As pet parents, we are to get our puppies and young adult dogs vaccinated for infectious diseases, protect them with parasite prevention and maybe even brush their teeth. Once they are adults, we may not often stop to consider the healthy aging process until they start to slow down. Then we seek veterinary attention to treat diseases as they appear. By this time, it may be too late to reverse the transition from wellness to disease.
Thinking about healthy aging in our dogs is something that we can start at any age, but the earlier you begin, the better. While it’s never too late to adopt healthy habits, starting early allows you to build a strong foundation for your dog to age well. For a young dog, you can focus on habits like regular exercise, a high-quality diet, maintaining a healthy weight and engaging in stimulating activities. These habits can help prevent or delay many age-related health issues.
Addressing Aging Proactively
As your dog moves into adulthood and beyond, you can continue these habits and also pay closer attention to specific aspects of health that become more important with age, such as canine cognitive function, joint health, heart health and activity. Regular check-ups with your veterinarian can help identify any potential issues early and allow you to take proactive steps to address them.
Ultimately, healthy dog aging is about taking care of their physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being throughout their life. So, the sooner you start, the better chance to slow the effects of aging and maintain a vibrant and full life as they age.
How Human Aging Applies to Dogs
For more than five years, a group of us at Animal Bioscience have been thinking about how we could apply the practices in healthy aging in humans, and in particular, cellular health, to dogs and bring a focus more to dog wellness than disease. Rather than waiting until dogs get sick, what if we can find ways of helping dogs stay healthy for longer?
Part of what inspired this quest was the tremendous amount of data becoming available from the human aging field, especially regarding the key hallmarks of cellular aging.
Even small changes to diet and exercise and targeted supplements could potentially delay the onset of diseases of old age like arthritis, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and others.
More Life in Your Dog,
More Dog in Your Life
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NAD+ and DNA Repair
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) boosters and senolytics are two classes of compounds that have gained attention in the field of aging research for their potential to forestall age-related diseases and promote healthy aging.
NAD+ is a coenzyme found in all living cells and plays a crucial role in various cellular processes, including energy metabolism and DNA repair. Levels of NAD+ tend to decline with age, and this decline has been associated with several age-related diseases and decline in cellular function. NAD+ boosters increase cellular levels of NAD+. By boosting NAD+ levels, these compounds may enhance mitochondrial function, improve energy metabolism, promote DNA repair, and mitigate age-related cellular damage, thereby potentially delaying the onset or progression of age-related diseases.
Removing Senescent Cells
Senescent cells are cells that have stopped dividing, often as a response to cellular damage or stress. While senescence is a natural process that contributes to tissue repair and wound healing, the accumulation of senescent cells over time is associated with various age-related diseases and conditions. Senolytics are compounds that selectively aid the removal of senescent cells. By targeting and eliminating senescent cells, senolytics may help reduce inflammation, improve tissue function, and enhance overall health.
Leap Years is a combination NAD+ booster and senolytic that has undergone considerable preclinical testing to understand its effects and pharmacokinetics in dogs. In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial in older dogs, Leap Years showed support for the natural aging process of a decline in canine cognition among other aging signs.
When to Start Leap Years
The optimal age to start NAD+ boosters and senolytics can vary depending on an individual dog’s health status, risk factors, and goals. Generally speaking, these interventions are often considered most relevant as dogs enter middle age and beyond for their breed. If your dog has a specific health concern or risk factors that affect NAD+ levels, such as metabolic disorders, you may consider discussing the use of NAD+ boosters with your veterinarian sooner.
Summary
Anyone who has a dog knows: dogs are good for us. They help keep us healthy and feeling younger – and now we can do the same for them. Leap Years is helping to change the process of “how dogs age,” enhancing their healthspan and quality time together with the family.
Leap Years — More life in your dog, more dog in your life.