You’d be wrong. Last 2 dogs I had one lived 17 years and had a great life and the last one lasted 12 years and had a great life. Both well behaved, loved the kids and people, never took off, listened to commands and let us know anytime came around. Both missed, a hard loss and neither are replaceable.
I had 2 female German Shepherds for family dogs-we got the 1st one when our cub was 3-the dog guarded the cub like her puppy, and died of old age at 13-we got the 2nd one shortly there after, when our cub was 16, and the dog was loved just as the 1st had been-she lived to be 12. Since then, I’ve stuck with longer lived big dogs-Shepherds are my favorite dogs, but their lives are so short. Our Chow lived to be 17, my Siberian Husky was almost 18-those extra years were still not enough for a loyal, loved companion animal. It is hard to lose them, no matter how many years they live...
My Siberian Husky saved my bacon by snarling and leaping at a stranger when he kicked open my front door and threatened me-he freaked out and backed away fast, giving me time to grab the pistol on my desk and point it at him while calling the sheriff. Turned out the idiot was at the wrong address. but he had a warrant for cooking/selling meth, so they took him to jail anyway, and thanked me and my dog for the assistance. That dog was one in a million...