As dogs age, many begin to experience symptoms of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCDS), a condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Detecting early signs is essential for providing timely interventions that improve welfare and quality of life. In this study, Khan et al. investigated whether an “impossible task” could serve as an effective diagnostic tool for identifying cognitive decline in older dogs.
The task involved presenting dogs with a piece of food sealed inside a clear container they could not open. Researchers measured how long each dog continued to interact with the container and how quickly they disengaged. Results showed that dogs with higher scores on cognitive dysfunction questionnaires (CADES and CCDR) and poorer performance on other cognitive tests disengaged more quickly, suggesting reduced persistence and problem-solving ability.
Furthermore, disengagement latency correlated with deficits in social cue recognition, working memory, spatial reasoning, reversal learning, and sustained attention. While the task is not a direct frustration test, its design inherently induces a frustrative state, making it a useful measure of both frustration tolerance and cognitive function.
The findings highlight the potential of the impossible task as a simple, accessible, and non-invasive tool for screening aging dogs at risk of dementia. However, researchers caution that further studies are needed to disentangle whether reduced engagement stems primarily from frustration or broader cognitive decline.
Source: Khan, M. Z., Mondino, A., Russell, K., Case, B., Fefer, G., Woods, H., Olby, N., & Gruen, M. (2023). Relationship between engagement with the impossible task, cognitive testing, and cognitive questionnaires in a population of aging dogs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9. Published January 4, 2023.
