Dog Breed/Type Lifespans

[Melody]

Heavy/large breeds and males have the shortest lifespan. Mutts rule so find your next best friend at the SPCA to enjoy a long lasting friendship!

Dogs and Lifespan: Which Breeds Live Longest? (http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/features/dogs-and-lifespan-which-breeds-live-longest)

[mdfa.ca]

Hear, Hear!:cheers: Mutts are the best, and also the healthiest ones as they usually do not suffer from the genetic problems that the heavily inbred pure bred varieties suffer from.

If you haven't guessed, my pooch is the SPCA-variety Mutt :laugh:.

[MDahms]

Small dogs also tend to live much longer lives than large dogs. Some cross breeds are very unhealthy so it is difficult to make statements unless you know the breeds involved. Chihuahua x pug is one that has a horrible reputation for eyes that literally pop out due to both breeds having eyes that are shallowly set in the sockets. :eek:



Mike

[mdfa.ca]

Yes, you do have a point, Mike. But on average, the mutts are much healthier.

[fishykisses]

i was at the dog park last year with my 2 furry boys and met the cutest little chihuaua who was very lively and loving. I asked the owner how old he was, and was told 24:err: I didn't believe i heard right so i asked again and he said he was in fact 24 years old.
HOLY COW! I pray my boys live that long!

[fishclubgirl]

Our sheltie cross lived to 17 years old. Pandora, my first tortie lived to 21 and was in good health too. So I figured torties are like toyotas and really last. Maddie is only 4 and I'm looking forward to many years of her expert assistance with the finned friends. "Mutt" cats and dogs rule!!

[MDahms]

The average lifespan for a Chihuahua is around 15 years so I would say that Chihuahua you met was doing pretty darn good for 24. In comparison Great Danes average lifespan is only around 7 years.

Mike

[Melody]

I figure there's enough homeless dogs in the World if I ever happen to want one, and my family has never owned a 'purebred' dog when I was growing up - they were/are all great dogs in every way. There's some risk that the mother may not have been healthy when we adopt from the SPCA, but so far so good.

All strains/breeds are inbred to the nth degree to set the traits. It has to breed true to earn the designation so outcrossing in dogs isn't practiced like it is with responsible fish breeding. Just like fish, when we breed for certain traits there is a very good chance that we're inadvertently breeding for bad traits, and often long before we even realize it. Although mutts can inherit some of these maladies, the odds are much less because most inbred dominants were originally recessives, which don't hold up well against true dominants. If you have a colony of light foot pink Applensails and introduce one wild-type Applesnail, eventually the colony will revert to wild colouration, for example. One purebred crossed with another purebred isn't the same as a mixed breed that may have this or that in it, of course. In the former scenario you have a good chance of the offspring inheriting a similar negative trait from both.

We can often address a known issue with breeds though, through preventative care. If they're known for joint issues, we can feed them a diet that focuses on joint health, keep their weight down, etc.

With big dogs I think the lifespan issue is a little more complicated. It's very difficult to give a big dog enough excercise unless you can let them outside to run around off a leash several times/day. It doesn't matter how often you walk them, it's not the level of activity they need. You can walk a small dog the normal human distance and they're played right out. Many of the issues large dogs have, can be related to a lack of activity. They need a solid muscle structure to support their bone structure, and they have to keep their weight down.

Note that they don't define a large dog as large in height, but in mass. That indicates another muscle structure issue because they need that structure to carry weight. People will say a breed is supposed to be heavy, but that's not really the case - Mother Nature intended no such thing.

[Namor]

"We love our pets, because they're somehow like ourselves,
only with more innocence and trust."

-unknown