A new study in the journal Evolution, Medicine and Public Health identifies some of the social and environmental factors that promote healthy aging in dogs.
It turns out they’re many of the same ones that make for healthier human seniors.
An Arizona State University-led survey of more than 21,000 owners links dog wellbeing to higher income, greater neighborhood stability, and more people time and canine socializing.
The data came from the Dog Aging Project, a community-science effort comprising more than a dozen institutions, including ASU.
Controlling for age and weight, results remained consistent across breeds, from mongrel mutt to pedigreed pooch.
Although higher earnings suggest better medical care, social supports exerted five times as much influence as financial factors.
Time with human children correlated with poorer health, likely because parents spent less time on their furry families.
