07.11.2025

Paws for Thought: Unpacking the Secrets to Your Dog’s Longevity

Introduction

Strong archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that dogs were first domesticated at least 15,000 years ago[1]. But while our canine companions have been around for millennia, the incredible variety of breeds we see today only emerged in last few centuries.

Unfortunately, in our pursuit of crafting and preserving distinct breeds, we’ve also introduced some serious problems. So while our obsession with pedigree pups has given us an astonishing range of furry friends, it also forces us to ask: have we, in our quest for the “perfect” dog, actually made all their lives worse?

In this article, we’ll examine just how much specific breeding choices have impacted dogs by comparing life expectancies for different breeds in the UK. We’ll also take a closer look at specific health issues, such as the health conditions faced by short-faced (brachycephalic) and long-faced (dolichocephalic) dogs and how size and even coat type influence longevity and well-being. Finally, we’ll ask whether these factors apply uniformly across all breeds or whether each pedigree carries a unique risk profile. By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of which of these traits take the most months away from a dog’s life.

The Initial Study

As actuaries, we know that life tables are essential for understanding mortality patterns but applying them to pets is a much more recent development. They used data from the VetCompass database[3], which comprises a cross-sectional cohort of dogs that visited participating veterinary clinics at least once during that year across 886 clinics in the UK.

The researchers cleaned the data to include only confirmed deaths between January 1, 2016, and July 31, 2020, and created a life table to show the mortality rates. Their final sample included deceased dogs, with 48% of them being female. We use this cleaned up dataset to conduct further analysis on coat types, size and cephalic index. Most of the data (90%) came from England, with smaller amounts from Scotland (4%), Wales (4%), and Ireland (2%).

At birth, the overall life expectancy for UK companion dogs was 11.23 ± 0.04 years (95% CI). It’s important to note that because this table is based on dogs that have visited a vet, it likely underestimates the infant mortality rate for puppies. Puppies that die before receiving veterinary care would not be included in the data, so the mortality rate for new dogs would be higher than reported. Aside from that, patterns are quite similar to human life tables.

Puppy mortality as a whole appears low, with only 1.7% of dogs dying in their first year and mortality remaining stable until about age 5, at which point dogs are expected to have about 7.9 years left to live. At this point mortality begins to accelerate. After age ten, the death rate exceeds 10% for the first time, and it only takes two years for the mortality rate to double further. 99% of all dogs die by age 18 and no dogs lives to be 22.

Gender, Breed and Neutering: Impact on Longevity

At birth, female dogs had a slightly higher life expectancy (11.41 years; 95% CI: 11.35–11.47) than male dogs (11.07 years; 95% CI: 11.01–11.13).

When neuter status is considered, non-neutered dogs showed a higher risk of death compared to neutered dogs regardless of gender, but there is a stronger impact on females (11.98 years; 95% CI: 11.91–12.04) than males. Entire females (10.50 years; 95% CI: 10.38–10.61) and entire males (10.58 years; 95% CI: 10.48–10.68) had similar life expectancies and followed a similar life expectancy trajectory indicating that this isn’t just due to the dangers of childbirth.

It’s worth noting that crossbred dogs do generally have a higher life expectancy than pure-bred dogs as expected, although the gap is smaller than one might expect. The average life expectancy for crossbred dogs was found to be 11.82 ± 0.10 years whilst purebred dogs only live 11.07 ± 0.05 years.

When comparing individual dog breeds, amongst all breeds with more than 50 entries, Poodles and Terriers live the longest, even longer than crossbred dogs. Miniature Poodles have a massive 13.79 ± 0.96 year lifespan. On the other hand, Mastiffs and Bulldogs tend to die fastest, with French Bulldogs only living for an average of 4.54 ± 0.44 years. We’ll take a closer look at them in the next section.

You can view individual life tables for some of the more popular breeds here[4]

Cephalic Index

You may have noticed that the French Bulldog has become the poster child for everything that is wrong with modern day dog breeding. And that reputation is well deserved as it has a life expectancy at birth that is two years shorter than any other breed. This is largely because almost every part of the Frenchie’s appearance from its wrinkly skin, flat face to its oversized head and large, expressive eyes has been overly exaggerated through generations of selective breeding to match what people find cute rather than what is actually healthy. Leading it to be at risk for dermatitis, breathing problems, heart issues, difficulty with childbirth, and extreme sensitivity to heat.

The single largest problem, is their breathing difficulties, caused by brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). Because of their extremely flat faces, their airways are shortened, narrowed, and often misshapen. This makes it very hard for them to breathe normally, even when resting. Many French Bulldogs struggle to get enough air, especially in warm weather. Some need surgery just to open their airways enough to live comfortably.

The cephalic index takes the maximum width of a dog’s head (the biparietal diameter) multiplies it by 100 and then divides it by the maximum length of a dogs head (the occipitofrontal diameter). Flat faced dogs, like Bulldogs and Mastiffs are called brachycephalic, whilst long faced dogs like Collies and Greyhounds are called dolichocephalic and dogs in between like the Miniature Poodle or Border Collies are called mesaticephalic.

Brachycephalic dogs have a birth life expectancy of 9.78 ± 0.09 years, compared to 11.50 ± 0.13 years for dolichocephalic dogs and 11.57 ± 0.06 years for mesaticephalic dogs. As shown in the graph, short-nosed breeds have a much higher early mortality rate, while long-nosed breeds experience nearly flat mortality during their early years.

There are some exceptions among brachycephalic dogs, Tibetan Spaniels have a surprisingly high life expectancy of 13.81 ± 2.11 years, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers live around 11.33 ± 0.14 years. However, the fact remains that, on average, there’s a nearly 20% lifespan gap, which is significant.

In response, the British Veterinary Association launched the Breed to Breathe campaign, urging advertisers to stop featuring brachycephalic dogs in their ads. Some responsible breeders are working hard to produce healthier versions of these dogs and redefine breed standards[5] but it’s clear there’s still a long way to go.

Milder Factors : Size and Coat Types

We classify dogs as small if their breed weigh 25 pounds or less on average and large if they weigh over 60 pounds on average. It’s well established that a dog’s size plays a role in its longevity: small dogs generally live longer than large dogs. They typically have a decreased risk of cancer[6] and age more slowly[7] on a cellular level than large dogs.

Since size is classified based on their breed, we don’t include crossbred dogs in this section.

Small dogs consistently have the highest future life expectancy (11.38 ± 0.08 years) until the dataset becomes too small to draw reliable conclusions. However, small dogs are also the most likely to die young. In contrast, large dogs have the lowest early mortality rate, but they consistently show the shortest future life expectancy, with a birth life expectancy of just 10.63 ± 0.07 years. The survival curves overlap around the 8-9 year mark.

The coat type of a dog also determines the ailments it may suffer. Double-coated breeds are generally prone to skin infections, hot spots, and matting in hot weather, whilst single-coated breeds are more prone to sunburns and skin cancer.[8]

Double-coated breeds have an average life expectancy at birth of 11.42 ± 0.06 years, compared with 10.70 ± 0.07 years for single-coated breeds. By age 10, however, both coat types share the same remaining life expectancy and beyond that point, single-coated dogs tend to outlive their double-coated counterparts. Among, double-coated breeds, Tibetan Spaniels (13.81 ± 2.11 years) and Bearded Collies (13.06 ± 0.60 years) enjoy some of the longest lifespans. For single-coated dogs, the Miniature Poodle leads the pack with an expected lifespan at birth of 13.79 ± 0.96 years.

Conclusion

Our analysis reveals several key factors that significantly impact a dog’s life expectancy. Small dogs tend to live the longest, while flat-faced breeds, such as Bulldogs and Pugs, generally have the shortest lifespans due to respiratory and other breed-specific health issues. Neutering, particularly in females, is strongly associated with a longer life expectancy, with neutered dogs living significantly longer than their intact counterparts. Crossbred dogs also tend to outlive purebred dogs, likely due to the genetic diversity that reduces the risk of inherited health conditions. Additionally, our findings show that double-coated dogs have a slight advantage in life expectancy over single-coated breeds, although this factor is less influential than others.

Interestingly, we found that a dog’s breed, skull shape (cephalic index), and neuter status each contribute to more than a 10% variation in life expectancy, far more than environmental factors such as coat type or body size. While these general trends are interesting, the dramatic differences between individual breeds within each category highlight the significant limitations of broad categories and underscore the need for tailored breed-specific risk profiles.

[1] Animal domestication in the era of ancient genomics

[2] Teng KT, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C, Church DB, O’Neill DG. Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom.

[3] Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom

[4] Supplementary Life Tables by Teng et Al

[5] French Bulldog Breed Standard amended | Kennel Club

[6] Overview and Prevalence of Cancer in Dogs –

[7] Cellular metabolism and oxidative stress as a possible determinant for longevity in small breed and large breed dogs | PLOS One

[8] Double Coat vs Single Coat