What is the Healthiest and Longest lived dog breed?

[Amstaffer]

I was in a discussion with some friends and we were talking about what breed is the healthiest and longest lived. One of my friends is a Vet and she said that the healthiest breed she has ever been around is the English Cocker Spaniel, which suprised me a lot.

I have always been under the impression that Fox Terriers were really healthy and long lived.

We kind of all agreed that many of the toy breeds lived a long time but had lots of health problems.

What do you Chazhounders think?

 

[joce]

I've known three schnauzers that made it into their twenties easilly and I think they are low on health problems.

I'm surprised by cocker cuz I've never seen one without horrible ears and just plain nutty But I think it really has to do with breeding in your area. I've heard,and beleive it,that any dog bred for hunting is going to be great. People get the extras form the litters out here and they always live long healthy lives.

Fox terriers aren't the healthiest around me because they all ocme form the amish puppymills.

 

[BigDog2191]

The longest lived dog (36 years) was an ACD.

 

[anna84]

I know chi's live for a long time but would agree they have more health issues. I'd say some of the smaller terriers are definetely among the top in terms of longevity and health.

 

[Brattina88]

The english cockers are a lot better off than the more popular american cockers. I think the more "rare" or less common the breed, the better off they are!

 

[joce]

Brattina88,whats the diffrence between the two? I don;t know much about cockers.

 

[Kaleigh'sAdrienne]

The longest lived dog (36 years) was an ACD.

good lord Thats a long time.

 

[SummerRiot]

ok.. what is an ACD?

 

[nedim]

australian cattle dog, if Im not mistaken

 

[BigDog2191]

ok.. what is an ACD?

Australian Cattle Dog.

 

[bubbatd]

I think a lot of things enter this picture..... where/who and how. It's gotten to the point where there are so many vaccinations etc. ( which we don't dare omit ) .... pesticides and lawn treatments... etc. You might find a breed where these things don't enter the picture and the dogs live to a ripe old age. Forty years ago , my goldens lived well into 15 plus years. My old Irish Setter was 17 ... back then ( the 40s ) he only got Rabies once a year and there were no pesticides. I would say that the best breed would be one not over bred and not in the US.

 

[rottiegirl]

The longest lived dog (36 years) was an ACD.

The ACDs name was bluey, and he lived to 29 years old, not 36...

CANBERRA, Australia -- A 26-year-old mongrel living with an Aboriginal family in Australia's Outback has the potential to become the world's oldest living dog, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Jerry, an Australian cattle dog-bull terrier cross, will next month turn 27 - the equivalent of 189 years for a human - said Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals veterinarian Honey Nelson in Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

"He will be 27 ... years in August - I have no doubt at all," Nelson reportedly said after examining Jerry. "He could push on to 28, going by his good body condition."

The oldest living dog in the 2004 edition of "Guinness World Records" is Butch, a 27-year-old beagle in the U.S. state of Virginia.

Jerry's owner, Waddie Harris - an Aboriginal tribal leader in New South Wales state's Wilcannia town, put Jerry's longevity down to his high-protein diet of Outback wildlife.

"Jerry has grown up on kangaroo, rabbit and emu as well as scraps off the table," the newspaper quoted Harris as saying.

An Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who died in 1939 at age 29, is thought to have been the world's oldest dog, the newspaper said.

 

[Amstaffer]

29 ...that is still crazy long. I'll be happy if my dogs get to half that.

 

[evenstar7139]

The longest lived dog (36 years) was an ACD.

36? o.0 And WOOT that breed rocks!

 

[evenstar7139]

The ACDs name was bluey, and he lived to 29 years old, not 36...

Oh =\ Well thats still pretty good.

 

[BigDog2191]

The ACDs name was bluey, and he lived to 29 years old, not 36...

I've heard of one that lived to be 36...

 

[Brattina88]

Brattina88,whats the diffrence between the two? I don;t know much about cockers.

:D my area of expertise LOL (j/k)

The American Cocker Spaniel is the smallest breed in the sporting group, with the ideal height being 15in for males and 14 for females. The English Cockers are ideally 2in taller. The head is usually one of the biggest differences. The American has a more pronounce stop, and a generally shorter muzzle.
The English Cocker Spaniel had been imported from Great Britain to North America and Canada in the 1870's. The English and American Cocker Spaniel had identical histories up until around the 1930's. The American dogs were bred for different qualities and reasons, looked different, so in they became a separate breed with the AKC. The year 1935 brought about a dramatic change in that the breeders who favored the English style, formed a separate club from the original American Cocker Spaniel Club (established in 1881), and agreed not to interbreed their lines with this new "Americanized" variety. In 1936, the American Cocker Spaniel became the number one AKC breed, and stayed at the top for the next fifty years as the most popular dog amongst the American public. The English Cocker Spaniel people had to wait until 1946, before the AKC recognized their breed as separate from the American Cocker Spaniel. The more popular American Cocker has a history with BYB, puppy mills, major interbreeding and overbreeding, and the breed as a whole has suffered from the popularity, while the English Cocker has been lucky and is better off.

 

[Miss Pugg]

old dogs

My Pug, Lulu, died at 17 years and 2 months in May of 2005. She was from a puppy mill and had many health problems but I was blessed with her from 1988. She still lives in my heart.

 

[groominggal]

My husband swears that my ACD is going to live forever just to spite him. Chance is extremely protective over me, and even when me and husband are play wrestling around, has shown my hubby very clearly by a quick nip on the heels that making me scream is NOT acceptable behavior!

 

[groominggal]

My husband swears that my ACD is going to live forever just to spite him. Chance is extremely protective over me, and even when me and husband are play wrestling around, has shown my hubby very clearly by a quick nip on the heels that making me scream is NOT acceptable behavior!