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Just curious on dog lifespans

3492 Views 26 Replies 17 Participants Last post by  Lsnrhodes, 
Embersmom
Hi everyone, I just had one of my dogs pass away a few months ago and it got me thinking about how I never feel that the dogs in my life live long enough (I mean no matter what it is never long enough) but a good few of them have not made it to the breed average for various reasons even though I have always taken great care of my dogs.
Also, the other people who I will mention have taken great care of their dogs as well. I just feel like they all just seem too short and hopefully I have just had bad luck, but it makes me sad thinking my current dogs wont be around forever. Anyways, how long have the dogs in your lives made it to?

My own personal dog:
Zeus- Scottish terrier 9 years old and had to be put to sleep for hystiocytic sarcoma after 2 months of chemo

My sisters dogs:
Toby- Mutt ~35lbs lived to 10 years old and had to be put down for kidney failure

Family dogs:
Natasha- GSD lived to 11 and had to be put to sleep for hip dysplasia after she could no longer walk
Babe- GSD lived to 6 and suddenly had a seizure and died in the middle of my 13th birthday party (the worst party ever, with about 12 screaming and crying pre-teens that I'm sure are scarred for life)
Maggie- Weimaraner lived to 5 and someone left the door open and she got hit by a car while I was away in college. That was the worst because it was 100% preventable.
Mac- Scottish terrier lived to 8 and had to be put to sleep for bladder cancer
Marie- Scottish terrier lived to 9 and had to be put to sleep for spleen Hemangiosarcoma

Close friends dogs that I know:
Boston- Bichon lived to 9 and passed in his sleep to CHF
Radar- Corgi lived to 10 and passed away with no signs of ill health while his owner was at the hair salon
Katie- Mutt ~20lbs lived to 11 and passed in her sleep
Sonni- Dachshund lived to 10 and was put down due to back problems, I'm not exactly sure what it was specifically but he had a wheel chair for the last year of his life

As I sat here typing, I can literally only think of two dogs that I know personally that made it until their teens. My friends labrador Beau lived until he was 12 and could not longer walk due to terrible arthritis and had to be put to sleep, and my friends Shih tzu Snickers who is 12 currently but has multiple health problems.
So it scares me because my dog Lucy is 5 and she is the largest dog I have ever owned at 80lbs and If I was to go off of my previous experience with dog lifespans it looks like she is already halfway thru her life.

Sorry for the depressing post, but I'm hoping everyone will say their dogs have lived really long lives and it puts my mind at ease. :)
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Laco
No matter how long they live, its never long enough. IMO the biggest problem with dogs, is a way too short life-span. Doesn't seem fair that such wonderful living companions live such a short time. Samantha is now seven, and healthy, but its difficult realizing that she is likely more than half-way through her journey on earth.
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Embersmom
It really is the worst part of owning dogs, after Zeus was put to sleep I vowed to never get another dog because it is just too hard knowing I already will have to go through it two more times with my current dogs, but I quickly realized that is somewhat selfish of me. I have a good home, I have a lot of love to give, and while getting another dog is not in the near future for me I could not turn one away if it needed somewhere to go. I just wished they lived forever.
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annageckos
The scottie I grew up with lived to be 12. She had stopped eating and was always a pig. The x-ray showed tumors in her lungs, she passed away a few days later at home. She was a puppy mill dog.

Nevada was a GSD who was put down about a year and a half ago. She was 11, also a puppy mill dog. She had heart surgery as a puppy and while she was fairly healthy I knew she wasn't going to have a long life.

My BF's parents Bichon Frise lived to 17.

I honestly think that all these chemicals and some of the additives/preservatives/colorings/etc. in kibble are cutting our dog's lives short. I know part of it is breed/s and genetics too. But all these poisons are not healthy.
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Gnostic Dog
annageckos said:
I honestly think that all these chemicals and some of the additives/preservatives/colorings/etc. in kibble are cutting our dog's lives short. I know part of it is breed/s and genetics too. But all these poisons are not healthy.
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I agree. My dad and stepmom had a Samoyed that lived to be 19, she never ate a piece of kibble in her life. My stepmom home cooked for the dogs.

Then there is (was) Gracie the Newfie, rawfed, non-vaxed who live to be 17. I still hope to own one of her descendants one day! (I had to turn down a puppy from this breeder a year and a half ago because circumstances just weren't right.)
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Kyllobernese
Susie, my Bernese cross is 12 in July. I have three Shih Tzu x Maltese that are 9, 10 and 11 this year. My youngest ones are my Dobe who is 4, Lucy (another Shih Tzu x Maltese) who is also 4 and my youngest is Bonnie who is a year old in August. All seem pretty healthy at the moment but at their ages, things can change quickly.
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Rain
Personal dogs: Jersey, Chow Chow some type of herding dog mix, was around 13 when she passed away. Shadow, terrier mix, was 17 years and 8 months old when he passed. Both were healthy all their lives, were kibble fed, vaccinated, and given flea and heartworm preventatives.

Family Dogs : Coco, Cocker Spaniel, was around 12 or 13. Muffy, Cocker Spaniel, was around 14.

Friends Dogs: Boots, Yorkie, was 15. Toto, Springer Spaniel, was at least 13. Bear, Chow Chow, maybe around 9 or so.

I think the age a dog reaches depends on a whole host of thing. Genetics, care received, diet, all play a part, but in the end it just depends on the luck of the draw. My Shadow lived to be a really good age, was fed Pedigree kibble most of his life, was basically a mutt with terrier genes showing, I didn't do much to cause him to live such a long, healthy, life. It was just luck.
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Embersmom
I am impressed and jealous with how long everyone has had their dogs. I know mine are somewhat skewed shorter due to my Scottie being a puppy mill rescue, My family GSD's were rescues so who knows their genetics, my parents Scotties were found in the desert dumped so who knows their breeding as well.

Kyllobernese said:
All seem pretty healthy at the moment but at their ages, things can change quickly.
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That is so true, literally a month before Zeus got sick I had a conversation with my dad saying that I was excited thinking that he was going to live long past his Scotties that both died of cancer at 8 & 9 since he was so healthy. We hiked miles daily, he ate raw due to him having horrible allergies when he was younger and it was a lifesaver for him, and he only was vaccinated for rabies past puppyhood. Since both my parents scotties got cancer I went into full on crazy dog mom trying to do everything I could to prevent him from getting it as well, but we were not so lucky. I stopped using any chemicals in my house only steam cleaning the floors, using vinegar as my cleaners, stopped using fancy laundry soap and room freshners, etc.

My sisters dog went fast too, he was fine and then she went out to dinner with her friends and came home to her dog blind and having bloody diarrhea. We still have no clue what happened but the vet said he needed to be put down due to acute kidney failure. I think he got poisoned somehow but she insists its impossible.

I just hate how fast they go
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WolfDogHeeler
I believe the oldest dog is an Australian cattle dog called blue who lived into his twenties (26 I believe) I'm not sure how active he was up till then. I have an acd who is currently 3 so hopping he will live that long. But I doubt it.
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Rain
WolfDogHeeler said:
I believe the oldest dog is an Australian cattle dog called blue who lived into his twenties (26 I believe) I'm not sure how active he was up till then. I have an acd who is currently 3 so hopping he will live that long. But I doubt it.
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The oldest known dog just passed away at age 30, she was a Kelpie
World’s oldest dog? Maggie the Kelpie dies aged 30
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Embersmom
Rain said:
The oldest known dog just passed away at age 30, she was a Kelpie
World’s oldest dog? Maggie the Kelpie dies aged 30
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I had heard about bluey the ACD but I never heard about the kelpie! How impressive is that!
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WolfDogHeeler
Oh wow I hadn't seen this. I guess one of the oldest dogs then, I think some herding breeds like bc acd and kelpie are able to live a very long time but I'm not sure they might need a lot of vet trips as they get older. I think because they tend to be so tough and pretty resistant to injuries. They just keep going.
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J
The Oatmeal made a really sweet comic (and sad) touching on this subject. My Dog: The Paradox - The Oatmeal

Maybe dog's lives are so short because they live so intensely and in a short amount of time they give an incredible amount of love. They come to Earth, fulfill their mission, and move on. Maybe it makes us appreciate them even more. Whatever the reason, it doesn't make their passing on any easier..
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annageckos
Rain said:
Both were healthy all their lives, were kibble fed, vaccinated, and given flea and heartworm preventatives.

.
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That is why I say genetics play a part in it too. It's too early for me to make any coherent replies right now.
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C
One of my current dogs is 14, and you'd never guess it. She still runs and bounds around, has no noticeable arthritis or stiffness. Shes a good weight and still hears and sees normally. Barring something drastic, I can't see her passing away anytime soon.

Personally I've known many dogs that are/lived to their teens. Mostly small dogs, but plenty of medium/large ones that have made it to 13 or so. A neighbor has a dachshund that is 17, another has a golden that is 16. Another neighbor had a beagle mix that was his hunting dog, and that dog made it til 20!! He barely even took care of him, just left him in the back yard and threw him food once a day. The dog was even still jumping the four foot chain link fence til just a couple years before he died.

I find genetics is the biggest thing that contributes, because you have to not have major health problems to live that long. I'm sure long term diet is a factor, but I've known dogs on Ol' Roy that live to 18, and ones on Orijen that only make it to 10, so it's not as big a factor as genetics. Certainly little dogs have a tendency to make it longer.
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Gnostic Dog
annageckos said:
That is why I say genetics play a part in it too. It's too early for me to make any coherent replies right now.
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I believe that the conventionally raised dogs that live to an old age are managing to do so in spite of the food, vaccines and pesticides. What we are seeing now are younger and younger dogs that succumb to diseases like cancer, and other chronic diseases that cut short their lives.

My dog will be six years old in July, and he is still as healthy and vibrant as he ever was as a younger dog. I hope that he will live to be a ripe old age for a Mastiff. And yes, genetics do play a part, because he is a giant breed dog, and their lifespans are shorter than smaller breeds.
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steen1121
My family dog is 14 and a half. She is an Australian Shepherd Lab cross. She has had zero health problems.

Our other family dog is 12 and she is a sheltie shepherd cross.

When I was younger we had a miniature poodle who we had to put to sleep at 16 because his back legs stopped working and he wouldn't eat anymore.

My elkie is currently almost 1 and I hope I have her as long as my family pets!
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Embersmom
ChessaQ said:
Another neighbor had a beagle mix that was his hunting dog, and that dog made it til 20!! He barely even took care of him, just left him in the back yard and threw him food once a day. The dog was even still jumping the four foot chain link fence til just a couple years before he died.
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Wow, how unfair that someone that hardly takes care of their dog gets one in their life for that long. My parents currently have a retired research beagle that is 7, we are hopeful that her genetics are top notch since she was bred to be super healthy and what not so it did not impact the research study she was on. She was not used for anything crazy either, they just monitored her heart rate for a cardiology study and I adopted her as soon as it was over. Anyways I know I went off on a tangent I just hope their beagle lives that long! She is one of the only dogs that I know that someone else has that I would take in a heartbeat, the absolute sweetest dog in the world. And research beagles are bred to not bark, and after having her for 4 years now they have never heard a noise except for the time she got smacked by the cat and cried haha poor thing
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J
ive never had a dog live past 14.. but the only dogs ive REALLY had have been the two i have now, and one other i got as a birthday present when i was 7.. the one i got when i was seven died when i was 21 which is when i got these two.. i am 31 now and theyre beginning to show their age... ive considered not getting anymore dogs once they are gone
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annageckos
Vegas is 12, he'll be 13 in Sep. He is fairly healthy. He has pannus and takes eye drops every morning for it, his hearing is also going. But he had chronic ear infections when he was young.

Shorty is 11, he'll be 12 in June. Shorty is healthy.

Freyja is just over a year.
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