The dog has a life expectancy of between 10 and 13 years. That means that, throughout our lifetime, we may well have several and watch them grow from adorable puppies to old age and death. The study published by Noah Snyder-Mackler could change this circumstance and we can play against time to may our dog live longer.
a very important study
The research carried out by this School of Life Sciences professor started from a different idea which are usually explored when delving into the lives of pets. What she wanted to know was how the physical and social environment of the pet influenced when it came to seeing if it was possible to find guidelines that would lead to extending the lives of dogs.
The results have been most interesting, since it has come to propose and verify a series of theories that are transgressive with respect to what we know so far. And the study has not been exactly small, since it has had the analysis of more than 21,000 dogs. These data will be used, from here, to continue exploring the most optimal living conditions for dogs that can help them reach their maximum levels of life expectancy or even exceed them.
What to do?
At the beginning of the investigation, a series of factors were considered that could have relevance in the hope and quality of life of the pets: the economic situation of the owner, the stability of the home, the age of the owner and the presence or not of a social network of other dogs around the dog. As published in Evolution, Medicine & Public Health, what has ended up being the most determining factor in extending the life of dogs has been the last factor: the social one.
Named the Dog Aging Project, the study has analyzed a total of 21,410 dogs, their home environments, their owners and pretty much everything that surrounds them in life. It has been an exhaustive work in which several academic entities have collaborated in view of the great relevance that it can imply for society. After all, everyone would like to have the key that would help dogs live longer or, at the very least, safely reach their maximum life expectancy.
After analyzing dozens and dozens of data, the study concludes that the most important aspect and what will make your pet live longer is have a good social environment with other dogs. Simple as that. It has been stipulated, based on the results, that dogs that have a circle of friends with other pets and that have their own social environment end up being in a much better state of health, get sick less and live longer. further. In addition, those responsible for the study recommend not sacrificing the time that the dog should spend with other animals by running, playing or enjoying themselves with other specimens of its species, even though, for us, it may be a small problem.
On the other hand, the results indicate that dogs that live in houses where there are children, they age earlier and have a shorter life expectancy. It is specified, yes, that children are not bad for dogs, but that due to this presence and relationship, dogs usually have less time to be with others of their kind. And that ends up taking its toll on them in the long run.
With these data in hand, the team in charge of the research will take the next step, which will be to continue exploring the way in which the social and environmental environment plays an important role in health and in the life expectancy of pets. They believe that there is still a lot to discover and they are going to start investigating veterinary records and other data in order to reach more advanced conclusions. At the moment, they recommend that all people who have a dog try to take their pet more to the park and that they let it interact with other animals there. The effect on the pet’s health will be very positive.
