Old dogs might be able to teach us about healthful living

By Dan McFeely

Can a bunch of old dogs teach us some new tricks about aging and cancer?

Purdue University researcher David Waters hopes to answer that question as he embarks on a 23-day trek across the
country — meeting face-to-snout with 15 of the oldest living Rottweilers in America.

Waters heads the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation at the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, IN, where he has been leading a team that studies aging and cancer in dogs.

Over the past three years, the team has compiled a database of scientific data on 140 Rottweilers through breeders and fan clubs.

Today, only 15 are still alive, prompting Waters to put together his “Old Grey Muzzle tour,” which began recently.

“These dogs have lived 30 percent longer than average,” Waters said. “They have dodged cancer, and we believe studying
them can shed light on what it takes to live well.”

During each stop on the tour, Waters performs a physical examination. He listens to the dog’s heart and lungs. He
performs a neurological exam, collects DNA samples, checks bone density and measures body weight and height. Waters
also interviews owners, exploring the home environment and the things owners have done to keep their dog healthy.

Waters focuses on Rottweilers, he said, because of the similar patterns of aging and the way cancer develops in humans
and the dogs.

And as society begins to look more closely at living healthfully, rather than simply living, Waters says there is a growing need for a new system to find out what affects healthful aging.

“I know we are going to find that each dog has its own story,” he said. “The key is: What are the different pathways to
successful aging? That is what people want to learn. This is where the fresh ideas on cancer research are going to come from.”

Today, Waters will be in Virginia to visit with Buzz. Then, he travels to Tennessee to see Schatze, and the tour ends in Seattle on April 3 with Sugar, the oldest dog on the tour at 15 years, two months. All of the dogs are at least 13 years old. Typically, Rottweilers don’t live much past 10.

Like 100-year-old people

“If you want to understand aging, you have to look to those who have been extremely successful,” said Waters, 52, who has led the Murphy institute for 10 years.

“These dogs are the equivalent to 100-year-old people, and we want to find out what is the root of their success.”

And why females live longer. In a recently published study, Waters and his team showed exceptionally long-lived female Rottweilers outnumber males. Of the 15 he plans to visit, 11 are females.

The first stop was in Holliston, Mass., where Waters met with Bort, a mild-mannered Rottweiler owned by Gretchen Caldwell, whose family raised him from a 12-week-old pup. He will turn 14 in two weeks.
 
“He’s still pretty active, loves to go on his walks and greet the kids when they come home,” said Caldwell, who volunteered
Bort for the study. “He still thinks he can catch a squirrel, too.”

Caldwell believes she has played a key role in keeping Bort — who weighs in at 82 pounds and is nearly 26 inches tall –
healthy and cancer-free. He’s been fed healthful, low-grain food, gets plenty of exercise and was neutered at the age of 6.

“We’ve worked hard to keep his weight down because obesity can be a big problem in dogs his age,” said Caldwell, who also owns three other Rottweilers. “But I also know that some of his longevity is in his pedigree. Several dogs from his grandfather lived to an old age.”

Lifestyle’s major role

While genetics typically gets 30 percent of the blame for cancer and age-related health issues, 70 percent is lifestyle.

“Decisions these owners made for their pets can profoundly help longevity, whether that be diet, vaccinations, ovary
removals, the use of lawn chemicals,” Waters said. “We want to find out what is at the root of the longevity.”

Similar aging studies have been done on humans, including long-living, cloistered nuns.

Using animals for such studies is nothing new, says Dr. Felipe Perez, an expert on aging and associate professor of clinical medicine for the Indiana University School of Medicine’s geriatrics program. It dates back at least 70 years but has long used mice and laboratories, not dogs and homes.

Although he has not worked with dogs, Perez said, “Looking for an answer when you don’t have one is always good.”

At her Massachusetts home, Caldwell hopes there will be some fruit to her pet’s labors. She has agreed to donate Bort’s
body to necropsy research when he dies.

“I would just love for them to be able to figure out some of these connections with cancer and aging — anything Bort can do to help unravel this puzzle.”

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