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Exceptional longevity in female Rottweiler dogs is not encumbered by investment in reproduction

AGE volume 35, pages 2503–2513 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

To better understand the potential trade-off between female reproductive investment and longevity in an emerging model of human healthspan, we studied pet dogs to determine whether intensity of reproduction (total number of offspring) encumbered the likelihood of exceptional longevity. This hypothesis was tested by collecting and analyzing lifetime medical histories, including complete reproductive histories, for a cohort of canine “centenarians” — exceptionally long-lived Rottweiler dogs that lived more than 30 % longer than the breed’s average life expectancy. Reproductive intensity (number of litters, total number of pups) and tempo of reproductive effort (age at first reproduction, mean interbirth interval, age at last reproduction) in 78 exceptionally long-lived female Rottweilers (>13 years old) were compared to a cohort of 97 female Rottweilers that had usual longevity (age at death 8.0–10.75 years). We found no evidence that a mother’s physiological investment in offspring was associated with disadvantaged longevity. Instead, similar to some studies in women, our data showed an inverted U-shaped trend, suggesting that moderate investment in reproduction may promote longevity. Late reproductive success, a much-studied surrogate of maternal fitness in women, was not a strong predictor of longevity in this canine cohort. Instead, independent of reproductive investment, the duration of lifetime ovary exposure was significantly associated with highly successful aging. Our results from exceptionally long-lived pet dogs provide rationale for further investigative efforts to understand the ovary-sensitive biological factors that promote healthy longevity in women and pet dogs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from P&G Pet Care and the Rottweiler Health Foundation to The Murphy Cancer Foundation. D.J.W. was supported, in part, by a Brookdale National Fellowship to Support Leadership in Gerontology and a Glenn Award for Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Exceptional Longevity Studies, Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    S. S. Kengeri, A. H. Maras, C. L. Suckow, E. C. Chiang & D. J. Waters

  2. Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    E. C. Chiang & D. J. Waters

  3. Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    D. J. Waters

  4. Center for Exceptional Longevity Studies, Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation, 3000 Kent Avenue, Suite E2-100, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA

    D. J. Waters

Authors
  1. S. S. Kengeri
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  2. A. H. Maras
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  3. C. L. Suckow
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  4. E. C. Chiang
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  5. D. J. Waters
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Correspondence to D. J. Waters.

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Kengeri, S.S., Maras, A.H., Suckow, C.L. et al. Exceptional longevity in female Rottweiler dogs is not encumbered by investment in reproduction. AGE 35, 2503–2513 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-013-9529-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-013-9529-8

Keywords

  • Aging
  • Trade-off
  • Parity
  • Comparative biology
  • Cost of reproductive effort
  • Ovarian conservation