The research, published in Evolution, Medicine & Public Health, surveyed the human parents of more than 21,000 dogs and found that social companionship – with humans and other animals – had the greatest influence on healthier aging in dogs. The effect was five times larger than anything else examined, such as family finances, children in the household, or the age of the pet-loving parent.
Improving the health of dogs and humans
The study is part of the Dog Aging project, a large community science research effort launched in 2018 and funded by the National Institute on Aging and private donations. It is led by the University of Washington and Texas A&M medical schools and includes more than a dozen institutions, including Arizona State University.
His goal is to learn how genes, lifestyle and environment influence aging and disease in dogs. Researchers also hope that these findings can help human health.
“Dogs are often considered our closest animal companions and share many aspects of our daily lives,” said Brianah McCoy, an ASU doctoral student and co-author of the paper. “By studying how the social environment affects dog health, we can gain information that could also be relevant to human health.”
In total, more than 45,000 dogs are registered in the aging project. A subgroup, about 1,000 dogs, is part of a more targeted cohort from which Snyder-Mackler and his collaborators collect blood and other biological samples over many years to uncover additional clues.
Having four-legged friends linked to better health
Researchers used statistical tools to analyze factors in dogs’ social environments obtained from surveys by dog parents. The questionnaires included physical activity, environment, dog behavior, diet, medications and preventative medications, health status and owner demographics.
The scientists narrowed their analysis to five key factors – neighborhood stability, total household income, time spent with children, time spent with pets and age of owner – which together could explain how l he social environment could affect a dog’s well-being.
They found poorer health in dogs living in households facing financial hardship and other stressors, and better health in dogs who experienced more social companionship, such as living with other dogs.
The researchers, however, have not quantified lifespan, although they plan to do so in the future. “While we can’t say ‘having another dog in the home adds X years to your dog’s life,’ we were able to compare the strength of the effect of different environmental factors on health,” Snyder said -Mackler.
The researchers cautioned that the findings do not mean pet owners should add more dogs to the family or rush their pets to dog parks or doggy daycares.
“We don’t know whether the environmental factors we measured caused health problems, so we don’t want to make firm statements about what homeowners should or shouldn’t do,” Snyder-Mackler said. “The study simply looked at whether you had other pets in the house. But it does suggest that having more four-legged friends is linked to better health outcomes.
Some dogs may not benefit from social interactions
Scientists not involved in the study pointed out that not all dogs reacted the same way.
“Some dogs may find social interactions stressful,” said Clara Wilsonpostdoctoral researcher at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, “and it may not be in the best interest of the dog to force these interactions.”
Courtney Sexton, a postdoctoral researcher at the Virginia-Maryland College of Vet Med – and who contributes other research to the Dog Aging Project – said her dog preferred to play with a ball rather than with other dogs, and that is the “job of pet parents to pay attention.” to the signals that dogs give us.
Several results were surprising, according to the study authors.
- Having children at home had a negative impact on the dog’s health.
- Dogs from wealthier homes were diagnosed with more illnesses than those from less affluent homes.
- Dogs appeared healthier when they lived with older humans, and this effect was stronger in younger dogs.
Children may harm dogs’ health due to resource allocation, researchers suggested. “It’s not that children hurt dogs or directly affect their health,” said Layla Brassington, a doctoral student at Vanderbilt University, who worked on the study as a master’s student at Arizona State University. “The more children or time owners spend with their children, the less time and effort they can devote to their fur children.”
The authors hypothesize that wealthier households have better access to medical care and that pet parents may use veterinary services more frequently, leading to more illnesses being identified.
Dog age also affected the results, with younger dogs appearing “more attuned to their owner’s age and its impact on their well-being,” McCoy said.
Could dogs benefit from a cat companion?
The researchers didn’t specifically look at the effect of breeds — they didn’t have enough details on individual breeds — or exercise, Snyder-Mackler said. (The Dog Aging Project recently published a study which found that physical activity is associated with better cognitive outcomes in dogs.) “What we found was that the strength of the relationship between environment and health was similar when we looked separately mixed breed dogs and purebred dogs,” he said.
They also acknowledged a limitation of the study: The sample consisted primarily of high-income dog parents. A more diverse set could help “uncover the true extent of the influence of certain variables on canine well-being,” McCoy said. “It is possible that the effects we saw in this study would be even stronger if we had a more diverse and inclusive population. »
Most pets in multi-pet households were dogs, and scientists said there was not enough data to distinguish between the effects of having additional dogs and those of others. species.
“It could be that having other pets — even cats — provides health benefits through companionship,” Snyder-Mackler said.