Original research paper: Cognitive assessment for neuropsychological impairments in dogs (CANID): an efficient, repeatable, and sensitive evaluation for studies of cognitive aging
Authors: Stephanie H. Hargrave, Emily E. Bray, Lorelei R. Switzer, Stephanie McGrath, Gene E. Alexander, Theadora Block, Elizabeth Carranza, Naomi Chao, Laura E. L. C. Douglas, Janet Galante, Emily Hilyard, Dara Jonkoski, Brenda S. Kennedy, Emma Kristal, Julie A. Moreno, Daniel E. L. Promislow, David A. Raichlen, Noah Stetson, Kaitlyn Tereso, Nova Vogel, Evan L. MacLean, and the Dog Aging Project Consortium.
Journal: Animal Cognition.
Published online: October 12, 2026.
Version: Publisher's Article in Press, downloaded October 17, 2026. The publisher notes that the final edited version will replace this version.
DOI: 10.1007/s10071-026-02112-x.
Read the full study
Download the complete original paper (PDF). This free download contains the researchers' methods, results, discussion and references. The original PDF is unchanged.
Original abstract
We introduce the Cognitive Assessment for Neuropsychological Impairments in Dogs (CANID), a functional evaluation consisting of three cognitive tasks that measure aspects of memory and executive function. CANID can be implemented in a single ~40-min evaluation, was designed for studies of cognitive aging in community dwelling dogs, and is sensitive to age-related cognitive differences beginning in mid-life. We developed a scoring system using a baseline sample (N = 239) and repeat testing at six (N = 138) and twelve (N = 114) month follow-up. Overall CANID scores had substantial repeatability at six (ICC = 0.63, 95% CI [0.51, 0.72]) and twelve (ICC = 0.59, 95% CI [0.47, 0.70]) months, as did all task-specific subscores. CANID scores at 6-month follow-up suggested modest practice effects (0.23 SD improvement in overall score relative to baseline), similar to those reported in human studies, but we did not find evidence for practice effects at one-year follow-up. To facilitate CANID’s use, we provide detailed protocols, video libraries, data recording instruments, experimenter training guidelines, and R code for scoring in an Open Science Framework repository.
Source and reuse
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The abstract is reproduced with whitespace and web formatting only; the publisher PDF has not been modified. Dog Training World hosts this resource and is not the study's author.
Original publisher page, supplementary material and any later updates.