Our dogs have been running and pulling their entire life, so they are used to physical activity and get bored without it. We want to keep them happy, and therefore we provide them with the opportunity to keep training as long as their health will allow it. Meanwhile, their physical performance will serve as an objective marker of their health status. We will utilize data collected during running: speed, endurance, and gait, along with physiological response to exercise: heart rate, body temperature, and timeline of cytokines release in the blood. Combined with data on their performance from when they were younger, these observations will help us (1) to assess the rate of decline of physical performance with age and (2) to confirm that the treatment improves/postpones this decline.
However, adjusting to running on the treadmill is not the easiest task. Therefore, both humans and dogs are now being trained to participate in this exciting activity. Some dogs immediately start running, a few even wanting to exceed the speed limit of the treadmill, while some are shy and refuse to step on. Based on dogs eagerness to practice, we will choose only the dogs that actually enjoy the treadmill running for this part of our study.
Stay tuned!