Why Do Giant Breeds Have Shorter Lifespans?

The size of your dog has a significant impact on its average lifespan. In general, the largest dog breeds tend to have the shortest lives. While factors like health and living conditions also play a role, weight is often used as a guideline when estimating the average lifespan of different breeds.

If you’re curious to learn more about why large breeds typically live shorter lives, keep reading.

You’ll also find answers on how you, as a dog owner, can help influence the lifespan of your pet.

Does Weight and Size Affect a Dog’s Age?

It’s well known that a dog’s age is often converted into human years. This helps illustrate why our four-legged friends live shorter lives than we do. Dogs are biologically predisposed to age faster than humans. Their genes cause their internal systems and organs to deteriorate more rapidly than ours.

Aging doesn’t happen overnight. Your pet will gradually be affected by its genetic makeup, and old age sets in depending on its size. A giant breed is considered to reach old age around 5 to 6 years. From there, a gradual but steady decline in function begins. The dog will become less active, rest more, may develop joint problems, and become more susceptible to infections due to a weakened immune system.

Other Factors That Influence Your Dog’s Expected Lifespan

For most dog owners, losing a dog is as painful as losing a dear friend. Dogs are empathetic, loving, loyal, and trustworthy companions. That’s why many prospective dog owners consider a breed’s average lifespan when deciding to add a four-legged family member.

However, size isn’t the only factor that determines how long your dog will live. Several other aspects can impact lifespan, including:

• General health throughout life
• History of illness
• Nutrition and care
• Physical activity
• Genetics

If your dog has suffered from a serious infection or condition as a puppy or adult, it will be more vulnerable to early decline compared to dogs that have never experienced illness.

There are a couple of general rules of thumb when it comes to lifespan:
If your dog weighs under 45 kg (99 lbs), it can live on average up to 11 years.
If it weighs over 45 kg, the average lifespan is around 8 years.

Great Danes and Mastiffs are among the breeds with the shortest lifespans, both averaging around 7 years.

Our team may have used AI to assist in the creation of this content, which has been reviewed by our editors.