How to Keep Your Dog Healthy and Living Longer

A woman’s hand is tenderly holding a brown dog’s paw

Let’s be honest. Pets NEVER live long enough. But this blog will help you understand WHY pets age as they do and HOW we can slow that process down. Heck, our name says it all: Helping Pets Live Longer.

There are many online “tactics” to keeping dogs healthy and living longer, but not very many of them are backed by fact. After 30-plus years in veterinary practices helping pets like yours, I think that I can change that for you.

What typically affects canine health and longevity?

Here are the FIVE (5) factors that most determine how long your dog will live:

  • GENETICS
  • LIFESTYLE (diet, exercise, etc.)
  • VETERINARY CARE (dentals, diagnostics, etc.)
  • THE RIGHT SUPPLEMENTS
  • PRECISION LONGEVITY MEDICINE FOR YOUR PET

Helpful ways to keep your dog healthy for as long as possible

A woman with a red bandana is tenderly kissing her dog

 

In this section we’ll discuss each factor in your dog’s longevity, based upon over three decades in veterinary practice and a passion for longevity medicine.

GENETICS and Your Dog’s Longevity

You gotta do the research – it’s just that simple. Here’s a sampling of a few health issues that we KNOW are genetic: allergies, cancer, hip dysplasia, spinal problems, and skin disease. The common thread? You can avoid these by careful selection…not of your puppy, but of your puppy’s parents. By looking at the parents’ health, age, and veterinary records, you can avoid these problems and help the puppy you DO take home live a longer and happier life. 

LIFESTYLE and Your Dog’s Longevity

This is the easiest longevity factor for you to control, and in many ways, it mirrors what we know about HUMAN longevity practices:

  • Your Pet’s Diet
  • Your Pet’s Exercise
    • More exercise is always better…
    • But the RIGHT type of exercise counts, too – minimize jumping, twisting, and slippery floors
    • Hardscapes are HARD – concrete and asphalt add concussion to your dog’s life.
  • Where Your Pet Hangs Out
    • Black and dark brown dogs need shade to prevent overheating
    • White dogs need shade to minimize skin cancer risk
    • Avoid grassy areas that might be maintained with RoundUp or WeedNFeed herbicides, as these are known cancer risks. 

VETERINARY CARE and Your Dog’s Longevity

I’m a veterinarian myself, and here are a few things you should understand about how veterinary care can affect how long your dog lives. This may rattle a few cages, but what the heck? Here we go.

  • Sometimes less is more. After a full round of puppy vaccines, your dog’s vaccines should be dictated solely by their risks…not by your veterinarian.  Over-vaccination can create health issues down the road in both dogs and cats.
  • Carefully consider whether and when to spay/neuter your pet. There are new studies that suggest keeping your dogs intact MAY reduce disease incidence.  
  • Where you live and where your pet exercises determine the need for flea/tick meds and heartworm prevention.  Just recognize that if you have mosquitoes, your dog could die from heartworm.
  • For dogs under 20 lbs, the SINGLE best way your veterinarian can help their longevity is with anesthetic dentals, taking radiographs of every tooth. 
  • Non-anesthetic dentals?  They don’t work.
  • Another thing that doesn’t work?  Brushing your pet’s teeth.  So stop the guilt.
  • For large-breed dogs, arthritis and cancer are the two biggest risks. Early detection tests can help your pets live a long time with either one.

The Right Supplements and Your Dog’s Longevity

Here’s where life starts getting interesting:

  • The single most common dog supplement is glucosamine/chondroitin-based joint supplements. And you know what? THEY DON’T WORK. It’s proven, but there are millions of marketing dollars spent to try and hide this fact from you.
  • The actual BEST joint supplement? UNDENATURED TYPE 2 COLLAGEN. Proven in both human and dog studies to not only reduce pain but also reduce the progression of arthritis.
  • FISH OIL DOES help to reduce joint inflammation – you just have to watch where you get it due to heavy metal contamination. Hint: Alaskan and Scandinavian fish oils are the best, or look for products that have been molecularly distilled to eliminate the contaminants.
  • TURMERIC is, well, worthless. Why? Because it’s 95% inactive and that 5% of curcumin is not well absorbed… so there are no blood levels achieved.
  • The SINGLE best natural supplement for reducing inflammation and cancer risk is our own LONGEVITY PLUS.  It contains patented CurcuWin Ultra Plus, which is over 100x more bioavailable than traditional curcumin.  It also contains ashwagandha to reduce stress and boswellia as another herbal anti-inflammatory ingredient.
  • TAURINE can head some forms of heart disease off at the pass…cheaply and effectively.
  • FISETIN-VET helps to clear the body of toxic senescent cells.
  • NMN helps maintain normal cellular energy metabolism

PRECISION LONGEVITY MEDICINE and Your Pet’s Longevity

The area of precision longevity medicine is real, and it’s here for your pet. There are three different components to precision longevity medicine for your pet:

  • EARLY DETECTION TESTS for cancer and other diseases.   There are now several blood tests that can make a diagnosis of cancer LONG before we find it on an exam.  Why is this important? The earlier we start the correct treatment, the longer your pet will live.
  • DNA-BASED CANCER TREATMENT:  If your pet runs into cancer, we can now analyze their tumor and determine EXACTLY which drugs are best to treat it. 

And here’s one form of Precision Longevity Medicine that you can bring to your home – the use of PRESCRIPTION LONGEVITY DRUGS LIKE RAPAMYCIN, ACARBOSE, and METFORMIN to give your pet the same longevity benefits documented in humans.  When you’re ready to start your pet on these prescription longevity meds, we’re here for you.

What products can help you keep your dog healthy?

A man with gray hair is holding his credit card while likely online shopping. His furry dog is sitting on his lap.

 

Here are the SIX BEST SUPPLEMENTS to help your pet live longer:

    • Advanced Curcumin products (Yes, like our LONGEVITY PLUS)
      • Proven in over 4000 studies
      • Fights inflammation, infection, and cancer  
      • Bioavailability is key, so do your research
  • Undenatured Type 2 Collagen
    •
      • Proven to be the best at reducing joint pain
      • Cheap, easy, and safe.
    • Fish Oil, sourced from Alaskan or Scandinavian waters
      • Broad anti-inflammatory effects
    • Taurine reduces the incidence and severity of cardiac disease
    • Fisetin destroys toxic senescent cells before they can damage surrounding tissues
    • NMN maintains cellular energy metabolism, one of the key drivers for aging

    Helping Pets Live Longer makes it our mission to support your pet’s health

    Dr. Kevin here. In over thirty years of veterinary practice, I have seen many pets die before their time. That’s why I founded HelpingPetsLiveLonger.com. We are the only online source for prescription longevity medicines like rapamycin, acarbose, and metformin for your dog, and we also carry ONLY supplements proven in both veterinary clinics and by science. We can help you keep your dog healthy and living longer, and I am honored to do so.

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