Dog Longevity

[Dax]

Ken's post got me thinking on this, in your experience have your dogs lived as long as the books and experts say? I would love to hear stories, etc.

For example - rottis normally live 9 - 12 years old.

[Trace]

I had a dog when I was very young that was run over.

Ellie - one of my BC's - got canine lymphoma when she was 8 this summer and had to be put down.

So - so far much less than expected.

[lou3]

We had a working collie that lived until she was nearly nineteen and one of the labradors at the kennels i used to work at was seventeen when she was put down. Barring accident all our dogs have lived to at least 13.

[JennyG3479]

I had a dog when I was growing up and she was a lab/shepard mix she lived til she was 11. You know the weird thing about her was whenever we were gone she would be outside if it was nice and when we came home there would be another dog from the neighborhood in her house with her (I guess she was the town**** if you know what I mean) but she only had one litter of pups and that was when she was like 10 years old. She ended up having cancer and we had to put her down, she was great.

[Lessica Jake]

The only one who had a standard was Willie, and he lived to about 13. Sam was a pound puppy, GoldenxAussie Shepherd, died of cancer, also about 13. JB had to be put to sleep at 6 due to health issues.

Springers are supposed to live 10-14 years, but Ken had one that was 17, and Bailey's more puppy-like than any of the others were at her age, so she may be around for a long time yet.

[weimlover0816]

All of my dogs in my adult life are still with me and are young.... but, growing up, we seemed to lose them at early ages .

Jigger: our Irish Setter, lived to 13, which is quite old. He died from heartworm when I was around 7 I think.
Bama: Our Golden Retriever, lived to 8. He died in surgery
Pride: Our Gordan Setter died in the summer of 2003 fro lymphoma. He was 8 also.

They were all fantastic dogs, and I miss every one of them. *tears*

[Trace]

Originally Posted by weimlover0816

Pride: Our Gordan Setter died in the summer of 2003 fro lymphoma. He was 8 also.

Isn't the Lymphoma horrible. I hated what it did to my poor Ellie. She was a trooper the whole process too.

[weimlover0816]

Yeah, Trace, it was horrific. My parents noticed the lumps on his neck on a Satruday, he was quasi-diagnosed that Monday, then we went to a specialist Wednesday to be sure. He was stage 4, and going downhill quickly. Treatment was not really an option, so they took the whole week off work, and my hubby, my sister and I went over every day. He swam and swam and got to go on one last bird hunt, and he was out to sleep that next Monday. I still cry for him. My father carries some of his ashes in a little vial when he goes hunting. Pride is always with him watching over the other doggies. *tears again*

I am sorry you had to go thru that ordeal. I did a lot of research on it when Pride was diagnosed, and it is just horrible.

[smehta1]

Chloe is my first pure bred baby...all others so far have been rescued mix breeds - so there was no age expectation by experts. I voted average because apart from any accidents -they all lived to be anywhere between 13 and 15

[Trace]

Originally Posted by weimlover0816

Yeah, Trace, it was horrific. My parents noticed the lumps on his neck on a Satruday, he was quasi-diagnosed that Monday, then we went to a specialist Wednesday to be sure. He was stage 4, and going downhill quickly. Treatment was not really an option, so they took the whole week off work, and my hubby, my sister and I went over every day. He swam and swam and got to go on one last bird hunt, and he was out to sleep that next Monday. I still cry for him. My father carries some of his ashes in a little vial when he goes hunting. Pride is always with him watching over the other doggies. *tears again*

I am sorry you had to go thru that ordeal. I did a lot of research on it when Pride was diagnosed, and it is just horrible.

When Ellie was diagnosed I was at home in the Uk - Imagine come back from holiday to that.

We were lucky in that our Vet was willing to try a mix of drugs that was cheaper than some of the treatments out there and gave some really good results. We had Ellie for about 10 weeks after diagnosis - with the exception of the last week - she was still able to run for the ball, eat and sleep comfortably.

It is a horrible way for them to go.