A Dog's Life

[naomi24]

Does anyone have any idea of the life expectaton of a giant poodle/border collie cross?

[Jemisa]

Mmmm! Dunno about a cross but my bros Border Collie was 14 when he passed on.

[ladybirder]

Rule of thumb is the bigger the dog the shorter the life I'm sad to say.

[Purple_Popple]

Most cross-breed dogs live to a ripe old age as they have no inherited gene defects...however, the bigger the dog, the shorter the life span usually, anything from 8-16 years !?!?

[paddywak]

My first GSD was a week short of his fifteenth birthday when I lost him and up to the week before I had to make the decision he seemed as fit and well as any gentleman of his age could expect to be

[Purple_Popple]

Awwwwww paddywak, that is a truly remarkable age for a GSD, did he escape the hip displaysea that they are renowned for ? So upsetting when we lose them, they truly do break your heart.

[Purple_Popple]

Sp. *dysplasia'

[jules77]

Cross breeds 'could' inherit more gene defects than a purebred dog as it is doubling up, and purebred dogs from respectable breeders are generally health tested (not all though). However it is usually the pairing up of the same defective genes that cause inherited health problems to occur.

There is no average life span for a cross breed.

[woofgang]

Purple, that's a bit of a sweeping statement saying that crossbreeds have no inherited gene defects. Can I ask what you base that statement on?

[madmaggot]

the bloodlines of a mongrel are not normally known so one has no idea of what inherited health problems there may be.

[woofgang]

The argument of better health in true mongrels, not crossbreeds may be based on survival of the fittest ie the strongest and healthiest dogs get to breed and only th strongest and healthiest pups survive. This may be true to sn extent in a wild population but domestic dogs are generally bred by humans either accidentally or deliberately which strongly mitigates against survivals of the fittest. Crossbreeds are a different kettle of fish and simply carry all the health risks and benefits of the sire and dam

[paddywak]

poppy, I used to take him to the vets every three months, and Margaret the vet (Not the same Margaret who looks after Max) always remarked on how well he was, but everything happened so quickly, he went from being ok to having that "I've had enough dad" look within a matter of days, it broke my heart to do do it even though I knew it was the right thing to do and it took me years beore I could even think about owning another dog

[naomi24]

Thanks for all your answers. Speaking of mongrels, he's not a first cross - he comes from a very long line of 'Coloodles' and I have his 'pedigree'. I don't know if that makes a difference. It's just that he's nearly 10, and recently he's not been quite able to jump into the back of the 4x4. Apart from that he's perfectly healthy and still behaves like a potty 6 month old, but his sudden inability got me wondering.

[lankeela]

Standard (not giant!) Poodles life expectancy is approximately 12 - 14 years. Border Collies often live till around 14 - 15 or older, but as said before health problems can be passed on by both parents of any dog - crossbreed, mongrel or purebred. For example both the above breeds can suffer from bad hips and eye diseases and if the parents have the genes the pups can suffer too or even pass them on if bred from.
Of course the way of life has a bearing too - if kept fit and not overweight, getting good food and exercise then this all helps keep a dog fit and healthy for longer.

[WELSHYORKIE]

We had a jack russell x corgi - little bu99er lived to 17 before he was hit by a car and very badly injured and had to be put to sleep but until then he was very fit and active.
Mam had a poodle cross which lived to 14

[lankeela]

My three oldies (Lancashire Heelers) are 13, 14 and 15. Still going to dog shows too!

[wolf63]

naomi - it sounds like he is just starting to 'get old'. You can buy ramps so that they don't have to leap into the car (and so you don't have to lift them).

My last dog was a Lab/GSD and he lived until he was 14. He was slightly arthritic from about 10/11 years, then his eyesight started to go and then his hearing (he couldn't hear the fridge door opening in the end!).

I hope that you both have many years left together.

[ganesh]

Surely the pure-bred is more at risk of genetic faults than the cross-breed/ It can't be a case of 'double the risk of problems'because you have 2 breeds.That doesn't sound genetically logical to me.The health risks have to be greater due to the potential in-beeding of past generations,not just because they are a standard breed.Don't get me wrong,I have a pedigree dog,and yes,you get the health checks from a reputable breeder etc,but I'm sure cross-breeds have better chances and a longer life.

[woofgang]

Ganesh it depends on who the cross breeds parents were....2 healthy parents equals healthy pups, problems with the parents equals problems with the pups.

[ganesh]

Just to add.my purebred lab lived to 11,my purebred goldie to 14,but my not so purebred lab to 20!!

[ganesh]

Can problems not 'skip a generation like in humans?