Is your old but beloved family dog suddenly having accidents in the house or getting lost in corners? Has it seemed like your pet sometimes doesn’t recognize someone they’ve known all their life?

Memory loss and cognitive decline are common enough for aging dogs, just as they are for humans. But in extreme cases, scientists say, dogs can experience something called canine cognitive dysfunction, or CCD for short. Other symptoms can include disrupted sleeping patterns, loss of spatial awareness, and new and unusual social behaviors.

“Dogs experience many of the same age-related diseases that we do,” says Sarah Yarborough, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington Department of Family Medicine, in an email.

“Gaining a better understanding of how