Doggie life span

[carol1022]

I read various places as I travel the internet that dogs should have a normal life span of 20 to 30 years if fed natural foods and not subjected to over vaccinations, etc. Just out of curiousity, has anyone ever known of a dog that lived that long, regardless of how he was cared for? Would love to hear.
Peanut's mom

[golden&hovawart]

I don't believe that!.It is said that the averagelife span for the dog is in bet.12 and 18 depending on the breed,the size and the weight.the smaller,they are,the longer,they live and the bigger,they are,the shorter,their lifespan is.
Good food will,of course,make the difference but a lot of other things have to be taken into consideration!.if your dog is never off the leash,has not health issues than 18 can happen,most of all,for small dogs but if a dog lives a normal,fun life,he will not live as long.
Cats that never go out of the house live pretty easily into their twenties but I don't think that the quality of life is as stimulating as a cat who can romp around,hunt and have fun.,in the wild
i suppose you have to choose in bet. quality and quantity!.

[Jaïa]

Someone on another forum owns a 16 year old GSD, who has JUST started showing signs of elderly age..... And she feeds raw....


Makes me wonder....

[agilitydog]

Salem's mom on this forum has had dog live to really old ages. I believe there was one or two that made it over 20

[Dax]

The statements make no sense IMO.

Wild dogs live to be less than 10 yrs (few even that long) in the wild without vaccines, etc. They live slightly longer in zoos. These are animals that we have not manipulated for looks but breed based on survival.

Grey wolf lifespan 7-8 years in the wild over 10 in captivity.

That information alone suggests that dogs have benefited from vaccinations. That some of the smaller breeds live to 20 says that some of our intervention by selective breeding, diet and vaccinations has had a positive impact.

BTW - both are the ultimate raw diets.

[fairlight]

Wouldn't it be nice it there were more proof to back you the stories you read on the net. I think the oldest I have known a dog to live (and that was around me) was 17 years.

[kshort49]

When I was young, we had a mix breed-we called him a Heinz 57- who lived to be 19. He ate canned dog food, which I know at the time was not very costly, and just led a regular life. One thing we didn't do was let him run loose. He was never sick (that we knew of) although in his last year, he had trouble getting up and down. The day he died, he just went in the yard and lay down under his favorits bush, closed his eyes and went to sleep. I think we were really lucky-he was up to date with his shots, but back then, I think the only ones we got were rabies and distemper. He was a great dog. Kathy and Maia

[Gallop N Gal]

Found this on the net

http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0209...es/020918a.htm

[agilitydog]

There was a story on antoher forum of a perosn who ran into a lady with a 21 year old Golden. What was she eating? Ol'Roy. Some dogs will naturally live longer regardless of food and others will naturally live shorter even on the best food. More than food plays into it. Exercise, environment, and yes diet.

[~Astral~]

i have never known a dog to live till 30 years old. IMO that's impossible. There is a lot of stuff online that is complete and utter twaddle. A dogs life span depends on breed, weight, health, diet and probably even genetics.

As for raw meat, well I would never give any of my boys this. I was told that when a dog is fed raw meat (basically purchased straight from the butcher), that over a period of time the dog will become savage and because of this my dogs will never have raw meat (except for freshly cooked meat of course lol). My grandad told me this when I was a little girl, his neighbour fed his dog raw meat (used to live on farm before WW2) and the dog turned savage - used to attack people and became one vicious guard dog. I think the dog was put to sleep but I cant remember much about it as I was only a little girl when told this but because of this I avoid using raw meat lol.

But if a dog could live to that kind of age then it would be brilliant. It would give us so much more time with our dogs. I wish it was true but I don't think it is.