Affection, safety and love can work wonders in prolonging your dog's life. Treating your dog like a member of the family will only add to their health and wellbeing.
Researchers with the Dog Aging Project examined social determinants linked to a longer lifespan among more than 25,000 dogs. The pack is the thing: Dogs with positive social interactions live healthier lives.
Experts say extra love and healthy habits can help. As veterinarians learn more about canine aging, owners are finding ways to get dogs to a ripe old age and delay a difficult goodbye.
We can help our dogs live longer higher quality lives by: Feeding a healthy diet. Helping maintain a healthy weight. Encouraging breed- and age-appropriate physical and mental exercise.
The aging profile of dogs varies according to their adult size (often determined by their breed): smaller dogs often live over 15–16 years (sometimes longer than 20 years), medium and large size dogs typically 10 to 20 years, and some giant dog breeds such as mastiffs, often only 7 to 8 years.
Allowing your pet to eat too much or not getting enough exercise is a habit that can shed years off your dog's life. Some reports indicate that over half the dog population is overweight and obesity can bring with it a number of health issues.
That's right; studies have shown that dogs who eat a raw diet live as much as 3 years longer than their kibble-fed counterparts.
The smaller breeds of dogs tend to live the longest. Yorkshire terriers, Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, Toy Poodles and Lhasa Apsos are the breeds who typically live the longest with these averaging a lifespan of up to 20 years.
Yes, your dog knows how much you love him! Dogs and humans have a very special relationship, where dogs have hijacked the human oxytocin bonding pathway normally reserved for our babies. When you stare at your dog, both your oxytocin levels go up, the same as when you pet them and play with them.
Clinginess
Near the end, many dogs want nothing more than to spend time with the people they love. So your dog may want to stay close to you, getting as much love and affection from you as possible. How you can help: Give your dog super snuggles and be as present as you can.
People like to think that their dogs have naturally evolved into being little people-pleasers, but like all living creatures, they have their own desires and agendas. This misunderstanding is pretty common, and it really affects how dog parents approach training and getting to know their dogs.
Indoor dogs are happy, but they need ample daily time outdoors to exercise, play and potty. Many domesticated dogs don't do well outdoors full-time and should be brought indoors overnight, at the very least.
Signs Your Dog May Be Ready to Say Goodbye
Labored breathing. Lack of appetite. Lack of Mobility or Extreme Lethargy. Crying or intense whining.
Dogs are social animals and usually happier around other dogs, but a second dog will never be a substitute for inattentive, absent or too busy owners.
Whole food is just as it reads — real food from its original source and unprocessed with no artificial ingredients, preservatives, or chemicals. Green leafy vegetables or high-quality freeze-dried food are great examples of dog food that makes dogs live longer.
Unprocessed grains and veggies are important, because unprocessed food has a better chance of having its nutrients and enzymes intact. Avoid meat by-products. Once you have reached that level of dog food, you are not talking about a product of any quality.
The ideal dog diet
Dogs who consume a variety of fresh or lightly processed foods tend to live longer and have fewer health issues than dogs who eat processed dog food—wet or dry.
Stress has also been shown to be a contributing or aggravating factor in gastrointestinal diseases, dermatologic conditions, respiratory and cardiac conditions, behavioural disorders and a shortened lifespan in dogs.
The much faster pace at which dogs grow means they also age much quicker. So they will reach the end of their lives sooner than their human friends will.
The most reliable way to estimate a dog's age is to examine their teeth, according to the Humane Society of the United States. If your dog is still a puppy, you can guess their approximate age by checking the growth of their chompers.
The truth is that when your dog hits the age of 12 years, he has reached the equivalent of 64 human years if he's a small dog (20 pounds or less); 69 human years if he's a medium dog (21 to 50 pounds); and 77 human years if he's a large dog (more than 50 pounds).