Promising news for pup parents: Research shows you have more control over how long your dog lives than you might think.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Vets and owners across the country are participating in the Dog Aging Project to find out keys to a longer healthier life.
Researchers believe longevity for dogs is only about 25 percent genetic and 75 percent environmental.
About 50,000 dogs and counting of every kind are enrolled in the Dog Aging Project – an effort by the University of Washington, Texas A&M and other researchers.
They collect information from vets and owners and tracks their physical and mental health. Dogs age quickly, but that allows researchers to learn quickly.
“We can both study the aging process and potentially determine whether or not strategies to slow aging work in dogs in a much more reasonable time frame,” said Matt Kaeberlein researcher and co-founder.
TRENDING STORIES:
Through its website, the Dog Aging Project started collecting data in 2018.
They have found that body size is the biggest factor, with bigger dogs aging faster. Also, purebred dogs live on average a year less than mixed breeds.
They also found up to 35 percent of senior dogs develop dementia, with active pups less likely to develop it. And just like with humans, physical and social activity is essential.
Their biggest surprise was connected to food. Dogs that get one meal a day were less likely to get different age-related health problems than those that get two meals.
They’ve found a correlation between behaviors and health impacts but not the cause. Dog Aging Project believes with more research, dogs and funding, they can sniff it out.
“I went into this because I wanted to make my dog live longer and healthier and I wanted to make other people’s dogs live longer and healthier,” Kaeberlein said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
