Pet Tips

Tip 46 – Life expectancy in dogs – How long will my dog live?

We all want our pet dogs to live as long as possible, but the fact of the matter is that on average, certain dog breeds live longer than others. This might be a consideration when choosing a dog breed and it is therefore useful information to know before hand.

The average life span of the North American or European dog is 12.8 years. This is a large increase in life span over the past 100 years and is mostly attributable to better food and better medical care. Within this 12.8 year average for all dogs is a large range of life spans where certain breeds live longer and certain breeds live less long. In general, larger dogs live shorter lives than smaller dogs. This is due to the fact that the bodies of larger dogs must work harder (are more stressed) than the bodies of smaller dogs. That said, the life expectancy of any one dog in particular is ALSO determined by the stresses in its life (both physical and psychological), what it eats and how well it is taken care of.

Life expectancy of popular dog breeds:

  • Afghan Hound (12.0)
  • Airedale Terrier (11.2)
  • Basset Hound (12.8)
  • Beagle (13.3)
  • Bearded Collie (12.3)
  • Bedlington Terrier (14.3)
  • Bernese Mountain Dog (7.0)
  • Border Collie (13.0)
  • Border Terrier (13.8)
  • Boxer (10.4)
  • Bull Terrier (12.9)
  • Bulldog (6.7)
  • Bullmastiff (8.6)
  • Cairn Terrier (13.2)
  • Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (10.7)
  • Chihuahua (13.0)
  • Chow Chow (13.5)
  • Cocker Spaniel (12.5)
  • Corgi (11.3)
  • Dachshund (12.2)
  • Dalmatian (13.0)
  • Doberman Pinscher (9.8)
  • English Cocker Spaniel (11.8)
  • English Setter (11.2)
  • English Springer Spaniel (13.0)
  • English Toy Spaniel (10.1)
  • Flat-Coated Retriever (9.5)
  • German Shepherd (10.3)
  • German Shorthaired Pointer (12.3)
  • Golden Retriever (12.0)
  • Gordon Setter (11.3)
  • Great Dane (8.4)
  • Greyhound (13.2)
  • Irish Red and White Setter (12.9)
  • Irish Setter (11.8)
  • Irish Wolfhound (6.2)
  • Jack Russell Terrier (13.6)
  • Labrador Retriever (12.6)
  • Lurcher (12.6)
  • Miniature Dachshund (14.4)
  • Miniature Poodle (14.8)
  • Norfolk Terrier (10.0)
  • Old English Sheepdog (11.8)
  • Pekingese (13.3)
  • Random-bred / Mongrel (13.2)
  • Rhodesian Ridgeback (9.1)
  • Rottweiler (9.8)
  • Rough Collie (12.2)
  • Samoyed (11.0)
  • Scottish Deerhound (9.5)
  • Scottish Terrier (12.0)
  • Shetland Sheepdog (13.3)
  • Shih Tzu (13.4)
  • Staffordshire Bull Terrier (10.0)
  • Standard Poodle (12.0)
  • Tibetan Terrier (14.3)
  • Toy Poodle (14.4)
  • Viszla (12.5)
  • Weimaraner (10.0)
  • Welsh Springer Spaniel (11.5)
  • West Highland White Terrier (12.8)
  • Whippet (14.3)
  • Wire Fox Terrier (13.0)
  • Yorkshire Terrier (12.8)

22 Responses to this Article, So Far

  1. Avatar ashleigh says:

    Awww miii dogs 4 & its scary it only liuves 4 12.6 yrs :’((

  2. Avatar AJ says:

    Useful article – interesting to see the vast lifespan ranges between breeds!

  3. Avatar jared says:

    I did not see my breed of dog she is a lhasa apso but ive heard that they can live up to 20 years

    • Avatar Marko says:

      I too have heard that they live a long time. I would doubt 20 years is average for the breed, but 16-18 years is fairly common as far as i know.

  4. Avatar mary says:

    the age limit for amer.cockers is wrong becouse my american cocker lived for 14& a half yrs! also my english cocker is 11 now&this website says they will only live till 11 but my 11 yr old is still active physicaly&mentally!

    • Avatar Marko says:

      Perhaps you missed the first sentence and the last sentence of the article.

      “We all want our pet dogs to live as long as possible, but the fact of the matter is that on average, certain dog breeds live longer than others.”

      “That said, the life expectancy of any one dog in particular is ALSO determined by the stresses in its life (both physical and psychological), what it eats and how well it is taken care of.”

      The info is not wrong, you are just lucky that your pets have exceeded the average. I hope they continue to do so with a good quality of life.

  5. Avatar Kim says:

    I have a english spaniel/lab/beagle 32 lbs and she is 15.7 months old. She is in good health. Her legs are getting tired and sometimes trips herself. But all that said I just took her on a mile walk and she loved it.

  6. Avatar Telka says:

    I was hoping Id see my pug. I thought they were a common breed.

  7. Avatar shawn says:

    don’t look for your specific dog look for the breed, i have a pit bull but i just looked for bull terrier. that’s how you need to search.

  8. Avatar steven says:

    my border collie cross lived to almost 13 so he lived to the average age,he would have lived longer but for a brain lesion.

  9. Avatar Emma says:

    Hahhahaaha take that life expectancy; my english springer spaniel is 15.4 years old and going strong!!!

  10. Avatar Erica says:

    The Rottweiler lives actually 10-13 years! Coming from a Rottweiler Expert and Owner. Currently owning 4. and Show mine.

    • Avatar Marko says:

      Please keep in mind these are averages…..
      Just because someone’s grandma lives to ninety does not mean that the average life expectancy for women (around 81 years) is wrong.

      Just because a single breeder takes great care of their Rottweillers and those Rottweilers live a long time, that too does not make the average wrong.

      Averages are based on multiple samples, not individual dogs.

    • Avatar Kim says:

      My rotti shadow is now 11 years old. She isn’t doing very well at all. She has lived a very good and happy life. I have friends that have had the same breed and their dogs have only lived to the ages of 5-8 years of age. So I guess I have been very lucky

  11. Avatar Erica says:

    I am saying I know many many Kennels who live longer than this Im not putting it on here to Argue. I am Saying with careful selective Breeding of the Rottweiler its life span has improved.

  12. Avatar Robert S. says:

    We have a female Australian terrier/yorkymix. She will be16 next week. 12/30/10.
    Is this some sort of record or close?

  13. Avatar Trina says:

    Our Golden/Cocker mix will be 18 in February.
    She only recently started to act old. She is an exception to the averages.

  14. Avatar Gerry says:

    My beloved Cocker’s health just started failing this weekend. He is 16yrs 2mos old. He was very healthy until this weekend. He’s been diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. Combined with his age,..well…

  15. Avatar GatorsGordon says:

    This life span chart seems a little short on years. I have a Gordon Setter that will turn 13 in a couple months that’s very healthy and still even gets playful at times. When I was a kid we had a Black Lab that died shortly after turning 16. Blind, skinny as a rail, but happy as could be. And it died from being hit by a car. I wonder if he would have lived another year.

  16. Avatar Marko says:

    It’s in the ballpark – seems reasonable to me.