They’ve long been known as ‘man’s best friend’, so it’s no wonder that most dog owners dread to think about the day their pet passes away.
Now, a study shows that when it comes to life expectancy in dogs, there’s a huge range between breeds.
Researchers from Dogs Trust analysed over 580,000 dogs in the UK to understand the effects of breed, body size, face shape, and sex on lifespan.
The findings may raise alarm bells for owners of Caucasian Shepherd Dogs, Presa Canarios, and Cane Corsos, which were found to be at the highest risk of an early death.
In contrast, owners of Lancashire Heelers, Tibetan Spaniels, and Bologneses can rest easy in the knowledge that their dogs tend to live the longest.
They’ve long been known as ‘man’s best friend’, so it’s no wonder that most dog owners dread to think about the day their pet passes away. Now, a study shows that when it comes to life expectancy in dogs, there’s a huge range between breeds
Previous studies have shown that the average life expectancy for a dog is between 10 and 13.7 years.
However, until now, it has been unclear how life expectancy varies between dog breeds.
In their new study, the researchers set to rectify this by analysing data from 584,734 dogs in the UK, including 284,734 who had died.
In total, 155 pure breeds were included in the study, while crossbreeds were grouped together.
The researchers not only took the dogs’ breeds into consideration, but also looked at their sex, body size, and face shape.
The Caucasian Shepherd Dog was found to be the breed with the lowest average life expectancy, living to just 5.4 years on average (stock image)
The results revealed that overall, small, long-nosed dogs such as Miniature Dachshunds and Shetland Sheepdogs had the highest average life expectancies of 13.3 years.
In contrast, medium flat-faced dogs such as French Bulldogs and English Bulldogs had the lowest average life expectancies, of 9.1 years for males and 9.6 years for females.
In terms of specific breeds, the Lancashire Heeler topped the list with the highest life expectancy (15.4 years).
This was followed by the Tibetan Spaniel (15.2 years), Bolognese (14.9 years), Shiba Inu (14.6 years) and Papilion (14.5 years).
At the other end of the scale, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog was found to be the breed with the lowest average life expectancy, living to just 5.4 years on average.
Presa Canario (7.7 years), Cane Corso (8.1 years), Mastiff (9.0 years) and Affenpinscher (9.3 years) followed closely behind.
In terms of differences between the sexes, female dogs were found to live slightly longer than males (12.7 years compared to 12.4 years).
While the researchers did not explore the possible reasons for these discrepancies, previous studies have shown that flat-faced breeds are at high risk for a range of health conditions.
The results revealed that overall, small, long-nosed dogs such as Miniature Dachshunds and Shetland Sheepdogs had the highest average life expectancies of 13.3 years
Presa Canario (7.7 years), Cane Corso (pictured, 8.1 years), Mastiff (9.0 years) and Affenpinscher (9.3 years) were found to be some of the breeds with the shortest life expectancies
Bill Lambert, Health, Welfare and Breeder Services Executive at The Kennel Club said: ‘We remain concerned about flat-faced breeds and the negative impacts of the irresponsible breeding and buying of these dogs, including shorter lifespans as shown in this research, and urge potential owners to “stop and think” before buying a flat-faced dog.
‘Responsible breeders of the most popular brachycephalic breeds should assess their dog’s breathing via our Respiratory Function Grading scheme.
‘And puppy buyers should be looking to see these health test results, as well as ensuring the parents of their puppy do not have exaggerated physical features.’
The researchers hope the findings will be helpful for vets, pet owners, and researchers.
Writing in their study, published in Scientific Reports, the researchers, led by Kirsten McMillan, wrote: ‘Breed specifc estimates of survival are not only informative to veterinarians and researchers, but also to current and prospective owners, looking to fully understand their future responsibilities, and potential duration of dog-owner relationship.’
