Dog Aging Project Precision cohort (multi-omic longitudinal sub-cohort of 1,000 dogs)
The Precision cohort is a Dog Aging Project sub-cohort of one thousand dog-owner pairs recruited into strata by life stage, sex, size and geography to study age-related change in the metabolome, microbiome and epigenome of companion dogs. Blood, urine, fecal and hair samples were collected from 976 dogs by primary care veterinarians, yielding blood counts, chemistry, immunophenotyping, metabolite, microbiome, epigenomic and urinalysis data, with kits sent annually and second- and third-year samples already being collected. The design paper reports the feasibility of this collection model rather than age-related results, and the data are open to researchers on application.
Record
| Design | longitudinal cohort |
|---|---|
| Status | ongoing |
| Setting | client owned |
| Intervention class | none |
| Duration | Annual biospecimen collection; second- and third-year samples already being collected |
| Dogs | 1,000 |
| Population note | One thousand dog-owner pairs recruited; blood, urine, fecal and hair samples collected and processed from 976 dogs |
| Other | Recruited into cohort strata based on life stage, sex, size and geography; samples collected by primary care veterinarians |
| Primary outcome | Mechanisms underlying age-related change in the metabolome, microbiome and epigenome; data include complete blood count, chemistry profile, immunophenotyping by flow cytometry, metabolite quantification, fecal microbiome characterization, epigenomic profile and urinalysis |
| Result (as reported) | The project demonstrates that scientifically useful biospecimens can be collected from a geographically dispersed population through collaboration with private veterinary clinics and downstream labs; no age-related findings are reported in the design paper. |
| Lead organisation | Dog Aging Project |
| Parent study | dog-aging-project |
| Tags | cohort, dog-aging-project, multi-omic, biomarkers, precision-cohort |
Notes: Sub-study of the Dog Aging Project (parent record dog-aging-project). Funder not stated in the abstract.
Sources and verbatim quotes
Rationale and design of the Dog Aging Project precision cohort: a multi-omic resource for longitudinal research in geroscience. (2025) PMID 40038157 (design)
The Dog Aging Project designed the precision cohort to study the mechanisms underlying age-related change in the metabolome, microbiome, and epigenome in companion dogs
One thousand dog-owner pairs were recruited into cohort strata based on life stage, sex, size, and geography.
In collaboration with primary care veterinarians, we collected and processed blood, urine, fecal, and hair samples from 976 dogs.
The resulting data include complete blood count, chemistry profile, immunophenotyping by flow cytometry, metabolite quantification, fecal microbiome characterization, epigenomic profile, urinalysis, and associated metadata
The project, which has already begun collecting second- and third-year samples from precision cohort dogs, demonstrates that scientifically useful biospecimens can be collected from a geographically dispersed population through collaboration with private veterinary clinics and downstream labs.
Most important, the Dog Aging Project is an open data project. We encourage researchers around the world to apply for data access
An open science study of ageing in companion dogs. (2022) PMID 35110758 (design)
Owners of dogs enrolled in the Precision cohort receive biospecimen kits annually. The biospecimens are collected by each dog’s primary care veterinarian.
Reproduce: canine_trial_search(trial_id="dog-aging-project-precision-cohort") in dog-geroscience-mcp; dataset canine-trial-registry.