Do you ever look at your dog and wonder how much time you might have left together? While the thought of losing your furry friend often is a difficult one, the sad reality is that we only get a few years with them, so it’s important to make the most of the time you have together.
When considering getting a dog, it’s important to do your own research into what breeds might best fit into your lifestyle, and whether or not you’ll be able to keep up with their daily needs. However, it can also be worth checking on what the breeds’ average life spans are.
Not only will this give you an idea of how long you can expect to have your new family member, it can also be eye-opening, as some of the most popular dog breeds in the UK don’t have as long average lifespands as you might think.
To help you make a decision, vet nurse Jade has taken to TikTok to share a list of the four dog breeds that have the highest life expectancies in the UK.
“Dogs with the longest life expectancy from a vet nurse,” she wrote on her video. She then jumped into her list of dog breeds with the highest life expectancies.
In fourth place was the Springer Spaniel, who has an average life expectancy of 11.9 years, allowing you to have a happy life with your pet for over a decade on average.
Next up with an added 0.2 average, the Border Collie lives for an average of 12.1 years. Meanwhile, the Yorkshire Terrier just about beat the Border Collie for second place, as the smaller dog has a higer life expectancy of 12.5 years.
And the dog breed with the highest life expectancy is the small but mighty Jack Russell Terrier, with an average life expectancy of 12.7 years, making them the breed that has the biggest chance of becoming a teenage in human years.
While the typical dog lifespan ranges between 10 and 13 years, some breeds unfortunately don’t reach this average. The study also revealed the dog breeds with the shortest life expectancies, and they were all flat-faced breeds – with French Bulldogs only expected to live 4.5 years, followed by English Bulldogs at 7.4 years, Pugs at 7.7 years, and American Bulldogs at 7.8 years.
These breeds are associated with several life-limiting disorders, such as breathing problems, spinal disease, and difficulty in giving birth – all of which will limit the breeds’ overall longevity.
How was the average life expectancy determined?
The study that Jade got her data from was created by Royal Veterinary College (RVC), and explored data from randomly selected deaths in dogs under veterinary care in the UK during 2016.
While similar age lists had been done on dog breeds before this, this one is the most sophisticated yet because it’s based on an analysis of a giant database of veterinary records called VetCompass, which is run by the RVC.
However, it’s important to note that these tables included all causes of death, and not just natural. For example, many people might choose not to adopt an older dog due to it being close to its expected life span. But many dogs will often live well pass the average age.
For example, a Chihuahua’s average life expectancy is 7.9 years, according to this study, however many Chihuahuas are know to live until they’re 15-16 years old. But since a lot of Chihuahuas are also known for dying at a younger age, for example due to illnesses, the average has gone down significantly.