongly than age.
Why it matters
Food motivation and the ability to distinguish smells in aging dogs are areas the authors said the test could help researchers investigate.
Caveats
The cross-sectional age analysis did not track changes within individual dogs over time. One measure of renewed attention did not show significant repeatability and was excluded from later analyses.
The paper
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Scientific Reports, Jun 23, 2026, Open access
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