This week’s news
Welcome back to my blog. It’s lovely to have you here!
This has been a busy week for me - in both work and personal life. On Wednesday, I talked with Michael Tetlow on ABC radio about the research into increasing dog life spans is advancing. Research has found that a hormone insulin growth factor in large dogs is found to be at a higher level than in smaller dogs. This hormone has been linked to not just growth but also to ageing.
In worms, rats and flies, altering this hormone level has been shown to increase their lifespan. If this can be done in dogs, then we may see large dogs living up to double their expected lifespan. Another study is also currently underway for all dog sizes and for older dogs, to do just the same thing. If this shows results, is safe and can be made available, our dogs could be living longer than ever before - by 2026. Interestingly, humans whose life spans are longest show to have a mid-range level of this hormone.
We also talked about how to avoid heat stress in pets. I have always thought that surely, this is common sense… yet today at 37 degrees, I saw someone walking their two dogs on the pavement. At 25 degrees, the pavement can exceed 50 degrees. At 30 degrees, the pavement can exceed 60 degrees. If you cannot hold the back of your hand on pavement for 7 seconds or more, then your dog shouldn’t be walking on it.
This week, I hit the 30 week pregnancy mark. Our little one has started to open her eyes and is quite large for her age. Not too surprising, given her dad is 6”2’ and I am 5”9’. All the dogs spend a lot of time in her room, which is a space of safety, calm and quiet. Every two to three hours, I have an alarm set ( on the days I am able to work from home), which is a baby’s cries. The dogs no longer with their ears of lift their heads when they hear this sound. It is usually followed by me tending to the room for a few minutes, and they are welcome to come and join and rest with me. It’s beautiful to see.
Remember, you can always catch me on 3AW Melbourne Tuesdays 2.30pm, ABC Perth Wednesdays 2.30pm, on ABC iView New Leash on Life - of access any of my books through all good book stores. Take care, and talk soon. xx
