How Long Will Your Dog Live?

Dogs are compassionate, loving, endearing creatures that, in my opinion, have only one great flaw ~ their lives are much too short. Sure, we know this fact when we make the commitment to welcome a canine companion into our life, but that doesn’t make the reality when they pass any less difficult and heart-breaking.

Recently, a research team from the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo attempted to create a current life table to predict the life expectancy of dogs. Will this research magically add 20+ additional years to your precious pooch’s life? Unfortunately, the answer is no; but, what it will do is provide information to pet parents so they can have some idea of the risk factors for their dogs based on their current age and size.

In the study, the research team looked at a huge sample of pooches ~ 299,555 in total ~ who were insured by a Japanese pet insurance company over a one-year data collection span (2010 to 2011). During that span, 4,169 of the pooch participants passed away. The researchers analyzed the cause of death for each, noting the most common cause of death involved being neoplasias (tumors and cancers). Next in line, respectively, were cardiovascular problems, urinary system disorders, digestive system disorders and neuromuscular disorders.

Now, it is a well-known fact that giant breed dogs, like Newfoundlands, have a shorter life span. With that knowledge in mind, the researchers divided their canine subjects into five groups based on their average breed size: toy (under 11 pounds), small (11 – 21 pounds), medium (22 – 44 pounds), large (45 – 88 pounds), and giant (greater than 89 pounds). With this data, the researchers were able to construct a life table to predict the lifespan of dogs.

The life table works as follows: given your dog’s current age and his size, for any one year the probability that your dog will pass away in the current year can be predicted. The data includes percentages of dogs of a given age that would be expected to pass away in that one year time interval. As you can see from the table below, after the fourth year of life, the probability that a pooch will pass away increases, with the increase being much steeper for the large and giant breeds, as expected.

Yes, the chart developed by the research team seems to confirm much of what we already know in a more graphic manner, but it may prove beneficial in terms of reminding us to be diligent in our efforts to keep Fido and Fluffy as fit and healthy as possible by scheduling regular visits to the vet; providing them with a healthy, nutritious diet; ensuring they get the exercise they need; and taking whatever steps necessary to enhance their well-being. After all, our canine companions are part of our family, and we want to enhance and prolong their lives as much as possible.

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