Dog Aging Project explores how studying dogs can inform pet and human health

The Dog Aging Project has enrolled over 50,000 dogs to collect health, lifestyle and genomic data, and researchers are testing low-dose rapamycin to study effects on cellular aging.

Researchers at the Dog Aging Project are collecting health and lifespan data from pet dogs across the United States. The effort began in late 2019 and grew rapidly; it has enrolled over 50,000 dogs. Teams gather owner surveys about health, diet and environment, and researchers have done genomic testing on about 1,000 dogs. The project is also running tests of a low dose of rapamycin to examine effects on cellular aging. What researchers report: - The study enrolled over 50,000 dogs after rapid early growth, with a mix of ages, sizes and breeds. - About half of enrolled dogs are reported as purebred and half as mixed breed. - Roughly 85% of dogs in the study are fed commercially prepared kibble, with the remaining 15% on various home-prepared or alternative diets. - Genomic testing of about 1,000 dogs showed owners generally report breed reliably, including many mixed-breed dogs. - The project is testing low-dose rapamycin, which targets the mTOR pathway, to see whether it affects health span while monitoring other health outcomes. Summary: The Dog Aging Project aims to identify environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors that influence a long, healthy life in dogs and to use those findings to inform understanding of human health because dogs share genes and environments with people. Researchers are prioritizing better data about the exposome and are following results from ongoing low-dose rapamycin trials to assess effects on health span. Further outcomes and longer-term implications are undetermined at this time.