People are giving their dogs peptides to boost their longevity

• Dog lovers are giving their pets peptides — an unproven treatment that gym bros swear by for gains.
• Leaders of this trend believe peptides can help their dogs heal from injury and live longer.
• There is no clear evidence that peptides are safe or effective for dogs, and there is no agreed-upon dosage.

In August, Ryan Samluk's beloved Australian-German Shepherd mix, Finley, suffered a devastating sprain.

The 11-year-old dog had long lived with hereditary joint issues. Now, she could barely limp around the yard.

"I knew the vet visit would cost thousands of dollars I didn't have," Samluk, a 29-year-old project manager for a construction company in Dallas, told Business Insider.

Unwilling to watch his dog suffer, yet unable to afford costly diagnostics plus regular arthritis shots at $200 per dose, Samluk turned to the internet. For about $160, he bought his old girl a month's worth of peptide treatments, the unregulated shots that are taking hold in the fitness and longevity world.

Samluk had seen friends get shredded on retatrutide, a peptide for weight loss, and had heard similar success stories with BPC-157, a peptide for treating injuries or recovering from intense gym sessions. He tried them for himself and felt good. Why couldn't this same low-cost DIY shot strategy work for furry Finley?

Samluk is one of a growing number of pet owners who hope to help their dogs feel better and age more slowly by administering peptides, often for well under $100.Scientists and veterinarians are watching cautiously, concerned that we don't really know about the long-term effects of peptides on dogs, and apprehensive about a theoretical possibility that BPC-157 could promote tumor growth.

Peptides are a broad class of molecular compounds that help our bodies run. They include drugs like Ozempic and the natural hormone insulin. Pet owners are especially interested in the subset of peptide therapies marketed as hacks for wound healing and curbing arthritis-related inflammation, though the evidence is shaky and the potential risks are high.

Business Insider has spoken to pet owners pioneering the fringes of restorative peptide therapy for their animals. The trend cuts across income brackets, from pet parents who spare no expense in lavishing their pets with elaborate wellness routines to those who want the best for their animals but may struggle to afford conventional treatments.

The trend has some animal experts asking: Where are the guardrails for these drugs, and these dogs?

The 'most measured dog alive' is on peptides

Samluk's decision to spring for pet peptides was driven by success stories he saw online. He was particularly impressed by Choo Choo, a 14-year-old pit terrier who seemed to regain puppy-like energy and mobility after being put on the "Wolverine stack" of BPC-157 and TB-500, peptides that proponents say can aid recovery and tissue repair.

Choo's owner, Michael Morelli, is a Florida-based personal trainer obsessed with human performance and metrics like body composition and VO2 max. Morelli takes BPC-157 and TB-500 himself, crediting them with helping resolve a shoulder injury, as well as epitalon and pinealon, which he likes for supporting sleep. He's fascinated by longevity influencers like Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur who has spent millions fine-tuning his health routine with the goal of aging in reverse, and who recently launched his own peptide label.

Morelli calls Choo the most measured and optimized dog in the world — a nod to Johnson, who dubbed himself "the most measured man in human history." Morelli started giving Choo a low dose of BPC-157 and TB-500 about a year ago when he noticed he was slowing down, struggling to jump, and cutting his daily walks short. Choo's current wellness regimen involves working with two different vets who make house calls, and a laundry list of diagnostics and treatments, including heavy metal testing, physical therapy, red light therapy, probiotics, and testosterone replacement therapy, a practice some vets increasingly endorse for dog anxiety and mobility.

Morelli's other dog, an American pit bull terrier named Bubba, had recently died after a similar decline, and he dreaded grieving again.

"He has become like another kid to us," Morelli said. "I don't want to go through this again. It just made sense for me to experiment."

The ethics of experimenting on man's best friend

Experimental pet therapies are tricky because, unlike a human patient, Choo can't consent to try an unproven treatment.

"My dog isn't going to look at me after a BPC-157 shot and say, 'Thank you, Dad, that feels good,'" Morelli said. "All you can do is really watch and see him limping less, breathing less heavy, more vibrant and full of energy."

Morelli started with what he considered a small dose of BPC-157 (500 micrograms), based on his own experience working with peptides and adjusting based on his dog's body weight. When he could see no side effects, he increased the dose gradually, up to 2 milligrams. It's important to note that there is no established dosage for dogs that is proven to be safe and/or effective.

Around the second or third week, he said Choo began running and playing again and could finish his half-mile walks without getting tired.

His niche pet peptide experiment got a major boost in July, when podcaster Andrew Huberman posted on X to his 1.8 million followers that he was hearing from "many people" who were getting "amazing results" by using BPC-157 in aging and injured dogs.

Morelli said interest surged overnight, and his following exploded after the post. He's leading his own canine longevity brand, Pawgen, that sells peptides like BPC-157, and now spends hours a day talking to people online about pet peptides. He said he hopes to channel this momentum into funding a pet rescue that he and his wife have always dreamed of running. To raise money, they're promoting a meme coin for Choo Choo, marketing it as a "meme with meaning."

He is clear about some of the risks of dabbling in gray market peptides, including the risk of fake or contaminated products.

There's another major concern: What happens to dogs when they take these compounds long-term?

One of the biggest unanswered questions is whether BPC-157 use could increase the risk of cancer. Because the peptide appears to stimulate blood vessel growth — a process involved in wound healing — some researchers worry it could strengthen tumors in dogs with cancer, or even create new cancerous growths. There are no good long-term clinical studies that answer that question.

Celine Halioua, CEO and founder of Loyal, a startup developing longevity drugs for dogs, is concerned about this, too. She said recently on X that the potential for BPC-157 to stoke or start cancer is a "dealbreaker" for her. Halioua added that if people insist on trying this out for their pets, they should work with a vet to monitor for "invisible side effects" and use a "reputable" manufacturer.

"I hope someone uses the anecdotal data to develop a safe + optimized version, if the biology does indeed work!" Halioua continued. "We need better OA [osteoarthritis] drugs for dogs."

From human guinea pigs to at-home animal testing

Typically, experimental drugs are tested on animals before they're ever given to humans. The pet peptide boom has flipped that order: Owners experimented on themselves first.

Samluk was one of them. He'd used peptides himself after hearing about them through friends and online forums. When Finley got injured, he wondered whether those same compounds might help her recover — not least because they're cheaper than the conventional treatments the vet recommended.

"If I'm happy to put them in my own body, I'm happy to give them to my dog," he said.

He settled on a combination of KPV, marketed as a control for inflammation, and BPC-157, short for "body protection compound." While both compounds were recently shortlisted by an FDA advisory committee to be allowed for compounding in the US, neither has been approved, and there is no recommended dosing for dogs.

Samluk based Finey's dose on what he had read about human doses, adjusting the proportions to her weight. He buys from vendors that come highly recommended by friends, the same ones that initially sold him peptides for his own use. He has affiliate partnerships with some vendors, and said he has made less than $50 total from promotions.

"If people are on a Wolverine stack themself, they're asking if they should do it for their dog," Dr. Kate Elden, a veterinarian in Southern California, who's the chief medical officer at Dutch online veterinary care, told Business Insider.

If we know very little about peptides for humans, we know even less about peptides for dogs. "It might be processed or metabolized differently in a different species," she said.

Samluk said his trepidation faded after seeing Finley's symptoms fade. When he gave his dog the first dose of peptides, she could barely walk. Less than a week later, he said Finley was running around the yard. Sprains can heal in a few days, but Samluk feels confident that the peptide accelerated the process.

"It felt like I was playing God," he said.

Peptides as a low-dose supplement

Not everyone turns to peptides as an affordable alternative to traditional veterinary medicine.

For Sam Cheow, a top consultant for beauty and lifestyle brands, peptides are a small part of a wellness routine for his four Norwich terriers that costs thousands a year. Their regimen includes a curated diet and supplement routine of blueberries, caviar, Greek yogurt, turmeric, collagen, and kelp. They also receive injections of the Wolverine stack: BPC-157 and TB 500.

"Delivering peptides for them is like delivering a cherry on top of a cake. I'm not using 20 cherries. I'm using a very low dosage," he told Business Insider.

Cheow, who had stints at companies such as L'Oréal, NYX, and Estée Lauder, has been interested in peptides since 2007, when they were sold at a premium as skincare treatments for those in the know.

Now, anyone can buy peptides with just a few clicks.

For Samluk, peptides have been a mixed blessing. Weeks after Finley's extraordinary revival, he followed up with the vet about a potential flare-up from an old health issue. She was newly diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive form of blood cancer, and given a few months to live. It's not clear when the cancer developed: based on the timeline, it was likely hiding in Finley's body before she ever got her first peptide shots.

"It has been tough to wrap my head around, and the unknown immediate future scares me," Samluk said. "But we're hoping for the best and determined to help her somehow."

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