From: cleoabram
It often seems cruel that dogs live significantly shorter lives than humans, causing their owners to frequently experience loss [00:00:24]. However, new anti-aging efforts are now emerging specifically for dogs, offering hope for extending their lifespans [00:01:00].
Debunking the “Seven Dog Years” Myth
For a long time, the common belief was that one human year equated to seven “dog years” [00:01:09]. This rule suggested a dog at two years old was like a 14-year-old teenager, and at 10 years old, a 70-year-old distinguished gentleman [00:01:21]. Vets refer to this as “the myth that never dies,” clarifying that it is not based on any scientific research [00:01:31]. It likely arose from the rough observation that humans live to about 70 and dogs to about 10 [00:01:35].
A more scientific way to compare dog and human ages now exists, based on research by geneticists at UC San Diego [00:01:42], [00:01:54]. This research reveals a non-linear aging process:
- A one-year-old dog is roughly equivalent to a 30-year-old person [00:01:59].
- A 14-year-old dog is only equivalent to a 70-year-old person [00:02:04].
This implies that dogs age faster than humans when they are young, and slower when they are old [00:02:11]. Conversely, humans age slower when young and faster when old compared to dogs [00:02:15].
Quantifying Aging
A core goal of companies like Loyal, founded by Celine Halioua, is to develop a comprehensive quantified aging process to better understand and potentially slow aging in dogs [00:02:32], [00:02:39].
The current understanding of aging suggests it’s a process of various types of cellular damage accruing over time, eventually leading to diseases in later life [00:02:52], [00:03:00]. Many age-related diseases stem from this underlying damage [00:03:06].
Methylation Clocks
One method of measuring aging involves examining changes to DNA, specifically through a process called “methylation” [00:03:12], [00:03:30]. Methylation refers to modifications on DNA that change its shape, and these modifications are thought to change predictably with age [00:03:15], [00:03:25].
The research that produced the new age comparison chart analyzed methylation in Labrador DNA collected over 16 years and compared it to human DNA from individuals aged 1 to 103 [00:03:34], [00:03:38]. This deeper insight helps understand the biological processes underlying visible signs of aging like thinning hair and wrinkles, and more importantly, conditions like frailty, cancer, and disease [00:03:43], [00:03:48], [00:03:53].
The Impact of Dog Breed Size on Longevity
Dog breeds exhibit surprisingly different lifespans [00:04:09]. For instance, a Great Dane might live 6-8 years, while a Chihuahua can live over 18 years [00:04:16]. Generally, larger dogs live shorter lives than small dogs [00:04:22].
This phenomenon is largely attributed to human selective breeding, which has inadvertently selected for genetics causing growth issues in larger breeds [00:04:29], [00:04:31]. While dogs of all sizes are born at similar sizes, larger dogs experience a much faster metabolic growth rate [00:04:52], [00:04:55]. It’s believed that the mechanisms driving rapid growth in puppies don’t fully “turn off” or function correctly once the dog is fully grown, leading to faster aging and shorter lifespans [00:05:00], [00:05:09].
Studying this difference is crucial because small dogs seem to hold a key to longer doggy life [00:04:44], [00:04:48].
Loyal’s Research and Future Prospects
Loyal is specifically focused on understanding the internal biological differences between dog breeds, particularly concerning their metabolism, to develop targeted treatments [00:05:22], [00:05:25], [00:05:28]. Their aim is to make the metabolism of a large dog more akin to that of a small dog, potentially extending their healthy lifespan [00:05:31], [00:05:35].
While still in the research phase, investigating which specific areas can be targeted with particular drugs [00:05:46], [00:05:48], Loyal’s broader mission is to introduce drugs that enable dogs to live longer, healthier lives [00:06:31], [00:06:33]. In doing so, they also hope to gain knowledge about aging that can eventually benefit humans [00:06:39], [00:06:43].
Current Limitations and Future Hopes
Currently, there is no readily available pill that can significantly extend a dog’s life [00:05:52]. However, the ongoing scientific research represents crucial progress [00:06:54].
Even without a “big anti-aging solution yet,” dog owners can still take actions to help their dogs live longer, such as providing proper care [00:07:07], [00:07:12], [00:07:15]. The time spent with dogs is deeply valued, and the hope is for more of it [00:07:22], [00:07:26], [00:07:34]. The ultimate goal for many is to ensure that for a dog’s entire life, their human companion is there to care for them [00:08:18].