Here’s what we’ll cover in this blog post:
- What is the Dog Aging Project
- How it’s helping dogs and humans
- How you can help
There’s only one problem with dogs: they don’t live longer.
Now that a life-extending vaccine for cats is scratching at the door, animal lovers are more mindful of their pets’ longevity with dog owners left scratching their heads. What can we do to help extend dogs’ lives?
That’s where the Dog Aging Project comes in. This organization has been working to give dogs longer, healthier lives for nearly ten years, and their research could help human aging research as well.
What Is the Dog Aging Project?
The Dog Aging Project is a large-scale scientific endeavor with a focus on understanding aging in dogs. Since 2014, the project has organized over 50,000 dogs and dog owners to participate in several research efforts aimed at improving the healthspan of dogs and humans. Now, they’re organizing one of the largest known dog aging studies of its kind.
The project is led by leading longevity scientist Matt Kaeberlein and top researchers at the University of Washington and Texas A&M University. Together with partners at over 47 medical institutions, they’ve published 50 peer-reviewed medical studies and created an open-access database containing more than 36 million data points for longevity research.
Their latest study, the first of its kind, may help identify a longevity treatment that works for dogs as well as it does for humans.
How Does the Dog Aging Project Help Humans?
One of the Dog Aging Project’s studies, the TRIAD clinical trial, involves testing Rapamycin in dogs. By using dogs to study this emerging longevity treatment, we could see a sneak preview of the long-term health benefits in humans. And, of course, it could see our furry friends living longer, healthier lives as well.
Animal models are critical to longevity research, offering a window into how our own aging works. However, dogs may provide the best glimpse at our own aging biology because they live longer than animals like worms, flies, and mice.
What sets this study apart from other animal studies is that scientists can observe and study these dogs at home with their owners. However, this means that the test subjects will be in the same environment as humans, not in a laboratory, offering more valuable insights to human outcomes.
Potential longevity treatments can lack long-term human trials to support their efficacy. But studies like these provide the closest parallels to human trials, giving more evidence for long-term health benefits.
That’s why longevity expert Steve Austad describes the TRIAD clinical trial as “the most informative study of aging that was not done in humans.” Dr. Austad’s dog is also a participant in the trial.
How You Can Help the Future of the Dog Aging Project
The Dog Aging Project depends on the dedicated support of their community of dog lovers to see studies like these to completion. AgelessRx has proudly become champions of the effort to save the Dog Aging Project.
To further this commitment, AgelessRx is matching donations up to $2,500. If you support a future where both our canine companions and loved ones enjoy extended, healthy lives, become a champion yourself and donate today.
The Dog Aging Project initially received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), who unfortunately cut their funding in late 2023. With the help of AgelessRx and its dedicated community of longevity enthusiasts, the Dog Aging Project reopened its doors in January 2024. Now, we can help save it again.
If you’re looking for other ways to participate, you and your canine companion can participate in research by joining active trials or volunteering your dog’s medical data. You could also help spread the word and share this article with other longevity enthusiasts.
Any support helps support the Dog Aging Project on their mission, which is bringing us one step closer to enjoying more healthy years with our pets and loved ones.
Note: The above statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.