[Frobenius]

...just gotta be all them turnips!

:)

[Blogger]

welsh terrier lived to 4. Indoor cats 18.

[stuartcr]

You’re a lucky person.

[dearolddad]

As a kid, we had a Cocker Spaniel that survived in good health to the age of 19. My father had him put down because he was loosing his eyesight. Never any health problems.

Spoiled worse than any child I have ever encountered.

[org.whodat]

They can live until they die!

[Tallguy]

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.

That's an amazing age for Labs. Usually only small breeds live to that kind of age.

I'm curious about your statement about visiting the vet. Are you saying that your dog was never vaccinated? In my state you are required to vaccinate for rabies periodically (1 or 3 years depending on the type). Just curious...

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Average life expectancy for a lab is 12.6 years, which is pretty much the median for dogs. They’ve been known to make to 17, but that’s very rare. The oldest dog ever was an Australian sheepdog named Bluey that lived to be 29.

[keat]

Why worry? Just enjoy every day.

[Always Right]

Yep, smaller dogs live quite a bit longer. So to have a big dog live to 17 is quite good. I think 14 is about the life expectancy of the larger dogs.

[Doomonyou]

I had a 1/2 Beagle, 1/2 German Shorthair mix that made it to 17.

[toast]

her feet, muzzle and the hair around her butt have turned grey.

Me too.

[Dog Gone]

I think how long a dog wants to live when you feed him turnip greens is the moral question to be answered.

And feeding a dog beans is just crazy. Please don’t tell me you let him sleep on the bed.

[texgal]

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

[Dysart]

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.

[Billthedrill]

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.

[1Old Pro]

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

[VaRepublican]

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.

[SergeiRachmaninov]

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

[Gingersnap]

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.

[Daffynition]

13 lovelybeautifulactivejoyful years. Others only three ... go figure. ;)