Current dog research now shows that just simply using basic math cannot accurately determine any dog’s age.
The latest dog research has now finally confirmed that all dogs age faster in their first few years of life with aging slowing down as they mature. While the old methods of determining a dog’s age may still be acceptable to some, the latest dog research now more accurately determines the exact age of any dog which helps veterinarians know the aging process of any dog in their care.
However, regardless of all past and current dog research, dogs still do not live as long as humans. Simply knowing this simple dog research fact should make it all the more important for dog owners to make certain that their dog or dogs are living their best life in the time that they have them.
Dog research aging studies focus on the four main stages of aging in dogs, and humans, namely:
- The juvenile stage.
- The adolescent stage.
- The mature stage, and
- The senior stage.
Dog research closely follows the aging progression of dogs summarized as:
- The first year of a dog’s life closely equates to fifteen human years.
- The second year of a dog’s life closely equates to nine human years.
- Each succeeding year after year two equates to five human years.
Through current dog research, it is now accepted that all dogs age more quickly during their early stages in years one and two with their aging processes slowing down at age three and thereafter.
However, there are still many factors that can adversely impact the aging processes of a dog, like:
- The specific breed and weight of the dog.
- The dog’s overall health.
- The dog’s environment.
- Their lifestyle (sedentary indoor dogs compared to outdoor dogs), and
- How active a dog is throughout its life stages.
Current dog research is now learning more about the aging processes of dogs. Current studies are also ongoing on the newest accepted age grouping of dogs called the super-centenarian dog research studies. This form of dog research aims to know what goes on in the aging processes of dogs aged 20 years or older.
Dog research aims to know why certain dogs that live past the age of 20 and older survive so long. The goal of this form of dog research is to find the solutions to meaningfully improve and extend both canine and human life spans.
Dog research: Learning how to give dogs, and humans, better and longer lives.
As beloved companions for hundreds of years, dogs occupy a cherished and central role in the lives of families everywhere. Through dog research, humans aim to advance preventive medicine, good nutrition, and the proper diagnosis and effective treatment of diseases to greatly improve the quantity and quality of life for humans, dogs, and all animals.
Dedicated groups of researchers that specialize in veterinary medicine, aging biology, human medicine, and other related disciplines have joined together to learn and share findings about the aging processes of dogs and how it affects diseases in both dogs and humans and its effects on lifespans.
Dog research aims to understand how human and canine genes, lifestyles, and their environment influence aging processes. Its findings help both pets and people enhance and increase their lifespans with long periods of quality life free from premature aging and diseases.
Dog research is one of the largest continuously conducted veterinary studies on aging processes which closely evaluates the different aspects and factors of aging processes and age-related diseases in dogs, with findings that can be correlated with the human aging process.
Dog research: Why study the aging processes of dogs.
There are multiple reasons why dogs are the ideal animal to study aging processes. They share many of the same age-related diseases as humans and also act as sounding boards for humans as both humans and dogs tend to always live together and are therefore affected by the same pressures both experience in their similar environments.
Since dogs generally have much shorter lifespans compared to humans, dog research allows researchers to closely study, and measure more quickly, both the positive and negative effects of the various factors that affect aging processes in both dogs and humans and their effects on their lifespans.
Dog research also lets scientists see how dog aging processes and their resultant diseases if affected by the different genotypes of dogs and the environmental conditions they experience in the real world and compares them to find in a more controlled, and artificial, laboratory setting.Dog research also closely examines the close interrelationships of dogs and their owners and how it affects human physical, mobility, emotional, and cognitive health as they age.
Dog research: Studying human and dog longevity.
The wide range of in-depth data gained through dog research allows scientists to generate predictive and prognostic biomarkers in both dog and human aging processes. The data that dog research collects help guide scientists on the different causal factors that influence aging processes in both dogs and humans which can be correlated to help develop more effective premature aging and age-related disease treatments and therapies for both dogs and humans.
The findings collected through dog research provide scientists with in-depth knowledge of the different dynamics of aging processes that can also be easily translated into studies of human aging. It aims to specifically figure out how the varying interactions of different genes and environments of both dogs and humans affect their aging processes.
Since dogs experience similar functional declines and diseases as humans do result from the aging process, dog research aims to find the best possible treatments and therapies to control and reduce the effects of physical and mental declines due to aging.
The conclusions discovered through dog research provide scientists with important data and in-depth knowledge on the dynamics of aging in dogs and correlate its findings on how different life factors and the environment affect normal aging in humans.Dog research puts in place the foundation for the scientific approach to innovative aging research in both dogs and humans.
