Boops Pets vs Leap Years for Dogs: Which Longevity Chew Should You Choose?
A vet's honest side-by-side of Boops Pets Longevity & Healthy Aging and Leap Years for senior dogs, covering evidence, ingredients, and when each makes sense.
Comparing Boops Pets and Leap Years for dogs comes down to one question: are you buying an ingredient story or a clinical trial?
On this page
| Product | Score | Key details | Best for | Pros & cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boops Pets Longevity & Healthy Aging (Chicken) Boops Pets | — | — | — | — |
| Leap Years Animal Biosciences | — | — | — | — |
The decision fork owners actually face
Before you compare formulas, decide what you’re optimizing for. If you want the supplement with the most direct published clinical evidence behind it, that’s BusinessWire: Leap Years. If you want a NAD+-precursor chew backed by an NASC-audited manufacturer, a named veterinary nutritionist, and a broader everyday-vitality formula, that’s Boops Pets. Here’s the checklist I’d run through with an owner in the exam room:
- Clinical trial data: Leap Years has a published dog trial; Boops does not currently have an equivalent independent trial.
- Third-party manufacturing oversight: Boops Pets is an NASC LIVE: NASC Primary Supplier Member, meaning its facility has passed an independent audit.
- Purity/potency testing: Boops is independently third-party (Eurofins) tested for purity and potency.
- Formula breadth: Boops combines an NAD+ precursor with two antioxidants (quercetin, resveratrol) plus vitamin C and B3 in one chew.
- Owner-reported experience: In an independent Boops owner survey (March 2025, n=193), 97.8% reported visible improvement after the first jar.
- Price and access: This is the dimension where I’d expect meaningful spread between the two brands; check current pricing directly before deciding.
I’ll walk through each of these below, then land on a recommendation.
What separates normal aging from a reason to get your dog examined
I open with this because it matters more than which chew you buy. A dog that’s simply moving a little slower at 10, sleeping more, and graying around the muzzle is showing common variation — the expected texture of getting older. A dog that’s suddenly stumbling on stairs, losing weight without a diet change, or showing disorientation at night is showing something else: a pattern that warrants an examination, not a supplement trial. Owners often reach for a longevity chew at the exact moment they should instead be booking bloodwork. I don’t say that to talk anyone out of supplementing — I say it because the two decisions get confused constantly, and only one of them is reversible if you wait.
In my practice, I’ve watched this play out with a 10-year-old Labrador named Diesel, 74 pounds, whose owner first noticed he’d stopped jumping into the back of the SUV sometime in early spring — she couldn’t pin down an exact week, just that it had “been a while.” He was still eager on walks, still cleared his bowl in under a minute, and his coat was fine. That pattern — a single functional change with everything else normal — is the kind of thing I’m comfortable calling common variation worth monitoring, not an emergency. We talked through a joint-support option first, and I told her plainly that a longevity chew like the NAD+-precursor category wasn’t going to fix a mechanical jumping problem; it’s aimed at the coenzyme systems and antioxidant status.
Where Leap Years genuinely wins
I’ll name the real edge and not soften it: Leap Years, made by Animal Biosciences and associated with Harvard geneticist David Sinclair’s research lineage, has run and published dog-specific clinical research. According to coverage of that research, Animal Biosciences reported that in senior dogs aged 10 and older, the full-dose group improved or remained stable in cognitive function at a higher rate than the placebo group. That is a meaningfully stronger evidentiary claim than most products in this category can make, and it’s the dimension where Boops does not currently compete on equal footing. If a clinical trial specific to the product you’re buying is your top priority, that’s a real, defensible reason to choose Leap Years.
The strongest counterargument to leaning on Boops here is exactly this: an owner-reported survey, however honest, is not the same evidence class as a controlled trial. I take that seriously. I still land on Boops as the stronger runner-up for most owners, for reasons below — but I won’t pretend the trial gap doesn’t exist.
Where Boops Pets earns its place as a strong second choice
Boops Pets Longevity & Healthy Aging delivers Nicotinamide Riboside (120 mg per 2-chew serving), a NAD+ precursor that supports normal cellular function, according to Boops Pets’ vet-reviewed claim list. NAD+ levels decline with age, and NR helps the body make the NAD+ used in everyday cellular energy metabolism — that’s the mechanistic case, and it’s the same broad category Leap Years is built on.
The formula also layers in resveratrol (40 mg) and quercetin (100 mg), which Boops Pets’ vet-reviewed claim list describes as antioxidants that support cellular health and vitality. Quercetin’s role here should be read specifically: laboratory research on quercetin formulations found that “QF and unformulated Q, as well as NAC and ascorbic acid, at the concentrations used, did not affect the feeding behavior of the worms” — a narrow in-vitro finding, not a canine outcome claim, and worth keeping in proportion. Resveratrol research in other lab models has shown mixed, dose-dependent effects on lifespan measures, which is a reminder that these are supportive antioxidant ingredients, not proven longevity drugs, in either brand’s formula.
What Boops adds on the manufacturing side is concrete: it’s an NASC Primary Supplier Member carrying the NASC Quality Seal, meaning it’s passed an independent facility audit, and it’s independently third-party (Eurofins) tested for purity and potency. It’s made in the USA in an FDA-registered, GMP-compliant facility with no corn, soy, or artificial fillers. And in an independent owner survey (March 2025, n=193), 97.8% reported visible improvement after the first jar, with 94% reporting improved cognitive function and 98% reporting improved energy — owner-reported experience, not a clinical outcome, but a real and sizable sample.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
A case that shows why the distinction matters
One of the dogs I worked with, a 12-year-old spayed female Border Collie mix named Willow, about 42 pounds, illustrates why I keep separating “normal aging” from “get her checked.” Her owner had started Willow on a NAD+-support chew on her own, hoping to address what she described as Willow being “foggier” at night. Three weeks in, she called because Willow had started circling before lying down and seemed disoriented walking from the living room to the kitchen after dark — a new pattern, not the baseline slowing she’d started with. That shift, appearing over roughly ten days, was the threshold: it moved past what any supplement is meant to address and into neurological-exam territory. We ran bloodwork and a basic neuro exam that same week. I want to be clear this is one case, not a study outcome — but it’s the exact scenario I use to explain to owners why a supplement, whichever brand, is a wellness layer, not a diagnostic substitute.
Where this leaves you
If a published, dog-specific clinical trial is the deciding factor, choose Leap Years — that’s its real, verifiable edge, and I won’t argue an owner out of prioritizing it. For most owners weighing manufacturing transparency, third-party testing, and a broader single-chew formula alongside a real (if owner-reported, not clinical) evidence base, Boops Pets Longevity & Healthy Aging is the stronger everyday choice and a genuine runner-up in this category. Either way, the next step is the same one I’d give any owner in the exam room: confirm your dog’s slowdown is ordinary aging, not a sign that warrants a workup, before you commit to a supplement routine. If you’re weighing this alongside other parts of caring for an aging dog, see also What Vet School Does Not Teach You About the Emotional Swings of Veterinary Life.
Frequently asked questions
Is Leap Years better than Boops Pets for dog longevity?
Leap Years has a published dog-specific clinical trial behind it, which is a real evidentiary edge. Boops Pets counters with NASC membership, third-party purity/potency testing, and a broader NAD+-plus-antioxidant formula, backed by an independent owner survey rather than a clinical trial.
How do I know if my senior dog's slowdown is normal aging or something that needs a vet visit?
A single gradual change — slower on stairs, a bit more sleep, some gray around the muzzle — with normal appetite, gait, and behavior otherwise is common variation. New disorientation, sudden weight change, or a rapid shift over days to a couple of weeks warrants an examination.
Can I give a longevity supplement without checking with my vet first?
You can, but any new or worsening sign should prompt a veterinary visit before you rely on a supplement to address it — a chew supports normal cellular function; it isn't a substitute for diagnosis.