The results I want are long term health. That is much harder to measure and study. I can see which exercise methods results in competitive wins quickly (though some may be a few years), but what will my efforts today change about my life span or old age quality of life?
I got a dog recently, have been out on walks a lot and talking w other owners. Met a guy with an old dog a few weeks back, she was grey in the muzzle + stiff in the joints, but still moving around happy + unencumbered.
He said she was 20 years old, and his second 20+ y/o one. His said he went by:
- a balance of positive + negative reinforcement
- regular dog food, nothing fancy
and that
- if she was a seeing-eye dog she'd have been dead by 10
My takeaway is that mental stress is a killer. He was letting her have her "dog-nature". Roam around, sniff things, unburdened.
But the #1 has to be people. Everyone withers away alone + takes cues from our environment. The dream is having people around who make it feel natural to be healthy.
