Dog Aging Project aims to learn why some canines live healthier, longer

Katie Cameron spends hours walking her two border collies, Solo and Pippin, at the beaches and parks near her home in Moriches.

That level of activity is essential for the active breed, but it’s also part of Cameron’s ongoing efforts to help her dogs live longer and healthier lives.

It included enrolling 6-year-old Solo in a national study — the Dog Aging Project — which collects data throughout the life of a dog and examines the many factors that may determine why some live longer or may develop illnesses earlier. More than 53,000 dogs have been part of the study since it launched in 2014.

Helping humans

Researchers believe their work may also lead to important discoveries about human health and longevity. 

"There are so many possibilities as to what this information will show," said Cameron, 30, who works in retail management and is a part-time dog trainer.

"If we keep our dogs active, are they less likely to have a cognitive decline in their old age?" she asked. "Is it exercise, training or nutrition that can prevent our senior dogs from having such a stark decline as I've seen some of my older dogs."

Solo is part of a subgroup of the study designed to be a more "precise look at how canine biology and physiology are related to aging." Biological samples from Solo are collected at his veterinarian as part of the ongoing monitoring of his health.

Participants also play cognitive games with their dogs, measure body size and perform timed mobility assessments.

Cameron thought Solo, who trains and competes in agility contests, would be a good addition to the project.

"We do a lot with him," she said. "I’d like to see how that helps him maintain his muscle mass."

Shared biomarkers

More than 20 research institutions and veterinary teaching hospitals are part of the Dog Aging Project which is based at the University of Washington and the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. It has received funding from the National Institutes of Health along with research grants and donations.

In a 2022 paper outlining the project, scientists said companion dogs experience nearly "every functional decline and disease of aging that people do," share the same physical and chemical environment and are treated "within a sophisticated healthcare system that parallels human healthcare in many ways."

"For all of these reasons, findings from aging companion dogs could readily translate to human aging."

For example, one study released last year, using data from the Dog Aging Project, found that dogs and humans share biomarkers of mortality. Biomarkers, or biological indicators, are measurable medical signs that can indicate potential health problems in a person's — or dog's — body.

Biologist Matt Kaeberlein, co-director of the Dog Aging Project, said he is careful to explain to dog owners that they cannot promise discoveries from the project will definitively improve the health and longevity of their pets.

"We hope that's the case," Kaeberlein told Newsday in an email. "In many cases, their companion animal will become more healthy as a result of participating in the project, either because of what the owners learn from participating in the project or because maybe they're more likely to catch problems early and have those problems treated by a veterinarian because they're paying more attention to their dog's health."

Positive drug trial

All dogs are eligible as long as they live in the United States and owners have a good estimate of their dog's age. Another subgroup is taking part in a clinical trial of rapamycin, a drug approved to prevent organ transplant rejection that may help dogs live longer, have increased mobility and cognitive function as they age.

Kaeberlein, one of the authors of the study, said previous clinical trials of rapamycin found evidence of improvements in heart function based on ultrasounds of dogs. Owners also said their dogs were more active and had a better quality of life after taking the drug.

"I’d say it's reasonable to be cautiously optimistic that rapamycin may have positive benefits on at least some age-related health outcomes related to heart function, activity levels, and quality of life," he said. "But it’s too early to know for sure about efficacy for lifespan or other age-related conditions."

The extensive data obtained from dogs in the project has led to dozens of peer-reviewed scientific papers, Kaeberlein added.

"Some of the things I have been particularly interested in and surprised by are some of the findings around nutrition, diet, and dementia," he said.

Fewer meals, better health

For example, one study compared dogs fed once a day with dogs fed more than once a day. Those that received one meal a day were less likely to be diagnosed with different age-related diseases, he said.

What kind of food to serve companion dogs can spark heated debate among owners. Researchers looked at raw food, home cooked food and commercially-available kibble.

"What surprised me was that there really wasn't much of a signal for overall health outcomes," Kaeberlein said. "There were some small effects on kidney and gastrointestinal conditions, but it wasn't the case that, for example, raw food diets are clearly superior to kibble diets, which I think a lot of people would assume."

He said studies on dementia in dogs showed the factors closely associated with it were age and exercise, the same as in humans.

Anne Hohenhaus, a senior veterinarian and researcher at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in Manhattan who is not involved with the Dog Aging Project, said the studies give important insight into the health care decisions made by dog owners.

"This information helps veterinarians everywhere communicate more successfully with dog families," she said.