The Forever Dog : Surprising New Science to Help Your Canine Companion Live Younger, Healthier, and Longer

#1 New York Times Bestseller

In this pathbreaking guide, two of the world’s most popular and trusted pet care advocates reveal new science to teach us how to delay aging and improve canine longevity, providing a long, happy, healthy life for our canine companions.

Like their human counterparts, dogs have been getting sicker and dying prematurely over the past few decades. Why? Scientists are beginning to understand that the chronic diseases afflicting humans—cancer, obesity, diabetes, organ degeneration, and autoimmune disorders—also beset canines. As a result, our beloved companions are vexed with preventable health problems throughout much of their lives and suffer shorter life spans. Because our pets can’t make health and lifestyle decisions for themselves, it’s up to pet parents to make smart, science-backed choices for lasting vitality and health.

The Forever Dog gives us the practical, proven tools to protect our loyal four-legged companions. Rodney Habib and Karen Becker, DVM, globetrotted (pre-pandemic) to galvanize the best wisdom from top geneticists, microbiologists, and longevity researchers; they also interviewed people whose dogs have lived into their 20s and even 30s. The result is this unprecedented and comprehensive guide, filled with surprising information, invaluable advice, and inspiring stories about dogs and the people who love them.

The Forever Dog prescriptive plan for optimal dog health focuses on diet and nutrition, movement, environmental exposures, and stress reduction, and can be tailored to the genetic predisposition of particular breeds or mixes. The authors discuss various types of food—including what the commercial manufacturers don’t want us to know—and offer recipes, easy solutions, and tips for making sure our dogs obtain the nutrients they need. Habib and Dr. Becker also explore how external factors we often don’t think about can greatly affect a dog’s overall health and wellbeing, from everyday insults to the body and its physiology, to the role our own lifestyles and our vets’ choices play. Indeed, the health equation works both ways and can travel “up the leash.”

Medical breakthroughs have expanded our choices for canine health—if you know what they are. This definitive dog-care guide empowers us with the knowledge we need to make wise choices, and to keep our dogs healthy and happy for years to come.

Inside this definitive dog care guide, you’ll find the tools and knowledge to extend your dog’s healthspan:

• A New Approach to Dog Nutrition: Learn what commercial pet food manufacturers don’t want you to know and discover simple recipes and tips to ensure your dog gets the vital nutrients they need for a long life.
• A Proactive Canine Wellness Plan: Tailor a prescriptive plan for your dog that focuses on diet, movement, and stress reduction, based on the latest science from top geneticists and longevity researchers.
• Environmental Health for Pets: Uncover how hidden external factors, from everyday exposures to your own lifestyle choices, can dramatically affect your dog’s wellbeing and contribute to chronic disease.
• Lessons from the World’s Oldest Dogs: Be inspired by stories of dogs who have lived into their 20s and even 30s, and learn the practical, proven tools their owners used to achieve remarkable health and vitality.

Rodney Habib is a sought-after public speaker, filmmaker, multiple award-winning content creator and founder of Planet Paws—the world’s largest pet health page on Facebook—and most importantly, a pet parent. Driven by a passion for citizen science, Rodney established the non-profit organization Paws for Change Foundation to further education and research in the area of animal nutrition and lifestyle. Rodney’s first TEDx talk on pet health stands as the highest viewed TED talk in history pertaining to dogs. He is the creator of the documentary The Dog Cancer Series: Rethinking the Canine Epidemic, and his educational online video posts have been viewed and shared millions of times the world over.He was recently honored by the Canadian government as having one of the most influential platforms in Canada. 

Veterinarian Karen Shaw Becker's deliberate, common-sense approach to creating vibrant health for companion animals has been embraced by millions of pet lovers around the world, making her the most followed vet on social media. She has spent her career as a small animal clinician, empowering animal guardians to make intentional lifestyle decisions to enhance the wellbeing of their animals. Dr. Becker  writes and lectures extensively and serves as a wellness consultant for a variety of health-oriented organizations. She is the first veterinarian to give a TEDx talk on species appropriate nutrition, which has been a lifelong passion. In 2023 she received the Stange Award for outstanding professional achievement in veterinary medicine, the highest award granted by the Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine.