Healthy lifespan
In mice, rapamycin extended median lifespan even when treatment began in late middle age — replicated across strains and both sexes. Whether that translates to dogs is exactly what the TRIAD trial is testing.
Proven in lab species
Canine longevity care
You did the maths on his breed years ago.
He still loses his mind when the lead comes off the hook. He just takes the stairs one at a time now.
The walk that used to be an hour is comfortably forty minutes.
He gets up more slowly than he did last winter, and you noticed the exact week it changed.
That slope has a biology behind it. For the first time, that biology is something a veterinarian can act on rather than describe.
Your vet wasn’t hiding anything. There just wasn’t much to offer.
Routine care is built to treat disease once it arrives — the lump, the limp, the lab value that finally crosses a line. It is not built to slow the process that produces them.
You are the kind of owner who reads the bloodwork rather than filing it. Who knows what his breed dies of, and roughly when.
That is the right instinct. Aging is now a research target in its own right, and dogs are where the most serious work is happening.
50%
of dogs over ten will face cancer — the leading cause of death in adult dogs.
Rapamycin extended median lifespan in mice even when started in late middle age, making it the most reproducible pharmacological lifespan extender known. In dogs, the equivalent question is being tested now by the NIH-funded Dog Aging Project’s TRIAD trial.
Not just longer. More like himself.
The years matter less than what is in them. Healthspan is whether he still behaves like the dog you remember.
- Getting up off the floor in one movement.
- Making the whole walk instead of turning for home early.
- Bringing you the toy unprompted.
- Sleeping soundly instead of shifting to find a comfortable joint.
Four things canine aging takes, and where the research is
Rapamycin acts on mTOR — the pathway that decides whether cells grow or repair themselves. Stated honestly, organ by organ:
The heart
Pilot work in middle-aged dogs reported improvements in cardiac function over ten weeks, with no significant adverse effects at the doses used. That result is what motivated the larger canine research effort.
Early canine data
Cancer defence
mTOR inhibition is an established anticancer mechanism in human oncology and is being studied in the cancers that take dogs most often. Prevention of cancer in dogs has not been demonstrated.
Under investigation
Inflammation and mobility
Chronic low-grade inflammation drives much of the stiffness and pain owners notice first. Partial mTOR inhibition lowers that inflammatory signalling — and at low doses improves immune response rather than suppressing it.
Research-supported
One dog
Murphy couldn’t make it round the block last spring
Thirteen years old, a Labrador, and slowing in the way Labradors do: the back end first, then the enthusiasm. His owner had already had the conversation with herself about how much time was left.
The veterinary review turned up no exclusions — no diabetes, clean liver values, no surgery planned. He started on a weight-calibrated protocol, three times weekly, with bloodwork at six weeks and again at four months.
By late summer he was running on the beach. He is fourteen now. He still takes the stairs carefully, and he still gets there.
One dog’s course is not a result you should expect. Individual outcomes vary, and this story is not a medical claim.
This is likely right for your dog if…
Most dogs we start are healthy. In large and giant breeds, “middle-aged” arrives earlier than owners expect.
- He is six or older — earlier for large and giant breeds, which age faster.
- He is a Golden Retriever, Boxer, Bernese, Rottweiler or another breed with documented cancer risk.
- You have noticed him rising more slowly, or shortening his own walks.
- His bloodwork is unremarkable and you would like to keep it that way.
- You would rather act on aging than wait for a diagnosis to react to.
- You want a monitored protocol, not a supplement aisle.
- Your own vet is willing to co-manage — many of our members work that way.
It is not right for every dog. Diabetes or impaired glucose regulation, active infection, significant liver or kidney disease, planned surgery, or pregnancy all rule it out — which is what the veterinary review checks before anything is prescribed.
This is a protocol, not a product
The molecule is the easy part. Dose, schedule, screening and monitoring are what make it work — and what make it safe.
Dose calibrated to his weight
A 12 kg spaniel and a 60 kg mastiff are not on the same milligram dose. Longevity dosing is a fraction of transplant dosing, and intermittent rather than daily.
Three times weekly, with food
One 1 mg capsule on a fixed weekly rhythm. Consistency matters more than precision timing — the schedule is built to be sustainable.
Screening before the first dose
History, current medications and baseline bloodwork. Rapamycin is metabolised through CYP3A4, so interactions are checked rather than assumed.
Monitoring as he ages
Bloodwork at intervals, weight tracked throughout, and dose adjusted as his body and his health change. Dosing pauses around planned surgery, because mTOR inhibition can slow wound healing.
Given properly, this is a monitored medical protocol. Given without oversight — wrong dose, no screening, no bloodwork, unchecked interactions — it is neither safe nor useful. That difference is the whole service.
Three ways to start
Rapamycin is a prescription medicine. Every route below ends with a licensed veterinarian making the call.
Work with your own vet
Already have a vet who knows your dog? Bring them the protocol. We will share dosing guidance and monitoring schedules so everyone stays aligned.
Read the science →Recommended
Therapy on membership
The veterinary review, a protocol calibrated to your dog, ongoing monitoring, and the next box shipping automatically as the current one runs out — 10% below the single-box price, with nothing to reorder. This is where most owners start.
View the dog therapy →A single course
Prefer to start with one box and decide later? The same veterinary review applies, with nothing recurring.
View the dog therapy →What is another two good years with him worth? We can’t price that. We can tell you what the programme costs, and exactly what is in it.
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Judgment, not access
Longevity medicine is not about getting hold of a molecule. It is about the right dose, the right monitoring, at the right time — and knowing when the answer is no. Every Rapavie protocol is designed and overseen by veterinarians experienced in canine longevity medicine. We are not selling pills. We are building a medical relationship that adapts as your dog ages.
Licensed veterinariansBoard-reviewed protocolsIndependent veterinary oversight
Las preguntas frecuentes, sin rodeos.
Does my dog need a prescription?+
Yes. Rapamycin is a prescription medicine. A licensed veterinarian reviews your dog’s history and issues the prescription where it is appropriate, and you can involve your own vet at any point.
My dog isn’t sick. Why would I start now?+
Because aging biology runs long before disease has a name, and the research rationale is strongest for intervening early. Most dogs on longevity protocols are healthy, middle-aged or senior dogs.
How is it given?+
One 1 mg capsule, three times a week, with food. Strength and schedule are set from his body weight during the veterinary review.
What about interactions with his other medications?+
Rapamycin is metabolised through the CYP3A4 enzyme system, so some antifungals, antibiotics and antiseizure drugs can raise or lower its levels significantly. Every medication and supplement is reviewed before the first dose.
What side effects should I expect?+
At longevity doses, side effects are uncommon and usually limited to mild, transient stomach upset in the first weeks. Delayed wound healing is a recognised effect, which is why dosing pauses around planned surgery.
Which dogs should not take it?+
Dogs with diabetes or impaired glucose regulation, active or recurrent infection, significant liver or kidney disease, or a planned surgery, and pregnant or nursing dogs. The veterinary review screens for all of these.
How will I know whether it is working?+
Bloodwork and weight are tracked objectively. Owners typically describe changes in energy, movement and engagement over weeks to months — those are observations, not clinical endpoints, and we are careful to describe them that way.
What does it cost?+
A single box starts at €109 — twelve units, one month at three doses a week — and includes the veterinary consultation, personalised dosing and delivery. On a membership the same box is 10% less and arrives automatically. Pause or cancel anytime.
Healthy years are built early. Waiting doesn’t improve the biology.
Start with the veterinary review. If your dog is not a candidate, we will tell you — that answer is part of the service too.
This page is educational and is not veterinary advice. Rapamycin is a prescription medicine; whether to use it is a decision made with a veterinarian who has examined your animal. No medicine is licensed to “extend longevity” — the statements here describe published research and ongoing studies.