Healthiest dog breeds

[Whatalife88]

Now we know that French bulldogs have a short life span and we know that all the flat face breeds struggle and shouldn't be bred from for clear ethical reasons, which dogs are the healthiest, throw me the researched facts or tell me what breed your dog is/was and how long they lived for? One day we will get a dog and I want our buddy for as long as possible whilst also suitable for our lifestyle.

My Yorkie is 16 and still going strong

Agree with jrt. I remember insuring ours and they said on the phone that they don't really get many health issues they're more likely to need a claim because they've buggered off and got run over!
Ours lived to 17 he was amazing.

Two oldest dogs I know are a Jack Russell (18 and still going strong) and a 16 y/o 'Patterdale x Jack russel' (there seems to be a bit of everything in her!).

My dsis has had a greyhound (again think theres a mix in there) who she found as a stray 12 years ago, at the time 2 vets reckoned he was at least 3 but anywhere up to 7!

Gun dogs, so spaniels, labs and retrievers. Border terriers and Jack Russells are both very hardy and collies also seem to have a good life span and limited inherited issues.

Dogs that are shaped like a dog!

Problem is that 'Heinz 57' are pretty rare in UK shelters these days. Unlike now, many dogs used to run around the streets and neutering wasn't as common, so you'd get a variety of crossed dogs. Now it seems most of these types are foreign rescues. Last time two times I visited a shelter there were only Staffies and greyhounds. I'm up North in UK.

Greyhounds\sight dogs

I've owned Pugs x 3 - all needed surgery and had humongous breed specific problems including allergies. Love them but will never buy another flat faced breed as spent my life at the vets with each one. Now own a Newfoundland-a long awaited purchase and she's been far healthier, however I did tons of research into the breed and breeder and bought from health tested stock. The Pugs came from KC registered breeders but I was naive thinking that meant they'd be healthy-what a joke. Tried a foreign rescue but it didn't work out. You live and learn. www.champdogs.co.uk is an excellent website to source breeders who health test.

www.champdogs.co.uk/?mobile_site=1

Sorry not sure how to post a working link on here? Good luck.

Border terriers are hardy little dogs.

Love that everyone is saying terrier crosses 😁 I went for a terrier as for me they tick all the boxes, they are sturdy, determined, loyal, energetic, funny and very healthy!!

I really hope my boy makes old bones.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies he’s beautiful! Such intelligence in those eyes! I’m sure he will.

Working dogs and terriers, really.

A dog bred to do a job needs to be fit and healthy and strong, or it's a waste of time breeding it.

I would say the working "strain" of most breeds like labs, retrievers and spaniels, sighthounds like greys and whippets, plus dogs like beagles, foxhounds etc.

Terriers are also hardy things - JR's, Lakeland's and Patterdales in particular though the true working style dogs are often a real challenge to train and many struggle with them as pets.

Oh I really hope my jrt is with me for a long time.
I love her so much. She's 4.

Under the duvet with me right now 🤗

Border terriers are known as ' vets dogs' because a lot of vets favour them because of their hardiness.

@Arnaquer we have a border terrier x Norfolk terrier puppy and our vet said she was the perfect cross of two very healthy breeds

You have just described my long haired Jack Russell to a tee 😂
I adore her but she’s bloody annoying sometimes! She’s pretty robust but in her nearly 2 years of life has had 3 ear infections.
I also have a rescue Collie X Poodle pup. She’s been very healthy so far (9 months) and is a very sweet and well behaved girl (puts her sister to shame 🤣)

We got a jrt rescue dog this year and he is just fabulous. Absolutely full of personality and character. I'm so glad to read the comments on here about how generally healthy they are. @thesunwillout ours also loves burrowing under the duvet😀😀😀

My Jack Russell is so loyal though. So affectionate and is a total lapdog. I call her the Space Invader.

Mongrels live longer than pure breeds according to my vet. Proper mongrels though, not two pure breed crosses.
Also the smaller the breed, the longer the average lifespan , very large breeds have the shortest average.
If you want a dog to hopefully live a longer than average life, then a small or smallish mongrel, with a mix of breeds known to be fairly hardy, has the best chance. I knew a little terrier type dog who got to 22.
The crossbreed dog I grew up with (pure breed hound mother, mongrel terrier/collie type father) got to close to 18.

I love him ! I hope so too. He looks very like the one I knew who got to 22.

JRTs do seem to go on forever. I know one who is 10, fast and agile as a puppy, pure lean muscles and a great coat. He's a fantastic little dog except he can't be trained out of hunting rodents. He just can't help himself.

Shocking understanding of genetics here.
breeding a cross doesn’t make animals automatically more healthy- it just makes things more unpredictable. If you know a breed is predisposed to certain conditions you can use tools like genetic screenings, health checks and the coefficient calculator to make an educated choice to reduce risk. If you just breed 2 unknown dogs you don’t reduce any risk (most breeding crosses or mongrals and crosses aren’t doing a full suite of genetic tests)

on the whole smaller dogs live longer compared to much larger dogs (if you exclude the brachycephalics) working type dogs are hardier as well

personally for me whilst health is very important, so it temperament and character. Chihuahuas hold the record for the longest lived dogs, but I wouldn’t get one in a million years. I like “working dogs” they are bred to work alongside people so tend to be quite sociable, trainable and like having a job to do.

discover dogs is a good place to visit and meet lots of different dogs and breeders

I had a JRT, a "puppy" up until six months before he died age 14.5, he is so missed.

What a cute pic! Looks like a real rascal 😎

Staffies live a surprisingly long time for a medium sized dog and are hardy. Can’t speak for pure bred ones who might lean towards brachycephalic

A terrier or mixed terrier cross breed is usually a hardy, long living dog. I have a patterdale cross (no idea what with as his mum is a rescue who was pregnant when my friend adopted her). He has the determination and focus of a patterdale and the soft nature of a lurcher type. Perfect blend for us, he's a dream.