Should I add fiber to my dog's food?
Extra fiber is not automatically better. Nara explains why fiber type matters, what dog studies show, and when a food-first approach makes more sense.
Articles & Guides
Dog health & longevity articles
Clear answers to everyday questions, deeper dives into the science, and a closer look at what’s new.
17 articles & guides
Start with the question.
Explore nutrition, healthy ageing and everyday care, with the research and practical takeaways explained.
Do omega-3s in dog kibble degrade during storage?
EPA and DHA can decline in dry dog food during storage, but the loss is not universal. Oil source, formulation, antioxidants, time and storage conditions matter.
Are dog gut microbiome tests worth it?
Dog microbiome tests can detect real bacterial patterns, but a single consumer stool profile is not a diagnosis or a proven way to personalize diet.
Can dogs eat a vegan diet safely?
What dog feeding studies show about complete plant-based diets, nutritional adequacy and long-term health, and what to check before choosing a food.
Does grain-free dog food cause heart disease?
A 2026 Dog Aging Project study found grain-free feeding did not predict new owner-reported cardiac diagnoses, but formulation-level DCM concerns remain.
Is gently cooked dog food healthier than kibble?
Nara cautiously favours well-formulated gently cooked food when safety and nutrition are comparable. Here is the mechanistic case and what dog studies actually show.
Is raw dog food healthier than kibble?
Raw diets can change stool, microbiome and calorie intake, but long-term health superiority has not been shown. See the evidence on nutrition, pathogens and AMR.
How Often Should Senior Dogs Get Bloodwork?
AAHA recommends senior-dog CBC, chemistry, and urinalysis every 6–12 months. Learn what the evidence supports, why the schedule varies, and what bloodwork can miss.
LOY-003 and FDA RXE: What Does It Mean for Large Dogs?
Loyal says LOY-003 has cleared the FDA's RXE effectiveness threshold. Learn what that milestone means, what the dog data show, and what remains unproven.
Bryan Johnson’s Dog Food Warning: AGEs and Canine Longevity
Explore Bryan Johnson’s dog food warning, CML, pyrraline and the science of glycation—plus practical ways to think about processing and canine longevity.
Does my dog need a multivitamin?
Usually not if their food is complete and balanced. Learn what to check on the label, when supplements matter, and why a generic multi is not a diet fix.
How can I help my dog live longer?
The strongest canine longevity evidence supports keeping dogs lean and muscular, measuring their intake, and using preventive care without chasing unproven longevity hacks.
How do I calculate the carbohydrates in my dog’s food?
Learn how to estimate carbohydrates in dog food using NFE, account for missing ash, convert the result to grams per 1,000 kcal, and avoid false precision.
Should senior dogs eat more protein?
Healthy senior dogs should not be protein-restricted by age alone. Learn how muscle, calories, protein density, and kidney disease change the answer.
How many calories should an overweight dog eat to lose weight safely?
Estimate a safe starting calorie intake from ideal weight, then adjust it using weekly weight loss, muscle condition, diet quality, and measured intake.
Does my dog’s food actually meet their calorie and protein needs?
Check whether your dog’s measured ration provides appropriate calories and protein density using the food label, treats, body condition, and weight trend.
How many grams of protein should my dog eat per day?
Learn how to convert your dog’s calories and food label into protein grams per day, then compare the result with published adult and growth references.
MethodologyEvidence stays multidimensionalSome older source records are still being verified and are not for medical decisions.
- Evidence maturity
- How far the research has actually progressed for a specific claim.
- Evidence directness
- Whether the evidence is in dogs, in another species, or mechanistic only.
- Safety certainty
- How well the risk profile is characterized — separately from efficacy.
- Personalized relevance
- Whether it applies to this dog, right now, given the profile we hold.
- Actionability
- Who should be making the decision, and in what setting.
- Source status
- Source verification and evidence review remain in progress for older records. Those records should not be relied on for medical decisions.
- Editorial independence
- Inclusion is not endorsement. Commercial relationships must never determine Nara’s conclusions or evidence ratings.
11 of 11 claims
Browse the conclusions, not the database.
Use the filters when you need precision. Each row gives the plain-English claim first and keeps study detail one layer deeper.
Cognitive enrichment
Scent work, problem solving and novel training appear to support cognitive function, mostly studied in older dogs.
Enriched environments and continued training are associated with slower cognitive decline in ageing dogs.
Read the full evidence recordLimitations and sources
Limitations: Mostly older dogs and small samples. Benefits in young adult dogs are inferred, not demonstrated. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — cognitive enrichment and canine cognitive dysfunction (full source review pending) · Mixed: small trials and observational · Funding: Not yet reviewed
Scent-based tasks engage dogs with low physical load and are often easier to settle after than high-arousal play.
Limitations and sources
Limitations: Small studies, short follow-up. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — cognitive enrichment and canine cognitive dysfunction (full source review pending) · Mixed: small trials and observational · Funding: Not yet reviewed
EPA and DHA
Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have defined canine uses, but effects depend on the actual milligrams consumed.
Diets supplemented with EPA and DHA improved owner- and vet-assessed mobility in dogs with diagnosed osteoarthritis.
Read the full evidence recordLimitations and sources
Limitations: Established for dogs with diagnosed joint disease. There is no comparable trial evidence that supplementation prevents joint disease in young, sound dogs, and several trials were industry-funded. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — omega-3 supplementation trials in dogs with osteoarthritis (full source review pending) · Randomised controlled trials · Funding: Several trials in this area were industry-funded; not yet verified
Effects depend on the actual daily EPA and DHA dose, which many commercial diets and treats do not state clearly.
Limitations and sources
Limitations: Dose–response in healthy dogs is poorly characterised. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — omega-3 supplementation trials in dogs with osteoarthritis (full source review pending) · Randomised controlled trials · Funding: Several trials in this area were industry-funded; not yet verified
Lean body condition and longevity
Staying lean across life is one of the few interventions with direct, long-term canine outcome data.
Dogs kept lean throughout life lived longer and developed clinically apparent osteoarthritis later than paired littermates fed more generously.
Read the full evidence recordLimitations and sources
Limitations: Single long-running study in one breed with a modest number of dogs; the size of the effect in mixed-breed pet dogs is uncertain. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — lifelong diet-restriction cohort in dogs (full source review pending) · Prospective controlled cohort · Funding: Not yet reviewed
Body condition scoring is a practical owner-usable proxy for adiposity, but it is subjective and observers disagree by roughly one point.
Limitations and sources
Limitations: Scoring reliability varies by training. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — lifelong diet-restriction cohort in dogs (full source review pending) · Prospective controlled cohort · Funding: Not yet reviewed
Movement and physical activity
Varied loading, balance and low-arousal movement plausibly support musculoskeletal capacity; precise protocols are unproven.
More regular physical activity is associated with better measured mobility and lower owner-reported stiffness in adult dogs.
Limitations and sources
Limitations: Observational: active dogs may simply be healthier dogs. Causation is not established. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — physical activity and canine health outcomes (full source review pending) · Observational · Funding: Not yet reviewed
Varying surface, speed and movement type is expected to load tissues more completely than repetitive flat-ground activity, based mainly on non-canine exercise research.
Limitations and sources
Limitations: Extrapolated from human and rodent work. No canine trial has compared varied versus repetitive movement for long-term outcomes. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — human and rodent exercise-variation literature used for extrapolation (full source review pending) · Mixed · Funding: Not yet reviewed
Repetitive high-arousal retrieving involves rapid deceleration and turning; concern about cumulative load is mechanistic rather than demonstrated.
Limitations and sources
Limitations: No controlled canine data quantify the risk. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — physical activity and canine health outcomes (full source review pending) · Observational · Funding: Not yet reviewed
Spay and neuter decision-making
Timing trade-offs differ by breed, size and sex; there is no single correct answer for all dogs.
Earlier gonadectomy is associated with increased risk of some joint disorders in several larger breeds, while risks and benefits differ by breed, size and sex.
Read the full evidence recordLimitations and sources
Limitations: Retrospective and breed-specific; results do not generalise cleanly to mixed-breed dogs. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — gonadectomy timing and joint/neoplastic outcomes by breed (full source review pending) · Retrospective cohort · Funding: Not yet reviewed
Spaying removes the risk of pyometra and reduces mammary tumour risk, with the size of the mammary benefit debated.
Limitations and sources
Limitations: Magnitude of the mammary effect is contested and depends on timing. Full source review pending.
- PLACEHOLDER — gonadectomy timing and joint/neoplastic outcomes by breed (full source review pending) · Retrospective cohort · Funding: Not yet reviewed