Dogs, just like humans, might go gray from anxiety: study

Your prematurely gray pup could just be having a ruff go of it.

Similar to world-weary U.S. presidents, young dogs’ graying muzzles were associated with anxiety and impulsivity issues in a recent report from the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

The Northern Illinois University study — which sampled 400 dogs aged 1 to 4 from dog parks, clinics and other canine haunts — photographed the pooches and rated their muzzle grayness on a scale of 0 to 3 (no gray, frontal gray, half gray and full gray, respectively).

Owners then answered a questionnaire on their pups’ fearfulness, hair loss during vet exams, whining and barking, cringing and cowering, leash-pulling, loss of focus and hyperactivity, among other behaviors.

 

Higher scores of muzzle grayness — which was not explained by medical problems, spay or neuter status or body size — were significantly predicted by fear of loud noises and unfamiliar people and animals, the study found.

“Essentially, the results indicate that for each standard deviation increase in the measured trait, either anxiety or impulsiveness, the odds of being in a higher rating category of muzzle grayness increase 40% to 65%,” co-author Thomas Smith told CNN.

The same crack team of researchers — including renowned animal behavior expert and autism advocate Temple Grandin — found in 2014 that pressure wraps like the “Thundershirt” effectively reduced the heart rate of dogs with anxiety disorder.

But at least you can still pet most pups without worrying you’re freaking them out more: A 2013 study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior suggested some cats get stressed when they’re caressed.