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We all want our dogs to live with us, happy and healthy, for as long as possible. Each breed has its average life expectancy, and small dogs typically live longer than large dogs. Of course individual genetic factors are probably the real key in determining each dog's unique life expectancy.
But regardless of size and breed, I want to know your tips and thoughts on keeping our dogs going way up into their senior years! Is it largely out of our control or can we have an influence here?
For those of you who have had dogs with extraordinarily long lives:
Was the dog "lean-fed"? Average weight? Chunky?
Did he receive regular vaccines and routine vet care including heartworm and flea prevention? Or did you only use vets, meds, and vaccines on an as-needed basis?
Were medical tests a contributing factor to the dog's long life? (i.e. problems discovered and addressed) If so, which tests?
I have 2 that lived long my first was a Lhasa Apso bought from a backyard breeder, fed grocery store dog food, had all the shots and lived just shy of his 18th BD. My second was my beloved rescue JRT for the first part of his life he was fed grocery store food then I learned about quality dog food and he got TOTW for the last part of his life, not so much on the imunizations, he lived to around 16ish.
Both were kept at weight, not too lean but at weight.
You might be interested in reading Ted Kerasote's new book, Pukka's Promise, The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs. Lots of very interesting information in it, with some ideas that are likely to be controversial to some.
I'd quote a few passages from it but it's already on loan to a friend. He thinks that feeding a raw diet may be very beneficial to improving dog's lives, as well as not routinely vaccinating, but doing titers instead. A third belief of his is that we should look at alternatives to complete S/N and consider vasectomies and tubal ligations so that we prevent unwanted puppies but do not remove the dogs ability to produce sex hormones.
He writes about the ever narrowing gene pool of dogs, not just pure breds but mixed too. He sites the high number of goldens with cancer and talks about the fact that back in the early 70's there were 3 very popular stud dogs and one of them has over 95,000 known (registered) descendants and who knows how many unknown ones.
As far as my own dogs go some have lasted longer than I would have expected but not to unusually old ages. I currently have a big black lab (about 85 lbs) that I adopted back in Aug 2012, just a few days before his 12th birthday. The folks I got him from had owned him since he was a pup and as far as I know they always fed him basic Purina Dog Chow. I had my vet run a senior blood panel on him and all his numbers were perfect. He always lived in the country and had about 10 acres to run on and also had a good buddy (neighbor's black lab) to run and play with. So plenty of exercise may be part of what's helped him say healthy so far, but I suspect that it may mostly be the luck of good genes.
My dog, a whippet mixed with maybe rat or Jack Russell terrier lived to be 16--a couple of years past the Whippet lifespan of 14...we did keep him trim. Early on the vet warned us not to let him get overweight as he had long skinny legs that wouldn't bear too much weight.
Our guy ate various formulations of salmon/sweet potato dry dog food, mixed with some human veggies and meat/chicken leftovers. We gave him few treats, though he was a voracious eater. He loved raw carrots as treats--and apple.
His weight stayed steady at 30-32 pounds all his life.
Other than average amounts of exercise, teeth cleanings and some shots such as rabies, heartworm and flea drops, he was pretty much illness-free until his last year when various eye injuries/infections necessitated several surgeries and finally an eye removal.
The anesthesia from that final surgery caused dementia and he had to be put to sleep as his mind was gone--he cried and walked in circles, forgot how to drink, lost his memory of being houseclean (and he was very immaculate in his habits) and had zero quality of life.
You can Google and research various breeds--some are more robust than others. Certain popular breeds can get overbred and suffer some inherited diseases. For example, King Charles Spaniels, a breed I adore, are often prone to seizures and serious brain problems due to the shape of their skulls being sometimes too small for their brains...
Mixed breeds can be very robust...our childhood dog, a little Sheltie/Spitz/Spaniel mix lived to be almost 20!
We miss our Whippet fellow so much. He was so gentle--and rare in that he was a pacifist--he had no prey drive--never chased a cat, squirrel, rabbit, deer or any other creature--only treats or my husband if he ran ahead and I held him back and then released the pooch to go catch up...then he flew...I'd get another Whippet or mix in a heartbeat--when we're ready.
We lost 2 seniors last year, 1 at 13 years and the other at 12 years. Both died because of cancer. The were fed primium food and seen once a year at the vet or more if neede. Our 14 year old Husky is fed raw, eggs, and tuna fish low sodium and she is still going at has been at a constant 35 lbs for at least a year now. We feed her this because she will not eat dry kibble. She also sees the vet once a year and is on several meds for seizures and leaks.
I'm not sure what you mean by extraordinarily long-lived, but I'll take a stab at this. I had a shih tzu who lived to be 1.5 months shy of his 16 birthday (which seems long lived to me).
Breeder: I got him from a local breeder in NC in 1996.
Food: He ate Purina (I know, gasp!) for most of his life with forays in his senior years into Hills as he developed certain medical problems. He also loved fruit, eggs, and cheese. I was very careful about not letting him have people food in his puppy and mid-life, but in his last couple of years, I left him have pretty much anything he wanted in moderation -- and his absolute favorite was Chick-fil-A.
Average Weight: First 11/12 or so years of life, very solid. Not at all overweight but on the big side of the breed. Last five years, thin to skinny as he went through certain illnesses.
Health: First 11/12 years or so, GREAT health. Some issues with ear infections and one round of problems with a bad back, but nothing major. From 2008 and on, health started to be an issue. (Heart, kidneys, back, arthritis, laryngeal spasms, dementia starting in 2010.)
Health Care: But with the best vet and vet specialists that NC has to offer and medicinal options to treat his conditions, he lived a long, happy, high-quality extra five years.
Daily Life: I think the main reason he was always so happy is because of how active he was. So many daily walks and visits with friends. Plus, he was attended 24/7 starting in 2007 so he always had a friend present to entertain and be entertained by. On rainy days, he didn't stay inside; instead, he took car trips to PetSmart, etc.
And always, even in the depths of his dementia, he continued the basic training that he had learned as a younger dog (sit, stay, down, come) -- plus, selegilene helped with this condition. Just because he was an old dog with a host of problems didn't mean that he was allowed to think he was an old dog with a host of problems. I mainly thought he was the love of my life.
Although I've become very particular about what my dogs eat, etc, I think it's more genetics than anything else. The miniature poodle I grew up with ate Gainesburgers (something most posters have never heard of, I'm sure) and lived a healthy life until she succumbed to cancer at 16. My chow chow mix also lived to be 16, ate Purina most of her life (before all the recalls in 2007 that started awareness of what goes into pet food) as did her shorter lived "brothers". Both of these dogs got all recommended vaccinations, and neither was unusually active. My current dogs are 4 or 5, and I hope they live good, long, lives. I'm certainly trying my best to feed them and exercise them well, but I can't say I'm sure it will make any real difference.
I just lost a 17 year old Papillon. PTS because her mind was gone. Her body was still strong, so maybe she would have lived longer.
She was always really thin. She ate a lot and I feed really good food, but she appeared to lack fat cells. She was high energy all of her life and extremely athletic.
The only time she saw a vet was for her rabies shots and microchip. I clean teeth and give the distemper combo myself once a year, so she was thoroughly vaccinated all of her life. She never had a sick day in her life and had cast iron guts; nothing upset her tummy.
I got 2 different Deerhounds up over 12 years with the same type of care. That is a very old Deerhound. All of my Deerhounds were very thin. Same thing, they eat a lot of good food but seem to lack any fat cells. It doesn't matter how much they eat, they remain thin.
Dog food here is home cooked and I use top quality ingredients with a lot of variety. However, I have met many 16-17 year old dogs who have lived on basic Purina Dog Chow every day of their life. My opinion of Purina is that it is not made of fancy ingredients, but it is carefully balanced and complete. I trust Purina for horse feed and rabbit feed, that the food will be properly nutritious, so I am sure that the dog food is also properly nutritious and balanced.
But just like you can raise a child on lentils and chicken feet, or you can raise a child on fillet mignon and brie cheese and you can get two healthy children with different diets, you can raise a healthy dog on differing diets. It's just that my kids and dogs get the best stuff and not the ground leather and cracked corn.
We all want our dogs to live with us, happy and healthy, for as long as possible. Each breed has its average life expectancy, and small dogs typically live longer than large dogs. Of course individual genetic factors are probably the real key in determining each dog's unique life expectancy.
But regardless of size and breed, I want to know your tips and thoughts on keeping our dogs going way up into their senior years! Is it largely out of our control or can we have an influence here?
For those of you who have had dogs with extraordinarily long lives:
Was the dog "lean-fed"? Average weight? Chunky? My dog is an almost 18 yr old Weimaraner. My weims are big dogs but wiems can be long lived. His sire was from champion show dog but he was 'pet quality' since he was larger than the standard and his dam was from champion hunters so he may not be typical but this might have led to greater vitality. At his youngest and strongest he was 110 lbs. He is about my hip level and he walks at heel on my left side with my hand resting on his back (I am 5'3") He generally runs 80 or 90lbs until his recent illness. He has always been muscular and never chunky. We fed him dry dog food but with no byproducts. lamb and rice, since he did tend to allergies. I have never seen a more athletic or faster dog in his younger years. He was a good tracker and very protective. Was a problem solver and could easily escape most enclosures. THis is all to say he was healthy, active, and well fed.
Did he receive regular vaccines and routine vet care including heartworm and flea prevention? Or did you only use vets, meds, and vaccines on an as-needed basis? Yes he has received traditional and holistic treatment through the years. Always up to date on all vaccines, heartworm etc. We took as good care of him as we could. We lost his littermate sister to cancer at 7 years old but treated her the same care wise.
Were medical tests a contributing factor to the dog's long life? (i.e. problems discovered and addressed) If so, which tests? I don't know if any testing was done until recently. Usually just the annual hands on examination
What type of diet did the dog eat? good dry food, no byproducts. Boil soup bones and put the broth and marrow on his dry food.
Give your general tips for long lived dogs!
I think it is mostly genetics and consistent care. And he has a strong will to live. He is immensely stubborn too.
He has most recently had terrible bladder infections and it has been hard. I was almost ready to let him go but a specialist vet found the reason and we will see how he does. Now that he is feeling better he is acting like his old self. How long this will continue, I do not know.
He protected me twice from physical attack when he was young and I promised him I would carry him if need be and lately I have. The vets say he pushes forward because of me. So the time will come I must let him go, because he won't let go. But not today.
I think that really, we owners don't have as much control as we thing and that genetics and dumb luck play the biggest part. In addition to common-sense routine care, such as heartworm preventative and responsible veterinary attention when necessary.
I mainly have owned Rottweilers, which are not long-lived dogs and also very prone to bone cancer. I have lost 3 of the 7 I've owned to bone cancer over the last 28 years. I've yet to have one live past 10 years. For two of those three dogs I spent many thousands of dollars (amputations, chemo, holistic meds, allopathic care, etc) only to "buy" another month or two. The third time, I let her go while she was still feeling good and before the pain became intolerable for her.
However, cancer aside, my dogs have generally been very healthy, needing few vet visits beyond routine stuff.
My oldest lived dog was maybe 16 (a young adult when I got her so I never knew her real age) and she was healthy as an ox for the 14 years I owned her. She was a GSD mix, or possibly some type of Belgian shepherd mix. I had her pts when her arthritis and joint pain became unmanageable.
I do all rabies vaccinations as legally required; otherwise a minimalist with vaccines for adult dogs. Always do HW preventative and other parasite control as necessary.
Feed primarily raw.
Keep my dogs definitely lean. Lots of exercise and activity.
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For two of those three dogs I spent many thousands of dollars (amputations, chemo, holistic meds, allopathic care, etc) only to "buy" another month or two. The third time, I let her go while she was still feeling good and before the pain became intolerable for her.
