A dog may expect to live for more than ten years on average, but life expectancy varies widely across breeds. Dogs mature far more quickly than people do, thus they frequently outlive their human counterparts. How long do dogs typically live, though?
According to research published in the journal Scientific Reports in April 2022, a dog's lifespan may be greatly influenced by its breed (opens in new tab). Scientists determined the typical life expectancies of 18 breeds and crossbreeds in the United Kingdom by examining the ages of more than 30,000 dogs that passed away between 2016 and 2020.
Overall, the average lifespan of the dogs was 11.2 years. The lifespan of these canine friends, however, varied by breed. Dog breeders were able to "give flight to our whims and desires for how wild and extreme we could reshape the canine body" when breeds were first developed around 150 years ago, according ...to to study senior author Dr. Dan O'Neill(opens in new tab), a veterinarian and epidemiologist at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire, England, who spoke with Live Science via email. According to him, "the demand for excellent health was no longer a barrier" in developing new breeds because many of these dogs no longer served a functional purpose, such as herding, retrieving, or guarding.
Researchers discovered that smaller dogs lived longer than larger ones. According to the fundamental laws of life expectancy among species in the natural world, smaller animals typically have shorter lives than bigger species, O'Neill stated, "the life expectancy advantage for small dogs essentially flies in the face of those laws." "An elephant may expect to live 60 to 70 years, but a mouse would expect to live one to two years.
" (According to some other studies, the overall size-related trend in longevity observed across species may not always hold true within a species; for instance, a 2019 study(opens in new tab) revealed that larger women may live longer than smaller women, but this may not apply to males.)
One theory is that the larger breeds of dogs live shorter lives than the smaller kinds, not the other way around.According to O'Neill, breeding may have produced huge breeds that develop far more quickly than their ancestors, leading to the advent of early-onset ailments like osteoarthritis and cancer. O'Neill said that because 90% of canine fatalities in the United Kingdom entail euthanasia, "human decision-making has a significant impact" on how long they live.
He said that larger dogs may require more expensive medical care as they age, or that caring for larger breeds of dogs with mobility concerns may be more challenging than caring for smaller ones.The researchers also discovered that crossbred dogs had a life expectancy of 11.8 years, or around 6 months longer than the average for the entire group.
According to prior study, hybrids are frequently healthier than purebreds, according to O'Neill. He also found that female dogs often lived longer than male dogs, however whether this was true varied among breeds.
Neutering was also generally associated with a longer life expectancy, possibly due to the stronger owner responsibility and better care it often entails, as well as the possibility that it may lessen or completely eradicate a number of health issues connected to the reproductive system and hormones, such as tumors.Overall, the researchers discovered that Jack Russell terriers had the longest life expectancy—12.7 years—while French bulldogs had the shortest—4.5 years.
"Unfortunately, although many breeds did keep a fundamental healthy body shape—for example, the Labrador retriever—several other breeds pursued a route to extreme body shapes—for instance, the English bulldog," O'Neill added. When breeding led to these significant physical variations, "the critical health consequences connected to these extreme body forms started to become obvious," he added.
According to O'Neill, smaller dogs tend to live longer than larger canines, and Jack Russell terriers may follow this pattern. Additionally, they weren't developed to have a particular body form that would have compromised their general health. These little dogs were raised to be hardy and benefited from not having to adhere to a pre-established breed standard, according to O'Neill. These are essentially the classic, healthy little family companion dog.
Similar to closely related wild animals like wolves, coyotes, and foxes, which evolutionary forces presumably optimized for survival and health, other canines with extended life spans also have body types, according to O'Neill. For example, the average lifespan of Yorkshire terriers was 12.5 years, that of border collies was 12.1 years, and that of springer spaniels was 11.9 years. In contrast, French bulldogs and other related breeds frequently lead short lives.
English bulldogs, pugs, and American bulldogs all had average life expectancies of 7.4 years, 7.7 years, and 7.8 years, respectively. Previous studies have discovered that certain breeds are predisposed to a number of major health issues that are frequently connected to their physical traits, such as their huge heads or short snouts. These ailments include heatstroke, sliding kneecaps, elbow joint disease, cherry eye, eye ulcers, skin fold dermatitis, respiratory issues, and heatstroke.
According to O'Neill, "many of these illnesses are life-limiting in that they either directly cause these dogs' early deaths or cause owners to choose euthanasia for welfare reasons."Although estimating a dog's lifespan by multiplying its age by seven to determine how old it may be in human years is a frequent practice, O'Neill and his colleagues' most recent research shows "that such a notion truly is no longer that relevant." "Given the significant variance in lifespan among breeds, a different strategy would be to develop the idea of dog years within each breed.
According to research published in the journal Scientific Reports in April 2022, a dog's lifespan may be greatly influenced by its breed (opens in new tab). Scientists determined the typical life expectancies of 18 breeds and crossbreeds in the United Kingdom by examining the ages of more than 30,000 dogs that passed away between 2016 and 2020.
Overall, the average lifespan of the dogs was 11.2 years. The lifespan of these canine friends, however, varied by breed. Dog breeders were able to "give flight to our whims and desires for how wild and extreme we could reshape the canine body" when breeds were first developed around 150 years ago, according ...to to study senior author Dr. Dan O'Neill(opens in new tab), a veterinarian and epidemiologist at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire, England, who spoke with Live Science via email. According to him, "the demand for excellent health was no longer a barrier" in developing new breeds because many of these dogs no longer served a functional purpose, such as herding, retrieving, or guarding.
Researchers discovered that smaller dogs lived longer than larger ones. According to the fundamental laws of life expectancy among species in the natural world, smaller animals typically have shorter lives than bigger species, O'Neill stated, "the life expectancy advantage for small dogs essentially flies in the face of those laws." "An elephant may expect to live 60 to 70 years, but a mouse would expect to live one to two years.
" (According to some other studies, the overall size-related trend in longevity observed across species may not always hold true within a species; for instance, a 2019 study(opens in new tab) revealed that larger women may live longer than smaller women, but this may not apply to males.)
One theory is that the larger breeds of dogs live shorter lives than the smaller kinds, not the other way around.According to O'Neill, breeding may have produced huge breeds that develop far more quickly than their ancestors, leading to the advent of early-onset ailments like osteoarthritis and cancer. O'Neill said that because 90% of canine fatalities in the United Kingdom entail euthanasia, "human decision-making has a significant impact" on how long they live.
He said that larger dogs may require more expensive medical care as they age, or that caring for larger breeds of dogs with mobility concerns may be more challenging than caring for smaller ones.The researchers also discovered that crossbred dogs had a life expectancy of 11.8 years, or around 6 months longer than the average for the entire group.
According to prior study, hybrids are frequently healthier than purebreds, according to O'Neill. He also found that female dogs often lived longer than male dogs, however whether this was true varied among breeds.
Neutering was also generally associated with a longer life expectancy, possibly due to the stronger owner responsibility and better care it often entails, as well as the possibility that it may lessen or completely eradicate a number of health issues connected to the reproductive system and hormones, such as tumors.Overall, the researchers discovered that Jack Russell terriers had the longest life expectancy—12.7 years—while French bulldogs had the shortest—4.5 years.
"Unfortunately, although many breeds did keep a fundamental healthy body shape—for example, the Labrador retriever—several other breeds pursued a route to extreme body shapes—for instance, the English bulldog," O'Neill added. When breeding led to these significant physical variations, "the critical health consequences connected to these extreme body forms started to become obvious," he added.
According to O'Neill, smaller dogs tend to live longer than larger canines, and Jack Russell terriers may follow this pattern. Additionally, they weren't developed to have a particular body form that would have compromised their general health. These little dogs were raised to be hardy and benefited from not having to adhere to a pre-established breed standard, according to O'Neill. These are essentially the classic, healthy little family companion dog.
Similar to closely related wild animals like wolves, coyotes, and foxes, which evolutionary forces presumably optimized for survival and health, other canines with extended life spans also have body types, according to O'Neill. For example, the average lifespan of Yorkshire terriers was 12.5 years, that of border collies was 12.1 years, and that of springer spaniels was 11.9 years. In contrast, French bulldogs and other related breeds frequently lead short lives.
English bulldogs, pugs, and American bulldogs all had average life expectancies of 7.4 years, 7.7 years, and 7.8 years, respectively. Previous studies have discovered that certain breeds are predisposed to a number of major health issues that are frequently connected to their physical traits, such as their huge heads or short snouts. These ailments include heatstroke, sliding kneecaps, elbow joint disease, cherry eye, eye ulcers, skin fold dermatitis, respiratory issues, and heatstroke.
According to O'Neill, "many of these illnesses are life-limiting in that they either directly cause these dogs' early deaths or cause owners to choose euthanasia for welfare reasons."Although estimating a dog's lifespan by multiplying its age by seven to determine how old it may be in human years is a frequent practice, O'Neill and his colleagues' most recent research shows "that such a notion truly is no longer that relevant." "Given the significant variance in lifespan among breeds, a different strategy would be to develop the idea of dog years within each breed.
Tags:
Animal News