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How Long Can Dogs Live?
November 19, 2007 | MississippiMasterpiece

Posted on 11/19/2007 11:27:37 AM PST by MississippiMasterpiece

I'm curious to hear from other Freepers about dogs they've owned that have had long lives. I have a Lab mix that's about to turn 17. She's been to the vet once in her life (to be neutered) and eats whatever I'm having for supper. Last night it was turnip greens, pinto beans with garlic and ham, cracklin bread, dirty rice and venison. She's solid black, except that her feet, muzzle and the hair around her butt have turned grey. She has lived outdoors all her life on the farm and still roams every day looking for miscellaneous mischief. Is my dog unusual or average in terms of age?


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

I had a Yorkie (4lbs fighting weight) that lived to be 19, almost 20.


21 posted on 11/19/2007 11:43:29 AM PST by texgal (end no-fault divorce laws return DUE PROCESS & EQUAL PROTECTION to ALL citizens))
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

Dogs really are disgusting. That’s why I have 2 labs.


22 posted on 11/19/2007 11:45:53 AM PST by CholeraJoe (Be unique. It makes it easier for the rest of us to identify the morons.)
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To: willgolfforfood
"...I did have a mini-Dach make it 16-3/4 years..."

Of my last three mini-dachs, only one didn't make it to 16½ years. She might have gained a year or two if I'd been brushing her teeth as my vet told me on the last two. My dogs never protested if I used the last of my morning coffee with cream and sugar.

Dog's—and people's—hearts improve with good dental care. My vet also approved of table scraps and a good dry dog food.

OTOH, an acquaintance once said her Beagle was 26 years old. At my apparent astonishment she said, "Maybe it was 15 years." :)

23 posted on 11/19/2007 11:48:35 AM PST by Does so (...against all enemies, DOMESTIC and foreign...)
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To: MississippiMasterpiece
Well, the dog on my profile page lived to 16 years. I presently have a German Shepherd/Border Collie mix who just turned 15, and she's riddled with fatty tumors but otherwise still in excellent health...another Pit Bull who's 11 now. I've had a couple of purebred GS dogs who lived till to 11 and another 9 yo. An Afghan Hound (dumbest dog in the world) who met an untimely death at 6 in the road...

All in all, I've found the smaller the dog the longer the life... Terrier-type dogs tend to enjoy longevity in my experience. And I eschew Vets as much as possible. Nothing personal against them or their profession, but I believe the it's better to leave well enough alone.

24 posted on 11/19/2007 11:51:19 AM PST by Dysart
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To: CholeraJoe

Me too....

The ten-year-old has a mix of chow.

The one-year-old has a mix of beagle.

(I say the 1yo is 100% retard but he’s trying to be a good boy...he’s just so goofy)


25 posted on 11/19/2007 11:53:04 AM PST by shbox (BobbyHill: "What's the matter with those people, Dad?" HankHill: "They're hippies, son")
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

My brother’s Husky is 17 and going strong which is pretty old for the breed. Got some arthritis in the hips and some sign of cataracts but I’d love to be that spry...at 119.


26 posted on 11/19/2007 11:53:21 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

You never know how long, but I can tell you no matter how long it’s always too short.


27 posted on 11/19/2007 11:53:52 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

Thanks. Our dogs get the mandatory rabies shots. After the initial DHLP shots (which we sometimes break-up rather than getting the full-combo) we usually just do titers tests for anti-body levels. It’s more expensive, but you aren’t hitting the dogs system so hard with the booster shots.

Current thinking here is that we’re over-vaccinating our dogs given their exposure (which is fairly low). Working dogs; different story.

Our dogs (terriers) usually live 10 to 15 years, BTW.


28 posted on 11/19/2007 11:55:59 AM PST by Tallguy (Climate is what you plan for, weather is what you get.)
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To: Dog Gone

My boy loves beans.....but beans or not....if he gets, well, gassy, he will run the whole family out of the house and sit there like “WHAT?”


29 posted on 11/19/2007 11:57:54 AM PST by shbox (BobbyHill: "What's the matter with those people, Dad?" HankHill: "They're hippies, son")
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To: MississippiMasterpiece
My two cents....My mom had a chihuahua lived to a full 15 years went to sleep by the fireplace and that was it. We called her panzy, not sure why, I was to young when we got her.
30 posted on 11/19/2007 11:59:31 AM PST by VaRepublican (I would propagate tag lines but I don't know how...)
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To: Tallguy

“Our dogs (terriers) usually live 10 to 15 years, BTW.”

One of my beloved cairn terriers died (put to sleep) two weeks shy of this 17th birthday. Our other cairn was 19 years old. I currently have another cairn who is almost 14. She lost a leg to cancer and still chases the westie pup and the schaunzer around!


31 posted on 11/19/2007 12:17:16 PM PST by LottieDah (Democrats, the attack of the asshats.)
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

Clearly dogs can live into their late teens if they are lucky. Pits, however, shouldn’t be allowed to.


32 posted on 11/19/2007 12:20:52 PM PST by SergeiRachmaninov
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

I had one English Setter die at 18 and one was 3 months short of his 17th birthday.

I think it just depends on the dog. Most of my dogs have been over 14 when they died. However, I can’t stand a fat dog so maybe being normal-weighted had something to do with their longevity.


33 posted on 11/19/2007 12:34:44 PM PST by Gingersnap
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To: MississippiMasterpiece
13 lovelybeautifulactivejoyful years. Others only three ... go figure. ;)


34 posted on 11/19/2007 12:47:55 PM PST by Daffynition (The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.)
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To: SergeiRachmaninov
Pits, however, shouldn’t be allowed to.

Are you still around spewing your hatred and making up laws? I have a Pit. What do you intend to do about it?

35 posted on 11/19/2007 12:55:21 PM PST by Dysart
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To: Dysart
I have a Pit. What do you intend to do about it?

Nothing but hold your anti-social, white trash tastes up to contempt and ridicule. Nice to hear from you.

36 posted on 11/19/2007 1:03:07 PM PST by SergeiRachmaninov
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To: willgolfforfood
That's probably 1/2 decade longer than the average well-cared-for Lab would normally make it.

1/2 decade is a lustrum. It's easier to type and will send some scurrying to the dictionary.

37 posted on 11/19/2007 1:04:48 PM PST by Graybeard58 ( Remember and pray for SSgt. Matt Maupin - MIA/POW- Iraq since 04/09/04)
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To: MississippiMasterpiece

My little Nicompoop is 12 years old, part of something unknown, but looks like springer, lab, big boxer, and maybe lion. Got her when she showed up at our door one cold January night and was 3 weeks old or so. She now weighs 104 lbs., runs like a deer, and is so protective of our home and cars it isn’t funny. She eats like a horse, loves ice cream, and will cry if I leave her at home when I go to town. We fed her out of a baby bottle and gave her liquid vitamins as a pup, and she seems to know or understand her role in life. Our vet told us she wouldn’t live a week when I found her, and he wanted to put her down. My wife wouldn’t let him and that, as they say, is the rest of the story.


38 posted on 11/19/2007 1:08:29 PM PST by geezerwheezer (get up boys, we're burnin' daylight!!!)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

We adopted the Cattle Dog on my profile page when he was about a year old. He’ll probably outlive me!


39 posted on 11/19/2007 1:18:17 PM PST by Vermonter
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To: SergeiRachmaninov
White trash, uh? LOL Think again. BTW, I'll continue to shine a light on roaches like yourself. It's your kind of "thinking" that taints conservatives and diminishes our political currency by aligning conservative values with Fascist principles. Is there anything that isn't in lockstep with your little world that you wouldn't ban, Mullah?
40 posted on 11/19/2007 1:20:48 PM PST by Dysart
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