It is said that all dogs go to heaven. I’d prefer mine didn’t. Not that he isn’t the best dog in the world. And not that he doesn’t deserve eternal bliss. I would just prefer he outlive me – or come as close as possible. Which is why since I rescued him at four months old, I’ve focused on Mordecai’s healthspan, not his lifespan. Extreme longevity in dogs follows closely in protocol to human longevity. Highest quality diet and nutrition, plenty of appropriate exercise, and low stress environments.
The Dog Aging Project
Next month, Cai will turn seven. Earlier this year, I enrolled him in the Dog Aging Project. Your best friend can enroll as well! According to their website, The Dog Aging Project includes expert scientists and research veterinarians from over 20 research institutions and veterinary teaching hospitals. Their core leadership is based at the University of Washington and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The Dog Aging Project is an innovative research initiative that brings together a community of dogs, owners, veterinarians, researchers, and volunteers to carry out the most ambitious canine health study in the world. The Dog Aging Project team will follow tens of thousands of companion dogs for ten years or more in order to identify the biological, lifestyle, and environmental factors that maximize healthy longevity. We expect to gain insights that will increase our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat age-related diseases, thereby helping our dogs, and by extension, ourselves, live longer, healthier lives.
dogagingproject.org
Advanced Health Testing for Dogs
As a pup, I submitted Cai’s DNA to Embark in an effort to determine his breed. Bet you can’t guess!
Embark also has tests available to determine your dog’s health beyond what your veterinarian would recommend or order, like gut microbiome assessment, oral health assessment, and true age testing using DNA methylation. If all of that sounds advanced – it is! In fact, those are the same tests I submit myself to quarterly to assess the impact of the longevity protocol I follow.
For his breed mix and size, Cai has a standard life expectancy of twelve years. I fully intend to extend that to fifteen to twenty years, in vital health. How so? For the best explanation of our daily routine, I’d recommend reading the Forever Dog books, by Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib. These are game changers for canine lovers the world over and certainly has given Cai a rock-solid immune system and near perfect health test results year over year.
