Dog behaviourist Tamsin Durston looks at the changes we can expect to see in our dog’s behaviour and health as they age.
Isn’t the worst thing about our beloved dogs their lives being shorter than ours? Recently visiting the clinic for her booster vaccination, my vet informed me my dog was ‘a lovely senior Labrador’! This took me aback, as she’s only seven! But was a valuable reminder that, although she’s certainly enjoying the prime of her life, my dog’s body and brain will naturally be aging. To give her the best life possible, I need to be aware of age-related physical and mental changes.
Interestingly, researchers from the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, Dogs Trust, have just published a study exploring the dog lifespan, with data from over 500,000 dogs. Across all breeds, they identified the median lifespan as 12.5 years, with females living slightly longer than males overall. Their results revealed that smaller breeds, such as Miniature Dachshunds with a median lifespan of 14 years, are more likely to live longer lives than much larger breeds, such as Mastiffs, with a median lifespan of nine years.
As well as size, they also investigated the link between ‘face-shape’ and lifespan, discovering that smaller, longer-nosed dogs are likely to live for longer than larger, flatter-faced dogs. For example, Miniature Dachshunds will likely live four to five years longer than the flatter-faced French Bulldog.
Differences in lifespan across diverse dog breeds and types could be influenced by genetic, heritable diseases affecting health and lifespan, such as obstructive airway syndrome potentially affecting breathing in flatter-faced dogs.
When caring for our aging friends, it’s important to consider ‘health span’, rather than just ‘length of life’. As dogs age, their physical ability may reduce, and, just like us, they can become stiffer, less mobile, and need increased beneficial sleep. This might impact their behaviour, perhaps feeling vulnerab
