The "Forever Dog"

exercise, forever dog, raw food, video -

The "Forever Dog"

We had to share this TEDTalk video from Rodney Habib! Many of us pet owners have suffered the loss of a furred friend. By incorporating caretaking practices into your daily routines with your dog, you can help achieve a longer (and more enjoyable) lifespan for your pet.

Here a recap of his "Forever Dog" disciplines:

1. Decrease stress: Lower stress = longer life. Who knew?

2. Caloric restriction: Average ages of dog decreased by one year from 2013 to 2014.  Research shows an huge increase in dog and cat obesity especially in first world countries.  Decreasing food amount by 25% can add 2 years to your dog's life!

3. Insulin signaling: High sugar, high starch foods decrease life span of pets. You can't make kibble without high amounts of starches, i.e sugar.  This is why manufacturers do not have to place the carbohydrate amounts on the label...most of the kibble is starch!!!  50-80%!  The ancestry diet of dogs contained no more than 4% carbohydrates. This means in less than 100 years dogs have gone from eating about 80% protein to 80% carbohydrates!!!

4. Repair Damage: Healthy gut = healthy immune system, micro-biome, and longer life. A research study showed that animals fed a raw diet had a more diverse microbiome and therefore much healthier immune system.

5. Environmental Factors: Exercise! 31 year old dog, Maggie, ran 20km everyday.  25 year old dog, Bramble, works out 2 hours everyday.  Exercise reduces stress, blood sugar levels and insulin levels.


Seeing some breakthrough in your dog's health? Is your pup still going strong after 15+ years? Leave a comment with your dog's life story or how you keep your dog in shape!

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published