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Life expectancy various dog breeds

I met my neighbour in the street on the weekend and she said her shih tzu had just died suddenly, with no previous sign of illness except for a slight cough. The dog was aged 9, just coming up for her tenth birthday. Is this a normal life span for the breed? Do dog breeds vary much in life expectancy?

Thanks, Scoop

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14 Jul 2008 21:16

Cat the Vet

Hi Scoop,

There are obviously no hard and fast rules for how long a dog may live, but in general the smaller the dog, the longer the life span. This is why Yorkies will regularly live into their teens, but Great Danes and other giant breeds will often not reach double figures. On average I would also say that mongrels tend to live longer than pedigrees, but there will always be exceptions to that rule!

Pets are tending to live longer these days thanks to better diets and veterinary care, which is why it is so important to look after them well in their twilight years, as there may be a lot of them!

Cat

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