A study conducted by the Dog Aging Project, involving more than 21,000 dogs, found a significant correlation between social support and improved overall well-being in dogs. The research, led by Noah Snyder-Mackler, assistant professor in ASU's School of Life Sciences, in collaboration with master's and doctoral students, analyzed in detail the responses to a survey of dog owners, covering a total of 21,410 dogs.
The results indicated that the social and physical environment in which dogs live can significantly influence ageing, health and survival. The research revealed that the dog's social support network is the most influential factor in improving health outcomes, outweighing financial conditions, domestic stability or the owner's age.
Factors such as financial and domestic adversity were associated with poorer health and reduced physical mobility, while greater social companionship, such as living with other dogs, was associated with better health. Interestingly, the study also found that time spent with children had a negative effect on dogs' health, suggesting that this may lead to less time devoted to "furry children". In addition, dogs from families with higher incomes were diagnosed with more illnesses, probably due to easier access to veterinary care.
Snyder-Mackler and her team now plan to explore how these external factors affect dogs' health on a physiological level, with a subsection of dogs being studied more closely to better understand these connections.
This study underlines the importance of the social environment in the health of dogs and mirrors similar findings in humans, highlighting the need to focus more on the influence of the social environment on health and disease, and to investigate how each environmental factor can contribute to healthier years of life in both dogs and humans.
