Just How Long Can You Expect Your Dog to Live? Look to Their Nose!
New study suggests that smaller dogs with longer noses live longer than their larger, flat-faced counterparts
Just how long can you expect your dog to live? Most dog people know that a Dachshund will usually outlive a Great Dane, but what’s at play? And how do other breeds fare? A new study of nearly 600,000 British dogs from more than 150 breeds determined to find out. The results were published in the journal Scientific Reports in February.
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The researchers found that large breeds and breeds with flattened faces had shorter average life spans than smaller dogs and those with elongated noses. Female dogs also lived a little longer than males.
As a group, small breeds lived, on average, for 12.7 years versus 11.9 years for large breeds. This backs prior research on canines and other mammals, which has found that within a given species, smaller individuals generally outlive larger ones.
Of course, there are exceptions to these trends, and the researchers noted that the findings may not be applicable outside of Britain where breeding practices and gene pools may differ.
The study utilized a database of 584,734 British dogs gathered from breed registries, pet insurance companies, veterinary offices, and additional sources. Most of the dogs were purebred, representing one of 155 breeds. Crossbreeds were included too, with all mixes combined into a single category. Each breed was classified as small, medium, or large, and its head-shape characterized as flat-faced, medium, or long-faced.
Across all dogs, the median life span was 12.5 years, the researchers found, but average life span varied “quite spectacularly” among breeds, Dr. McMillan told the New York Times. At the top of the longevity list is the Lancashire Heeler, a small herding dog newly recognized by the AKC (see page 12), which averaged a remarkable 15.4 years. At the other end of the spectrum, the much larger Caucasian Shepherd Dog had an average life span of just 5.4 years.
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Brachycephalic, or flat-faced breeds, lived for 11.2 years on average, while medium- and long-faced breeds had average life spans of 12.8 and 12.1 years.
More research is needed to determine what accounts for the differences in longevity. Some breeds are genetically predisposed to life-shortening health issues, but differences in lifestyle, environment, diet, behaviour, and more could play a role, the researchers noted.
The researchers also found that purebred dogs, grouped together, had average life spans of 12.7 years compared with 12.0 years for crossbred dogs. This finding contradicts some prior research which found mixed breeds to be healthier. The scientists noted that this could be due to the study combining all mixed-breed dogs—regardless of size or breed mix—into a single category.
“Now that we have identified these populations that are at risk of early death, we can start looking into why that is,” Kirsten McMillan, an author of the new study and the data manager at Dogs Trust, a dog welfare charity in Britain that led the research, told the New York Times. “This provides an opportunity for us to improve the lives of our dogs.”
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Breed and Average Life Expectancy in Years
|
Lancashire Heeler |
15.4 |
|
Tibetan Spaniel |
15.2 |
|
Bolognese |
14.9 |
|
Shiba Inu |
14.6 |
|
Papillon |
14.5 |
|
Havanese |
14.5 |
|
Lakeland Terrier |
14.2 |
|
Coton de Tulear |
14.2 |
|
Border Terrier |
14.2 |
|
Schipperke |
14.2 |
|
Large Munsterlander |
14.1 |
|
Lhasa Apso |
14 |
|
Swedish Vallhund |
14 |
|
German Spitz Mittel |
14 |
|
Norwich Terrier |
14 |
|
Australian Cattle Dog |
14 |
|
Poodle |
14 |
|
Cairn Terrier |
14 |
|
Italian Greyhound |
14 |
|
Miniature Dachshund |
14 |
|
Welsh Springer Spaniel |
14 |
|
Lowchen |
13.9 |
|
Bearded Collie |
13.9 |
|
Belgian Tervuren |
13.8 |
|
Parson Russell Terrier |
13.8 |
|
Finnish Lapphund |
13.8 |
|
Bracco Italian |
13.8 |
|
Welsh Terrier |
13.8 |
|
Tibetan Terrier |
13.8 |
|
Australian Shepherd |
13.7 |
|
Miniature Pinscher |
13.7 |
|
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier |
13.7 |
|
Bedlington Terrier |
13.7 |
|
Spanish Water Dog |
13.7 |
|
Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen |
13.7 |
|
Wire Fox Terrier |
13.5 |
|
English Springer Spaniel |
13.5 |
|
Irish Terrier |
13.5 |
|
Norfolk Terrier |
13.5 |
|
Sussex Spaniel |
13.5 |
|
Vizsla |
13.5 |
|
Chinese Crested |
13.4 |
|
Whippet |
13.4 |
|
Shetland Sheepdog |
13.4 |
|
West Highland White Terrier |
13.4 |
|
German Shorthaired Pointer |
13.4 |
|
Brussels Griffon |
13.3 |
|
American Cocker Spaniel |
13.3 |
|
Collie |
13.3 |
|
Jack Russell Terrier |
13.3 |
|
Silky Terrier |
13.3 |
|
Puli |
13.3 |
|
Yorkshire Terrier |
13.3 |
|
English Cocker Spaniel |
13.3 |
|
Tibetan Mastiff |
13.3 |
|
Saluki |
13.3 |
|
Pekingese |
13.3 |
|
Dalmatian |
13.2 |
|
Dachshund |
13.2 |
|
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever |
13.2 |
|
Polish Lowland Sheepdog |
13.2 |
|
Pembroke Welsh Corgi |
13.2 |
|
Golden Retriever |
13.2 |
|
English Setter |
13.1 |
|
Border Collie |
13.1 |
|
Field Spaniel |
13.1 |
|
Sealyham Terrier |
13.1 |
|
Labrador Retriever |
13.1 |
|
Samoyed |
13.1 |
|
Maltese |
13.1 |
|
Toy Manchester Terrier |
13 |
|
Foxhound |
13 |
|
German Wirehaired Pointer |
13 |
|
Standard Schnauzer |
13 |
|
Japanese Spitz |
13 |
|
Portuguese Water Dog |
13 |
|
Norwegian Elkhound |
13 |
|
Toy Fox Terrier |
12.9 |
|
Irish Setter |
12.9 |
|
Weimaraner |
12.8 |
|
Dandie Dinmont Terrier |
12.8 |
|
Shih Tzu |
12.8 |
|
Scottish Terrier |
12.7 |
|
Briard |
12.6 |
|
Beagle |
12.5 |
|
Basset Hound |
12.5 |
|
American Staffordshire Terrier |
12.5 |
|
Bichon Frise |
12.5 |
|
Japanese Chin |
12.5 |
|
Kerry Blue Terrier |
12.4 |
|
Gordon Setter |
12.4 |
|
Skye Terrier |
12.4 |
|
Keeshond |
12.3 |
|
Clumber Spaniel |
12.3 |
|
Miniature Bull Terrier |
12.2 |
|
Pomeranian |
12.2 |
|
Curly-Coated Retriever |
12.2 |
|
Old English Sheepdog |
12.1 |
|
Chow Chow |
12.1 |
|
Basenji |
12.1 |
|
Giant Schnauzer |
12.1 |
|
Glen Of Imaal Terrier |
12.1 |
|
Crossbreed |
12 |
|
Airedale Terrier |
12 |
|
Bull Terrier |
12 |
|
Canaan Dog |
12 |
|
Staffordshire Bull Terrier |
12 |
|
Belgian Malinois |
12 |
|
Borzoi |
12 |
|
Kelpie |
12 |
|
Rhodesian Ridgeback |
12 |
|
Spinone Italiano |
11.9 |
|
Siberian Husky |
11.9 |
|
Chihuahua |
11.8 |
|
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel |
11.8 |
|
Boston Terrier |
11.8 |
|
Flat-Coated Retriever |
11.7 |
|
Pug |
11.6 |
|
Chesapeake Bay Retriever |
11.6 |
|
Greyhound |
11.5 |
|
Akita |
11.4 |
|
German Shepherd Dog |
11.3 |
|
Boxer |
11.3 |
|
American Eskimo Dog |
11.3 |
|
Alaskan Malamute |
11.3 |
|
Bouvier des Flandres |
11.3 |
|
Doberman Pinscher |
11.2 |
|
Afghan Hound |
11.1 |
|
Brittany |
11.1 |
|
Dogue de Bordeaux |
11.1 |
|
Newfoundland |
11 |
|
Great Pyrenees |
10.9 |
|
Black Russian Terrier |
10.9 |
|
Irish Water Spaniel |
10.8 |
|
Chinese Shar-Pei |
10.6 |
|
Rottweiler |
10.6 |
|
Great Dane |
10.6 |
|
Scottish Deerhound |
10.5 |
|
Bullmastiff |
10.2 |
|
Anatolian Shepherd |
10.1 |
|
Bernese Mountain Dog |
10.1 |
|
Leonberger |
10 |
|
Pharaoh Hound |
10 |
|
Irish Wolfhound |
9.9 |
|
Bulldog |
9.8 |
|
French Bulldog |
9.8 |
|
Affenpinscher |
9.3 |
|
Bloodhound |
9.3 |
|
Neapolitan Mastiff |
9.3 |
|
Saint Bernard |
9.3 |
|
Mastiff |
9 |
|
Cane Corso |
8.1 |
|
Presa Canario |
7.7 |
|
Caucasian Shepherd Dog |
5.4 |
This article originally appeared in the award-winning Modern Dog magazine. Subscribe today!
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