Understanding aging biology to improve canine health span

Brennen McKenzie, MA, MSc, VMD, director of veterinary medicine at Loyal, shares 3 key takeaways from his 2025 New York Vet session on canine aging. As the field of aging biology expands, Brennen also encourages veterinarians to stay informed on emerging opportunities and tools coming to the space.

The following is a transcript of the video, lightly edited for clarity and cohesion:

McKenzie: Hi, I'm Brennen McKenzie. I'm a small-animal veterinarian, and I am currently both…in private practice, where I've been for almost 25 years now, and the director of veterinary medicine for Loyal, which is a biotechnology company based in San Francisco, [California]. Our mission is [to develop] medications to try to extend the healthy lifespan of dogs.

The most important things are, No. 1, that aging is not a mystery. It's complicated, but it's comprehensible, and we can understand the biology of aging to a point where we can then do something about it. So aging is a modifiable risk factor for disease, and we can modify it and get a better outcome and [a] healthier, longer life for our patients right now.

The second point would be: The way to do that is simple, straightforward, [and] good-quality medicine. Keep your patients at a healthy body weight and engage in all the normal, good-quality preventive care that you already do.

Then the third point is...you have to communicate with your clients. They want the best for their pet, [just] as you want the best for your patients. You just have to make sure that you guys are talking and keeping channels open and working together as a team to accomplish that.

I think this is a moment in which aging biology is really taking off as a subject that people understand. It gives us a whole new set of opportunities and tools, and those are coming soon. I just encourage vets to keep their eye on this space.