12 Keys to Helping My Dogs Live a Long and Happy Life #62
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2021
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
We all want our dogs to have long and happy lives. There are 12 things I believe have a massive influence on the longevity and quality of life for my dogs, and 6 things I avoid. In this episode, I'm sharing what I've learned through trial and error, talking to experts, and from science, that can contribute to an increased life expectancy for our dogs.
In the episode you'll hear:
• About telomeres and what that means for our dogs and us.
• What I've learned from my senior dogs.
• How stress impacts on the life of our dog.
• 12 key factors that I believe contribute a long and happy life.
• Why exercise is important for dogs.
• What I feed my dogs and the supplements I consider important.
• About looking after our dog's teeth and nails and cooperative care.
• Why mental engagement is so vital for our dogs.
• The reasons our older dogs need to feel special.
• About having a great relationship with your Veterinarian.
• How I make my home mobility friendly for my older dogs.
• The stress relieving activities that are good for seniors.
• What I avoid to give my dogs the best chance at a long life.
Resources:
• *Book: The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer by Elizabeth Blackburn - https://geni.us/telomere-effect (Click Here for alternate link for Australia and UK)
• Cell Reports: Telomere Length Correlates with Life Span of Dog Breeds (Laura J. Fick, Gordon H. Fick, Zichen Li, Eric Cao, Bo Bao, Doug Heffelfinger, Heidi G. Parker, Elaine A. Ostrander, Karl Riabowol) - https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(12)00418-4
• Podcast Episode 61: Lessons of Recovery: The Night My Dog Almost Died - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/61/
• Vlog Post: Important Whys and Hows of Exercising Our Dogs - https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2019/09/exercising-your-dog/
• Dr Mercola Pet Supplements - https://www.mercolamarket.com/category/1576/1/pet-supplements
• 1-TDC Supplement - https://wsow.expert/dogsthatUse1TDC
• Vlog Post: Cutting Your Dog's Nails: How Important Is It Really? - https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2019/09/exercising-your-dog/
• *Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder with LED Light - https://geni.us/nail-grinder (Click Here for alternate link for UK)
• *Dremel Lite 7760 N/10 4V - https://geni.us/dremel-lite
• *Groomer's Best Friend Diamond Rotary Nail Grinder Bit - https://geni.us/diamond-grinder
•*Instant Vortex 4-in-1 Air Fryer - https://geni.us/vortex4in1 •*Instant Vortex Pro 9-in-1 Air Fryer - https://geni.us/vortextpro9 - https://geni.us/diamond-grinder
• Recallers - https://recallers.com/
• Blog Post: Rolling out a Big Adventure - https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2013/08/rolling-out-a-big-adventure/
• *Dirty Dog Doormats - https://geni.us/dirty-dog-mat
• Help 'Em Up® Harness - https://helpemup.com/
• Underdog Dog Beds - https://underdogpetproducts.com/
• *Basis Pet Stainless Steel Bowls - (Click Here for alternate link for UK) - https://geni.us/StainlessBowls
• Podcast Episode 25: Why All Dogs Can Bite and How to Reduce the Risk with R.E.A.D. - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/25/
• Podcast Episode 14: Creating Intentional Multi-Dog Household Harmony - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/14/
*Amazon Links Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Susan only recommends products she uses herself, and all opinions expressed here are her own. The link above is an affiliate link that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission if you decide to buy from it. Thank you!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today could be one of the most important podcasts I've ever done. |
| 0:15.1 | And it has nothing to do with dog training because today I share with you the 12 |
| 0:20.4 | things that I do that I believe |
| 0:23.5 | have a massive impact on the longevity and the quality of life my dogs share. I'm also |
| 0:29.5 | going to share six things that I avoid for my dogs to have that massively long life. |
| 0:35.7 | And that makes 18 things, which means this is going to be |
| 0:39.3 | a rather long podcast. And I hope that's okay. And if it is, those of you are watching YouTube |
| 0:44.1 | right now, go ahead and hit that like button. And if you're listening to this podcast, |
| 0:47.9 | when you get home, I know you're going to want to hit that like button. And you're going |
| 0:50.9 | to want to share this podcast with your friends because it's massively |
| 0:55.4 | important. Hi, I'm Susan Garrett. Welcome to Shape by Dog. Let's jump right in. I'm going to be |
| 1:01.7 | sharing things that I've learned through trial and error, through observation, through talking to |
| 1:06.1 | really brilliant people, far smarter than me and through science. Come on, I've got a bachelor degree |
| 1:13.2 | in science and I don't ever really get to stretch that muscle. Today, I'm going to be flexing |
| 1:18.3 | that muscle just a little bit. I would recommend one book to everybody, the telomere effect. |
| 1:23.6 | Now, telomeres are like the little endings or the long endings of a chromosome. |
| 1:31.1 | The tails of our DNAs, let's just say. The telomere actually, science, well, they don't always |
| 1:38.7 | agree, but most scientists believe there's a direct correlation to the length of the telomere |
| 1:43.9 | and the age or aging of the |
| 1:48.0 | animal. That goes for us, goes for us humans as well as our dogs. There is a paper actually |
| 1:54.0 | written by Dr. Laura Fick and Gordon Fick, a number of people called telomere length and the |
| 1:59.7 | lifespans of dog breeds. And in this paper, they investigated dogs who live the longest and looked at the average |
... |
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