It is a matter of senior care.
When dogs get old they lose control of their bladders (big dogs pee a flood while little dogs leave puddles), need medicine (expensive, and you need more with a larger dog), and need help moving (try hauling a German Shepard to and from the backyard, not to mention vet visits). All of which is easier with little dogs and people are willing to keep them alive longer.
Giant breeds don't live nearly as long though. Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds and for some reason Boxers, among others, only live 8-10 years.
2006-09-08 06:48:00
·
answer #1
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
In general, yes. Larger breed dogs like Great Danes and Mastiffs have a long lifespan at 10 to 12 years. Smaller dogs like Chihuahuas and little terriers can easily live over 15-16 years. I've seen exceptions to every rule, so it's not just cut and dry, but in general, small dogs live longer than large dogs.
2006-09-08 07:29:00
·
answer #2
·
answered by Lauren M 4
·
0⤊
0⤋
Yes, all the charts of life expectancy at the vets show that smaller dogs live about 5 to 10 years longer. Some large breeds have large hearts, and for some reason that makes them live a shorter life. I know this to be true with Great Danes.
2006-09-08 06:46:30
·
answer #3
·
answered by Cynthia 5
·
0⤊
0⤋
Usually, yes.
Small to medium sized dogs can live for 15 or 20 years (sometimes longer). But the bigger the dog, the shorter the life span.
The Irish Wolfhound (the world's tallest dog) has a life expectancy of only 7 years.
2006-09-08 06:46:10
·
answer #4
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
It really depends on the dog and how well cared for it is. Generally speaking, small breeds have a longer life span.
But, my Rott/Dobe mix is 17. And I have known some small breeds to only live to about 7 or 8.
2006-09-08 07:07:52
·
answer #5
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
Yes as a general rule they do. Big dogs, Danes, Mastiffs and other large breeds may only see 9-10 years. Little throw pillow dogs, much longer 15 +.
2006-09-08 06:49:31
·
answer #6
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
In most cases they do, however there are long lived large breeds, as well. The large breed I raise lives well into early twenties with great diet and plenty of exercise....the oldest living dog is an Australian Cattle dog, now 27 years old..and her predecessor was a 27 year old border collie that only died last year at age 27...
An interesting fact, is that the border collie that died at age 27, was raised entirely on a lentil based vegetarian diet! shoots our concept of canine nutritional needs all to heck..huh? The current record holder is fed mostly kangaroo and emu meat...go figure..
2006-09-08 06:45:47
·
answer #7
·
answered by Chetco 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
If they are well taken care of small breeds tend to live longer, because big breeds age faster.
That's not to say that all small dogs live longer, they could get some unexpected medical condition and die well before expected.
2006-09-08 07:53:12
·
answer #8
·
answered by bmoline 4
·
0⤊
0⤋
I would say so. Labs are big dogs, and they only live about 12 years or so. And Yorkys and Papilons and such can live up to nearly 20. Some lady that came into my work had a 22 year old Maltese. But it really all depends on the dog.
2006-09-08 06:42:14
·
answer #9
·
answered by Serena T 6
·
0⤊
0⤋
In general, yes... smaller breeds tend to have longer life spans than larger breeds
2006-09-08 06:42:14
·
answer #10
·
answered by searchpup 5
·
0⤊
0⤋