Working Like Dogs

Marcie and Fenway welcome Dr. Brennen McKenzie to the show to learn about his groundbreaking research with Loyal for Dogs on medical treatments that will potentially expand the lifespan of large breed dogs. The concept of doubling dogs’ current lifespan is no longer science fiction. It is becoming a scientific fact! Dr. McKenzie talks about the hormonal changes identified in large breed dogs and how lifechanging drugs may soon be available to address the accumulation of the harmful effects of aging and substantially extend our dogs’ lives. He shares information about what you can do right now to keep your dog healthy for longer. And, Dr. McKenzie discusses the clinical trials currently underway and how you and your dog might be able to participate.

Listen to Episode #189 Now:

BIO:

Dr. Brennen McKenzie is Director of Veterinary Medicine for Loyal, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company researching aging and therapies to improve lifespan and healthspan in dogs. In addition to his work at Loyal, he has been in practice as a small animal veterinarian for more than twenty years. Dr. McKenzie attended the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as President of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association, lectured on evidence-based medicine at numerous veterinary conferences, and published journal articles in the fields of evidence-based medicine and small animal geroscience. While working as a practitioner, speaking, and writing, Dr. McKenzie has continued to pursue post-graduate training, and in 2015 he completed his MSc in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2015.

Transcript:

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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.

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Announcer: Let's talk pets.

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Marcie Davis: Hello, and welcome to Working Like Dogs on Pet Life Radio.

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Marcie Davis: Thank you for joining us.

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Marcie Davis: We're your hosts.

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Marcie Davis: My name is Marcie Davis, and my co-host is my amazing service dog, Fenway.

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Marcie Davis: And we're so excited to be with you today to talk about our favorite subject, Working Dogs and Working Animals.

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Marcie Davis: And today, we're going to be welcoming Dr.

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Marcie Davis: Brennen McKenzie.

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Marcie Davis: He is the Loyal for Dogs Director of Veterinary Medicine, and he's also a practicing veterinarian in Northern California.

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Marcie Davis: And we're going to talk with Dr.

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Marcie Davis: McKenzie about the groundbreaking brand new drugs that Loyal for Dogs is developing that's intended to extend the lifespan in dogs by controlling the mechanisms of aging.

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Marcie Davis: So, I'm super excited to talk with him about this topic.

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Marcie Davis: As you know, I've had Service Dogs for so long, big dogs, that I am really excited to hear about this.

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Marcie Davis: So, you come back right after these quick messages as we're going to welcome Dr.

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Marcie Davis: McKenzie to the show.

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Marcie Davis: We're so happy to have Dr.

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Marcie Davis: Brennen McKenzie with us today.

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Marcie Davis: Hello, Dr.

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Marcie Davis: McKenzie, and welcome.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Hi, Marcie.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Thanks for the opportunity to chat with you and your audience.

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Marcie Davis: Yeah, well, I am so excited to talk with you.

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Marcie Davis: So I have been thinking about this and dreaming about...

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Marcie Davis: I have been thinking about this and dreaming about this ever since I heard about it, because I've always said, Dr.

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Marcie Davis: McKenzie, the only downside to having an amazing service dog or working dog is that they just don't live long enough.

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Marcie Davis: So I was so thrilled when I heard about the wonderful research that Loyal for Dogs is doing to develop a drug that could extend the life of our amazing canine companions.

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Marcie Davis: So tell us, how did you get involved with this, with working with Loyal for Dogs to combat aging?

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Marcie Davis: And what's inspiring you about this?

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Marcie Davis: Tell us.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Well, I've been a veterinarian for about 25 years now, and I've been a pet owner all of my life, and had lots of dogs, and I absolutely agree with you, that the hardest part about that relationship is that we don't have enough good time with our dogs.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And as a veterinarian, I see senior dogs come in with problems that are ultimately taken as just automatic, just as a natural part of the life cycle.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We can't do anything about it.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: They're going to get arthritis.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: They're going to get cancer.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: All these things are going to happen to them.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: It's heartbreaking.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And I was fortunate to be approached about three years ago now by the folks at Loyal.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And I was really excited to discover that that's an assumption, that aging is inevitable and there's nothing we can do about it, is not actually true.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Aging is just another aspect of biology.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And there's been decades of fundamental research to understand how the mechanisms of aging operate, much of that in dogs, as well as in other species.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And it turns out that there really are opportunities for treatments that can potentially extend healthy lifespan in dogs.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So I was asked to come on board and both continue my clinical practice and also work with Loyal to help develop these drugs.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And that's really reinvigorated me as a veterinarian and as a dog owner because I think it's such an exciting mission.

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Marcie Davis: Oh, absolutely.

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Marcie Davis: Like I said, I was drinking my coffee on a Saturday morning and I heard it on the news, and boy, did it snap me out of a sleep really quickly when I heard it because that's always our fear, right, of losing our big dogs so quickly, if I say quickly, because it seems like that.

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Marcie Davis: I've lost my Service Dogs.

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Marcie Davis: My first one I lost right when she turned nine, which to me just seemed so young.

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Marcie Davis: And the others, you know, 12 years old has really been a long lifespan for them because of their breeds as a lab or a golden retriever.

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Marcie Davis: Yeah, so tell us a little bit more about the treatments that you're working on to expand the lifespan of the dog.

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Marcie Davis: What are some of those treatments?

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So we have basically two programs that we're working on.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: One targets large dogs.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: As you say, the larger the dog, the shorter the lifespan.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And that's not actually a natural thing.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And most mammals, bigger animals live longer.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Humans live longer than dogs, and elephants live longer than mice, and we're used to that.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: But in dogs, the reverse is true.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: There's a very clear relationship that the larger the dog, the shorter their lifespan.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: An Irish wolfhound might have five or six years, and a little Chihuahua, we might be lucky to see them get to 20.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So it turns out that that is a consequence of the intensive breeding for body size.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Some of the hormonal changes that make big dogs bigger also make them age faster and have a shorter life expectancy.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So one of our programs is about developing a drug that targets some of those hormonal changes and tries to bring the biology of these larger dogs more into line with that of smaller dogs so that hopefully we can extend their health and their life for longer.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And I always like to emphasize, we talk about lifespan extension because of course we want dogs to live longer, but the most important thing is we want them to be healthy longer.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And that's really what we're focusing on.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And we think that if we keep dogs healthy and functional and happy, then they will inevitably have a longer life.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We do have a second program that we're also working on, which targets dogs of almost any size, except for the very, very tiniest dogs.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And this focuses on a different set of aging mechanisms, specifically looking at how our metabolism declines as we get older and how that makes us more susceptible to aging associated diseases.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And we think that that will help extend healthy lifespan in not just large dogs, but small dogs as well.

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Marcie Davis: That's awesome.

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Marcie Davis: Yeah.

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Marcie Davis: I mean, that is so interesting.

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Marcie Davis: And thinking about that, the whole breeding process, that makes sense that those hormonal changes.

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Marcie Davis: I mean, I know we all want this yesterday, right?

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Marcie Davis: So what do you think is the process that you're going through right now?

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Marcie Davis: And what is it realistically of when we might be actually getting access to these types of drugs that can assist us?

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: There's been a lot of work behind the scenes, as I already mentioned, decades of research on the basic biology of aging sits behind the work that we're doing.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: It's taken us about four years to reach this point.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: One of the recent milestones that we've achieved on the pathway towards approval through the FDA for these drugs is something called RxE, or reasonable expectation of effectiveness.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And what the FDA has said is that so far, the data that we've provided to them is pretty convincing that our program, our drug for large breed dogs is likely to work.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We still are going to run a large, long-term clinical study, which is going to involve about a thousand dogs and take about four years to show that in fact, we are able to extend healthy lifespan.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: But so far, the evidence that we have looks good.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And what we're hoping to achieve in that program is something called conditional approval.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: While we're running this long and complicated clinical study, because the preliminary evidence looks so good, the FDA might eventually allow us to make this drug available to veterinarians and dog owners sooner.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And if we're successful at that, then we're hoping sometime possibly in 2026 that drug could become available for use.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: For our other program for dogs of all sizes, we have actually just begun our first clinical field study.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Again, a thousand dogs at 50 sites across the country.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: It's going to last four years.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And we are also looking into the possibility of conditional approval for that medication.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So that one could potentially come at the end of this year or sometime next year.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So we are hopeful that in the next one to two years if the science is supportive and if the FDA finds our evidence convincing that we'll be able to make these drugs available.

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Marcie Davis: That is really incredible.

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Marcie Davis: You know, when we think of scientific research, we think of long-term.

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Marcie Davis: So wow, that is really soon.

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Marcie Davis: Well, and I'm curious in your studies, when is it that you have to, the best time to give the dog the drug to see the benefits of extending the longevity?

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Marcie Davis: Do they have to start out as puppies getting it?

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Marcie Davis: Or is it something that older dogs can start on and see a benefit?

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: That's a great question.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: From the point of view of the biology that we're targeting, we think that the longer a dog is on the drug, the better the benefit will be.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: This is intended to be a preventative medicine that slows the accumulation of harmful changes over time with aging.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So the longer they're on it, the better.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Now there are a couple of caveats to that.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: One is, for example, with large breed dogs, we're not interested in making mini Great Danes, right?

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We're not interested in affecting their total body size.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: That's part of their breed and one of the things that their people love them for.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So we wouldn't start a medication for large breed dogs until after they'd achieved their full growth, which might be anywhere from one to three years of age.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And then for the dogs of all sizes that we're targeting with our other program, again, probably at adulthood would be the time that we would expect to start these and have the greatest benefit.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Now, because we're studying lifespan and we're trying to show a difference in life expectancy with the use of these drugs, that takes a long time.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And if we do start in early adulthood, we could be looking at a 15-year clinical study to see that difference.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And for practical reasons, that's difficult to do.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So our clinical studies are starting in older dogs.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: In large breed dogs, we'll be starting at age seven.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And in dogs of all sizes, we'll be starting at age 10.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So if these drugs are approved, if they're successful, initially they will be available for use in dogs who are older.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And then hopefully we'll be able to continue our work and our research and show that in fact, the younger we start, the greater the benefit.

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Marcie Davis: That's fantastic.

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Marcie Davis: Have you seen any side effects or anything that you're working through that you're not pleased with any effects of the drugs?

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We have not.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: As I always emphasize to people, because we are developing preventative medications, which are meant to be used in healthy animals to keep them healthy, safety is absolutely the number one concern.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And for the large breed product, what we call Loy 001 is the code name for the drug right now, we have a lot of preclinical research showing really good safety.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And there haven't been any significant concerns either in our research or in anything that the FDA has looked at.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We actually, for our other program, we're developing an oral daily tablet.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And we, as I mentioned, have started clinical studies.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We've actually had an interesting anecdote related to that.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We had a dog named Rosie who was living in a household with one of our dogs in the study, and who managed to get into the tablets and found them tasty and ate an entire bottle of them, which was considerably more than the dose we would normally recommend.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And fortunately, she had no adverse effects.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: She was completely healthy.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Nothing untoward happened to her.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So we're very confident that the safety is as good as we need it to be.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Obviously, we're gonna monitor that really closely in all of our ongoing clinical studies.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And after the drug is made available, we'll continue to monitor that.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: But so far, things look really promising.

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Marcie Davis: That's excellent.

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Marcie Davis: Well, at least thank you, Rosie, for at least letting you know that.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We don't encourage that sort of behavior, but in this case, it was a good outcome.

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Marcie Davis: Yes, exactly.

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Marcie Davis: Well, and I was curious about that.

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Marcie Davis: Would the pill be taken daily, similar to a vitamin or supplement?

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: The large breed dog product, we are developing two different forms.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: One would be an injectable that would be given every three to six months.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And that has the advantages of being more convenient for the owner and also, you know, avoiding the problems of missing doses or extra doses, some of the confusion that can go.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: But some people do find it more convenient or easier to give oral medications.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So we're also looking at a daily oral tablet.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And we're just trying to develop the best form that's going to provide the most options for pet owners and veterinarians.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And then for the product that's currently in the clinical studies for dogs of all sizes, that one is going to be a daily flavored tablet.

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Marcie Davis: Oh, that's wonderful.

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Marcie Davis: Well, we are going to take just a quick break and hear some important messages from our sponsors and who we love.

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Marcie Davis: And we're going to come back and continue visiting with Dr.

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Marcie Davis: McKenzie about this incredible scientific discoveries that are going to change the lives of our dogs.

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Marcie Davis: So come right back.

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Marcie Davis: And welcome back to Working Like Dogs on Pet Life Radio.

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Marcie Davis: We're visiting today with Dr.

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Marcie Davis: Brennen McKenzie and talking about the new medications that are being developed to help extend the lifespan of larger breed dogs.

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Marcie Davis: And it's just so incredible, the work that's being done and how quickly you're doing it.

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Marcie Davis: You've talked about the clinical trials that are happening.

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Marcie Davis: And I was just wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about that.

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Marcie Davis: And I know some of our listeners may want their senior dogs to participate.

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Marcie Davis: How are you recruiting for the clinical trials?

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Marcie Davis: And is it possible to participate?

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Yes, these are really exceptional trials.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We've started our first clinical study for our product that's intended to help dogs of all sizes.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And that one is going to involve about a thousand dogs in something around 50 practices throughout the United States.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And we're largely focusing on general practices, primary care veterinarians, because we want to make sure that this drug is useful in sort of a normal, healthy pet-owned dog population.

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Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Sometimes studies are done in laboratory dogs or at specialty hospitals, and that may not best represent how things are going to work in the real world.

00:16:15.414 --> 00:16:22.954
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We are also going to be doing the same thing, a clinical trial of about a thousand dogs over a four-year time period for our large breed dog drugs.

00:16:23.574 --> 00:16:26.674
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And that we're hoping to start at the end of this year or early next year.

00:16:27.154 --> 00:16:31.174
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: The way that we're reaching out to people initially is through their veterinarians.

00:16:31.194 --> 00:16:40.314
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So veterinarians who participate as investigators in our clinical studies, reach out to their clients and their patient population locally and let them know about the study.

00:16:40.654 --> 00:16:48.114
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: But we have had a lot of really good and exciting interest from the media, and a lot of people are hearing about our programs.

00:16:48.394 --> 00:16:51.574
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And so we are getting inquiries from people who want to participate.

00:16:51.594 --> 00:17:08.094
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And at the moment, the best way to do that is to go to our website, loyalfordogs.com, where we are beginning to both collect information from people who are interested in participating in future studies, and also try to start matching people up with our clinical sites as they open up around the country.

00:17:08.114 --> 00:17:18.494
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So ideally, if one of your listeners has a dog who might be a good candidate to be part of one of these studies, and they live somewhere where we're going to have a clinical site, there might be an opportunity to participate there.

00:17:18.494 --> 00:17:28.634
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So I would say, go ahead and go to that website, loyalfordogs.com, and you can find the information to keep track of when these studies are starting, where they're going to be, and how you can be involved.

00:17:29.154 --> 00:17:29.654
Marcie Davis: Great.

00:17:29.674 --> 00:17:36.414
Marcie Davis: Well, we'll make sure and post that website address so that our listeners can log on and see if that's possible.

00:17:36.434 --> 00:17:39.434
Marcie Davis: Because I know we have lots of interest in this topic.

00:17:39.834 --> 00:17:52.094
Marcie Davis: Because, you know, like I said at the beginning of the show, the worst thing, the only downside, in my opinion, to having a working dog is losing them at 9, 10, 11, 12 years old.

00:17:52.594 --> 00:17:59.614
Marcie Davis: And so I am curious if you could talk a little bit about how we can keep our dogs healthy for longer.

00:17:59.994 --> 00:18:01.854
Marcie Davis: What is it that we can be doing?

00:18:01.874 --> 00:18:05.594
Marcie Davis: Because most of us are placed with our dogs at about two years old.

00:18:06.014 --> 00:18:10.354
Marcie Davis: So what is it that we can start doing to really support them throughout their whole life?

00:18:10.754 --> 00:18:20.234
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Fortunately, there are a lot of things that we can already do to keep our dogs healthy as long as possible, as well as some of these exciting new developments like our drugs that may be coming in the future.

00:18:21.114 --> 00:18:24.114
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And some of them are well known, but not always easy to do.

00:18:24.154 --> 00:18:27.194
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: One of the most important is maintaining your dogs at a healthy weight.

00:18:27.654 --> 00:18:33.654
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We have very good evidence that dogs who are heavier than they should be have more disease and shorter lifespan.

00:18:33.674 --> 00:18:47.094
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So I spend a lot of time talking with owners about how we can love our dogs and how we can provide them with food, which is part of how we love our dogs, but do so in a way that's healthy for our dogs and keeps them functional and happy and in a good quality of life.

00:18:47.114 --> 00:18:48.054
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So that's a key thing.

00:18:48.394 --> 00:19:00.294
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Another very important element to preventative health care is simply seeing your veterinarian regularly and keeping up with all of those tests, all of the vaccinations, all of the preventative medicine that you already do.

00:19:00.654 --> 00:19:05.714
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Once again, we have good evidence that that helps keep dogs healthy and happy and functional for longer.

00:19:06.034 --> 00:19:08.494
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So those are already things available to all of us.

00:19:08.754 --> 00:19:17.434
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Good exercise, mental stimulation, a strong emotional relationship, which, of course, people with working dogs always have with their dogs.

00:19:17.774 --> 00:19:20.774
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: All of those things are part of a good, healthy lifespan.

00:19:21.314 --> 00:19:25.194
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And those are things that I encourage my clients and everyone to keep in mind.

00:19:25.754 --> 00:19:26.474
Marcie Davis: That's great.

00:19:26.954 --> 00:19:27.974
Marcie Davis: Yeah, I know.

00:19:27.994 --> 00:19:32.234
Marcie Davis: I always think about our dogs as they're like Olympic athletes in my mind.

00:19:32.654 --> 00:19:43.234
Marcie Davis: And so I'm always trying to make sure that they're getting the best food, the best veterinarian care, the best preventative care, so that they can live as long as possible.

00:19:43.694 --> 00:19:55.214
Marcie Davis: So thank you so much for really bringing all of that into our minds and our awareness of it's so important that we start it at the beginning of our relationship all the way to the end.

00:19:55.234 --> 00:19:59.374
Marcie Davis: Yeah, I have a retired Service Dog right now, Lovey.

00:19:59.794 --> 00:20:01.534
Marcie Davis: She is 10 and a half.

00:20:01.634 --> 00:20:06.114
Marcie Davis: She'll be 11 this year.

00:20:06.114 --> 00:20:10.094
Marcie Davis: And she has hip issues and some of those kinds of things, just as arthritis and as aging.

00:20:10.474 --> 00:20:14.834
Marcie Davis: But I'm amazed at how healthy she really still is and how engaged she is.

00:20:15.314 --> 00:20:20.634
Marcie Davis: So I agree with you that that mental engagement is so critical as well.

00:20:20.894 --> 00:20:25.774
Marcie Davis: So anything that you would say for Lovey, any advice for her as she's aging?

00:20:25.794 --> 00:20:27.514
Marcie Davis: She's a little Labrador Retriever.

00:20:28.714 --> 00:20:30.594
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: They are some of the nicest dogs in the world.

00:20:30.594 --> 00:20:31.294
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: I do love them.

00:20:31.674 --> 00:20:44.174
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Yeah, I think that one of the things that we sometimes do with older dogs that might get us into trouble is to see changes in their abilities and in their activity and their function as just aging, right?

00:20:44.194 --> 00:20:46.914
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: As just a normal and inevitable part of life.

00:20:47.354 --> 00:20:53.794
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And sometimes we don't see that maybe there are things we could do to accommodate them and to keep them engaged and active.

00:20:53.814 --> 00:20:59.754
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So people will often say, should a dog with arthritis be confined so that they aren't active, so they don't make things worse?

00:20:59.794 --> 00:21:01.574
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And the exact opposite is true.

00:21:01.634 --> 00:21:09.514
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Regular, moderate, low-intensity exercise is really good for dogs with arthritis and will keep Lovie moving and happy for longer.

00:21:09.534 --> 00:21:19.094
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So I encourage you to maintain the level of engagement and stimulation and activity in whatever way that you can, because that's going to help keep her happy and keep her with you longer.

00:21:19.634 --> 00:21:20.434
Marcie Davis: Thank you.

00:21:20.694 --> 00:21:26.594
Marcie Davis: And we've also been doing acupuncture with her, and that has also really helped her as well.

00:21:26.934 --> 00:21:28.494
Marcie Davis: And other body work.

00:21:28.574 --> 00:21:32.714
Marcie Davis: And she really enjoys that as a bonus.

00:21:32.734 --> 00:21:33.674
Marcie Davis: Yeah, she does.

00:21:33.694 --> 00:21:35.994
Marcie Davis: She enjoys her body work appointments.

00:21:36.374 --> 00:21:38.114
Marcie Davis: So yeah, thank you for that.

00:21:38.634 --> 00:21:44.314
Marcie Davis: Well, I want to ask you, so what do you really see for the future of this kind of work?

00:21:44.334 --> 00:21:47.514
Marcie Davis: I mean, this is so groundbreaking, what Loyal is doing.

00:21:47.934 --> 00:21:53.994
Marcie Davis: Tell us a little bit more about your vision for the future of this work and how it can impact our canines.

00:21:54.374 --> 00:22:03.954
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: I think what we're hoping to show people is that aging is not inevitable and unchangeable, that it is just part of biology, and we have the ability to understand how it works.

00:22:04.054 --> 00:22:10.654
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And if we understand it, then we can alter it, and we can give our dogs and maybe someday ourselves longer and healthier lives.

00:22:10.674 --> 00:22:23.374
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And so my vision is that hopefully our products will be successful, the science will hold up, and they'll become available to veterinarians and dog owners to use, and that will add something to the quality and length of life for our dogs.

00:22:23.754 --> 00:22:27.274
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: There will be other research done by other companies out there.

00:22:27.594 --> 00:22:34.814
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We are always still talking about the importance of exercise and mental stimulation and good diet and all the lifestyle variables.

00:22:34.834 --> 00:22:53.574
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So what I see is a more intentional comprehensive or holistic preventative medicine program for dogs that starts thinking about aging when they're young and starts targeting that from a variety of different directions with a whole variety of different tools so that we can have the greatest overall benefit as our dogs age.

00:22:54.054 --> 00:22:54.674
Marcie Davis: Wonderful.

00:22:55.134 --> 00:22:58.934
Marcie Davis: Well, and you mentioned that you're mostly working with veterinarians.

00:22:59.274 --> 00:23:13.254
Marcie Davis: Is it just throughout the United States, or are you working broader throughout the world, or are you working with any groups like Assistance Dogs International or any specific groups, or is it just targeting veterinarians?

00:23:13.554 --> 00:23:19.614
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So I'm of course always excited to talk to everybody and anybody about this because it's a passion of mine.

00:23:19.914 --> 00:23:28.954
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: From a practical point of view, in order to get drugs approved, you have to go through a very specific and rigorous regulatory process, and every country does that differently.

00:23:29.394 --> 00:23:37.494
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So at the moment, our program is focused on getting through the regulatory processes that the FDA has set for veterinary drugs.

00:23:37.534 --> 00:23:49.474
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And that's a big target for us, not only because it allows us to make our drugs available, but because so far, no regulatory agency anywhere in the world has approved a drug targeting aging specifically.

00:23:49.494 --> 00:23:53.354
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: There's been this idea that aging is something inevitable and that we can't change it.

00:23:53.594 --> 00:24:03.374
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: So if we're able to succeed at that, I think that will open the door to a lot of other possibilities for medications to come forward in the future to help with this problem.

00:24:04.014 --> 00:24:14.714
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: We're definitely interested in engaging with dog owners and with groups of dog owners, like your audience, who are very aware and informed and committed to canine health.

00:24:15.014 --> 00:24:23.694
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: I think at this point, the more people who are aware of this and the more people who are thinking about it and willing to participate in research, the faster we're going to be able to make progress.

00:24:24.134 --> 00:24:24.774
Marcie Davis: I agree.

00:24:24.794 --> 00:24:32.654
Marcie Davis: And I've talked with several assistance dog organizations throughout the country about this, and they have been really...

00:24:32.674 --> 00:24:51.734
Marcie Davis: They don't know a lot about it so far, at least the ones that I've talked to, but they're very curious and very interested in hearing more information about it, because it will have a huge impact on the assistance dogs industry and how long they are able to work with individuals with disabilities like me.

00:24:52.134 --> 00:24:54.254
Marcie Davis: Because that is what is so difficult.

00:24:54.894 --> 00:24:56.554
Marcie Davis: You know, it's just not long enough.

00:24:57.334 --> 00:24:59.034
Marcie Davis: And it would never be long enough, Dr.

00:24:59.054 --> 00:24:59.594
Marcie Davis: McKenzie.

00:24:59.614 --> 00:25:04.154
Marcie Davis: It would be if it were a lifetime, it still would be too short with these incredible canines.

00:25:04.654 --> 00:25:06.634
Marcie Davis: But that is such a big issue.

00:25:06.754 --> 00:25:14.974
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Yes, you make a tremendous investment, not only the emotional investment in your companions, but also the practical investment in training dogs.

00:25:15.094 --> 00:25:23.774
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And they have such an incredible impact on people's lives that the longer that we can continue that relationship, the better for not only the dogs, but the humans.

00:25:24.214 --> 00:25:26.054
Marcie Davis: Yeah, that is so true.

00:25:26.434 --> 00:25:27.274
Marcie Davis: So, so true.

00:25:27.734 --> 00:25:32.194
Marcie Davis: Well, I cannot thank you enough for being with us today and for the work that you're doing.

00:25:32.894 --> 00:25:43.634
Marcie Davis: I am so thrilled to hear about it and just really want to follow and keep an eye on what you're doing because I certainly want to have access to these drugs as soon as they're available.

00:25:43.734 --> 00:25:58.754
Marcie Davis: And I hope that they won't be cost prohibitive for a lot of people so that they can access them and get these drugs for their working dogs so that they can extend that wonderful relationship that they have in their working dog life.

00:25:59.114 --> 00:25:59.534
Marcie Davis: Yeah.

00:25:59.894 --> 00:26:03.694
Marcie Davis: And you mentioned already about the website loyalfordogs.com.

00:26:04.094 --> 00:26:14.334
Marcie Davis: Before you leave us today, is there any other way or any other suggestion of how our listeners can get more information about these life-changing drugs, Facebook, Instagram?

00:26:14.614 --> 00:26:19.374
Marcie Davis: What are ways that they can start following you and Loyal?

00:26:20.374 --> 00:26:20.734
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Yes.

00:26:20.974 --> 00:26:27.954
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: In addition to our website, we do have a presence on most social media, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

00:26:28.994 --> 00:26:30.534
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: I'm pretty active out there.

00:26:30.574 --> 00:26:42.314
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: And so if people have questions about our products or our programs or their dogs, starting with the website and then reaching out to me or anyone else at the company is the best way to go.

00:26:43.054 --> 00:26:43.714
Marcie Davis: Perfect.

00:26:44.114 --> 00:26:45.654
Marcie Davis: Thank you so much, Dr.

00:26:45.674 --> 00:26:46.974
Marcie Davis: McKenzie, for being with us.

00:26:46.994 --> 00:26:48.254
Marcie Davis: It's been such a pleasure.

00:26:48.274 --> 00:26:53.914
Marcie Davis: And we hope you'll come back and keep us updated on the incredible work that you're doing.

00:26:54.094 --> 00:26:54.874
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: I would love to.

00:26:54.894 --> 00:26:56.054
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: I've enjoyed the conversation.

00:26:56.074 --> 00:26:56.514
Dr. Brennen McKenzie: Thank you.

00:26:56.914 --> 00:26:57.514
Marcie Davis: Awesome.

00:26:57.854 --> 00:27:00.814
Marcie Davis: And thank you, our listeners, for being with us.

00:27:00.854 --> 00:27:02.834
Marcie Davis: We so appreciate you joining us.

00:27:03.274 --> 00:27:05.754
Marcie Davis: And we love to stay connected with you.

00:27:05.814 --> 00:27:11.814
Marcie Davis: So please keep your questions, comments, and ideas for future shows coming.

00:27:11.894 --> 00:27:16.354
Marcie Davis: I'd love to get your e-mails and hear about you and your working dog.

00:27:16.714 --> 00:27:22.894
Marcie Davis: And you know, you can e-mail me at marcie, M-A-R-C-I-E, at petliferadio.com.

00:27:23.934 --> 00:27:28.534
Marcie Davis: So thanks so much for being with us, and we look forward to being with you again soon.

00:27:28.854 --> 00:27:29.814
Marcie Davis: Take good care.

00:27:30.374 --> 00:27:31.434
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