Not a diagnosis.
Your vet diagnoses, treats, examines, prescribes. We do not.
Not a chatbot.
No conversation interface. No vibes. Structured output scored against real reference data.
Not a sales funnel.
Zero commissions on supplements, food, vet visits, or anything in your dog's plan.
Not vaporware.
Works today. Built to work with any dog, any vet, anywhere in the world. Real reports, real PDFs, real methodology, published and citable.
Cogua's methodology is data-source-agnostic by design.
Any bloodwork from any lab. Any DNA test from any company. Any scan from any clinic. Any wearable, any food log, any vet's notes. You bring the data, we read it. The methodology does not care which brand it came from. The methodology cares whether the signal is real.
Today we digest Embark and Wisdom Panel reports, IDEXX and Antech bloodwork panels, common imaging reports, prescription histories, vaccination records, and standard vet visit summaries. Anything else, we will handle it. Cogua is built so that the next data stream we add does not require a different report. It just adds depth to the same one.
How we read the science before scoring your dog
Every conclusion in a Paw Print Report comes from layered evidence, weighted by quality. We are explicit about which layer is doing the work. The high-evidence layers contribute the most. The lower-evidence layers contribute texture, not certainty.
Every score comes with a confidence tier. By design.
A precise number with no context is worse than no number at all. Each Paw Print Report tells you which confidence tier we are in for your specific dog, based on how complete the records are, how recent the bloodwork is, and how rich the supporting context is. Owners should treat a Strong Confidence score differently from an Estimated Confidence score, and we make sure they can.
Complete recent records, recent comprehensive bloodwork, owner-reported context, and either methylation or substantial longitudinal data.
Solid records with one or two gaps. Score is reliable. Range may widen slightly.
Limited recent diagnostic data. Score is directional. The report tells you exactly what to add to upgrade it.
Population-level estimation only. We tell you what we cannot see. We do not pretend otherwise.
37 health domains. 260+ sub-factors. One personalized plan.
The Paw Print Report integrates 11 mandatory domains plus 26 supplemental domains for each dog. Body composition, cardiac, renal, hepatobiliary, endocrine, neurological and cognitive, musculoskeletal, immune, dental, gastrointestinal, ophthalmologic - these are the foundational systems. The supplemental domains layer in genetics, environment, social and behavioral context, reproductive timing, vaccination history, parasiticide use, and more. Each domain produces a tiered classification: protective, neutral, watch, concern, or critical. A point estimate is then bounded by an honest range, never reported alone.
The domain structure aligns conceptually with the canine geriatric syndrome framework articulated in the veterinary geroscience literature, which treats canine aging as a multi-system phenomenon best addressed through integrated organ-system surveillance rather than single-marker assessment.
How the architecture was shaped. The methodology, the triage engine, the report architecture, and the way Cogua frames difficult conversations with vets were built in close collaboration with a practicing veterinarian who reviewed every clinical pain point, every owner objection, and every decision tree. They are not on the cap table. They were not compensated. They chose to remain off the record. The methodology you read is sharper for their fingerprints on it, and that is the version of "built with a veterinarian" Cogua is comfortable claiming.
The work that informs our framework
Cogua's methodology cites the following peer-reviewed work and authors. We are clear-eyed about what citation means: these scientists have not endorsed Cogua, and Cogua does not claim partnership with their institutions. Their work is the public record this framework rests on, and we believe the right way to honor it is to apply it rigorously and credit it openly.
- Matt Kaeberlein, Kate Creevy, Daniel Promislow. Dog Aging Project leadership. Their 2016 Mammalian Genome framing of dogs as a translational model for human aging, and the 2022 Nature foundational paper, define the modern landscape of canine geroscience. Cogua's founder has direct Dog Aging Project access and used that data to calibrate the methodology. Several DAP contributors are cited by name in the full methodology document. Cogua does not have a commercial agreement with DAP today, and we would welcome one. The work happening at DAP is essential to dogs living longer, healthier lives, and tighter integration would strengthen both sides.
- Brennen McKenzie, DVM, MA, MSc. Comparative veterinary geroscience, canine geriatric syndrome framework, and veterinary clinical decision-making literature. McKenzie's work on cognitive bias in veterinary practice is the explicit foundation for our diagnostic discipline pillar.
- Richard Kealy and Dennis Lawler. The Kealy 2002 JAVMA Labrador lifetime feeding study established that 25 percent caloric restriction extended median lifespan by approximately 1.8 years. The Lawler 2008 British Journal of Nutrition twenty-year follow-up confirmed and extended the finding. Body composition is the highest-leverage owner-controllable lever in dog health, and this body of work is why we can say that honestly.
- Tina Wang and colleagues. Cell Systems 2020 publication on quantitative dog-to-human aging translation by conserved methylome remodeling. The foundational methylation clock work in dogs. Informs how we treat methylation results when owners have them.
- Benjamin Hart and colleagues. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2020 and prior PLoS One work on neuter timing and breed-specific joint, cancer, and incontinence outcomes. Our reproductive-timing domain reflects this literature.
- Hannah Salvin and colleagues. The Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Rating Scale, Veterinary Journal 2011. The data-driven owner-facing tool we recommend for early CCD signal.
- Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study team. The longest continuously enrolled prospective canine cohort study, with 3,000+ Goldens followed since 2012. Informs breed-specific cancer surveillance recommendations.
- Rodney Habib and Karen Becker, DVM. The Forever Dog and The Forever Dog Life. The most widely read owner-facing longevity references in the field. We thank them for the work of making this conversation accessible to millions of households.
Where the field is moving
These are the organizations producing the research and infrastructure that shape canine longevity. We follow their publications closely and adjust our framework as new findings clear peer review.
Listed organizations have not endorsed Cogua. Their published research, clinical guidelines, and public-domain data inform the methodology where their work is the strongest available evidence for a specific claim.
The honest list
This is what current science cannot tell you, and what we will never pretend it can.
- Exact lifespan. Biological age is a calibrated estimate, not a prediction of when your dog will die. We use it to identify what is modifiable and what is not.
- Cause-by-cause attribution at the individual level. Population-level findings tell us what is more or less likely for dogs like yours. They cannot tell us with certainty which finding explains your specific dog's trajectory.
- How every supplement performs. The supplement literature in dogs is uneven. Some are well-studied. Many are not. We tell you which is which.
- The full picture of methylation clocks in dogs. The work is real and promising. It is also young. We treat methylation as a contributing signal, not a verdict.
- How any individual dog will respond to a new intervention. Including emerging longevity pharmaceuticals. The data are accumulating quickly. We will update as it does.
Every Paw Print sharpens the picture for the next dog
This is the part we are most excited about. Cogua is not a static report - it is a longitudinal record. Every dog on the platform contributes to a structured, breed-segmented, age-segmented dataset of records, outcomes, and trajectories. We use that data to refine our calibration, surface emerging patterns, and improve the precision of future reports. Owners opt in to this through standard, plain-language consent. Personally identifying information about owners is never used to train the model. Dogs are not identified by name in any aggregate analysis. The benefit compounds: the more dogs we serve well, the better we serve the next one.
This is the most important reason to be on the platform now rather than later. Early adopters help shape what canine longevity intelligence looks like for everyone.
Decision support. Not diagnosis.
Cogua is a decision-support tool. The Paw Print Report is designed to be brought into the exam room and used as the starting point for a better conversation with your licensed veterinarian. It is not a diagnostic instrument. It does not prescribe. It does not replace the veterinarian-client-patient relationship. Where the report flags a concern, the recommendation is to discuss with a vet, not to act independently.
For Cogua Care offerings that involve prescription products, a licensed veterinarian establishes a valid VCPR before any prescription is written. Cogua coordinates. Vets prescribe. That order matters.
We want your scrutiny.
Veterinarian, researcher, peer reviewer, longevity scientist, or technically curious owner. Request the full methodology document. We publish it openly because canine longevity is too important to hide behind a chatbot interface and a marketing page. If you can break it, we want to know first.