Princeton University recently joined the Dog Aging Project, a global effort to study the factors that affect dog aging. Together with the Family Dog Project, based at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, the group is uncovering more knowledge about our pups’ lives and well-being. Going forward, researchers hope the findings will have real-world benefits for both humans and dogs.
A Global Project About Dog Aging
We’ve already covered the goals of the Dog Aging Project. Specifically, they are studying the links “between lifestyle, genetic and environmental factors, and long-term health.” In contrast, the Family Dog Project is focused on “the behavioral and cognitive aspects” between dogs and humans, per the group’s website.
Together, researchers are not only studying the factors that affect aging, but also how dogs were domesticated. Finally, the team in Budapest is studying how this affected dog cognition and behavior.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the projects is that they are open to the public. As such, anyone can nominate their dog and become a “citizen-scientist”.
Joining Forces
Joshua Akey is a professor in the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton and the head of the team joining the study. The small team of graduate students, postdocs, and support staff are analyzing the data from the completed studies.
Akey hopes this crucial addition will help the groups make conclusions that will “[help dogs] live longer and healthier lives,” per the university’s press release.
Particularly, he’s curious about an ongoing study about the DNA of elder dogs. The study hopes to understand how certain dogs have such long lifespans and apply the findings to human studies.
Akey has a personal interest in the project, as well. He owns 2 dogs: Abby, a 5-year-old rescue pup, and Zoey, an 11-year-old Labrador.
Already, the two projects are getting results. From studying how dogs recognize objects to canine episodic memory, we can’t wait to see what else they find.
