New life expectancy estimates for UK dogs suggest Jack Russell Terriers live longest

Jack Russell Terrier
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Jack Russell Terriers and Yorkshire Terriers have the highest life expectancies of dog breeds in the UK, according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. However, flat-faced breeds such as French Bulldogs and Pugs have some of the lowest life expectancies.

Kendy Tzu-yun Teng, Dan O'Neill and colleagues analyzed 30,563 records of dog deaths from veterinary practices across the UK between 2016 and 2020 using the VetCompass database, categorized into 18 recognized by the Kennel Club and also a group of crossbreed dogs. They created life tables which calculate life expectancy throughout the , starting at birth (0 years).

Jack Russell Terriers had the highest life expectancy at birth (12.72 years), followed by Yorkshire Terriers (12.54 years), Border Collies (12.10 years), and Springer Spaniels (11.92 years). In contrast, French Bulldogs had the lowest life expectancy at birth (4.53 years). This is approximately three years less than other flat-faced breeds that showed low life expectancies at including English Bulldogs (7.39 years) and Pugs (7.65 years). The authors propose that these short life expectancies could result from the high health risks known to occur in these flat-faced breeds.

Across all dog breeds, the at age 0 for male dogs was 11.1 years, four months shorter than the estimate for female dogs. Dogs that had been neutered had a higher life expectancy (11.98 years for females and 11.49 years for males) than those that were not neutered (10.50 years for females and 10.58 years for males). The authors discuss the potential benefits of neutering and associated increased life expectancy and whether neutering could possibly reflect more responsible dog owners and better care.

The authors conclude their work now enables dog life expectancies to be tracked at different ages, similarly to humans, and may improve predictions for different breeds in the UK. There could also be other practical benefits such as helping dog shelters to provide accurate estimates of a dog's remaining during rehoming.

More information: Kendy Tzu-yun Teng, Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10341-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10341-6

Journal information: Scientific Reports

Citation: New life expectancy estimates for UK dogs suggest Jack Russell Terriers live longest (2022, April 28) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-life-uk-dogs-jack-russell.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

French bulldogs have higher risk of 20 common health disorders

662 shares

Feedback to editors