If your dog has reached 15 years do you have any tips or is it just genes?

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I’ve heard that dogs typically live shorter lives than in our grandparents ‘ generation and wonder how to help Ddog live her fullest life.
She is only 3 at the moment and I avoid unnecessary chemicals when can (eg I have tested her for worms rather than routinely worming her .) I don’t know if this is helpful but so interested in older dogs and if anything has helped them live good lives , I know age isn’t everything!

Our staffie went on until he was 17. He had cancer but other than that he was fit and well with no illnesses etc. He was never once overweight in his life and had dog biscuits as treats. He started life on raw but at about 5 or 6 he was switched to tinned & kibble.

My current two are Shih-Tzu. One is a tiny bit overweight but she's small and we're working on that with energetic playtimes. Neither ever have any "human" food - treats are dental chews or other chewies that take yonks to get through. They have two walks a day and are vaccinated, flea treated and wormed. They have a small amount of cooked beef with kibble for their main meal (sometimes with grated cheese on top). I pour a little of the beef cooking liquid on the kibble and they love it. They get tinned topper/kibble/chopped veg for breakfast. They also love brown rice with very weak Bovril if I've run out of kibble, chopped veggies of most stripes, chopped heart or any meat that's really, really cheap.

My JRT’s made 15 and 16 and were healthy and active throughout their lives. They were classed as JRT as small white terriers but had no papers or anything and were from the rescue as puppies.

I think genetics plays a huge role. Little dogs with diverse genes and no genetic health issues are of course more likely to live longer than large dogs and those with genetic health issues.

I now have 2 pedigree spaniels as well as a terrier and I visit the vets loads more with the spaniels than I ever have with my terriers. The spaniels are fairly healthy but do seem to be prone to random allergies, anal gland issues, and injury which the terriers never have and of course they all have a very similar life food/ exercise/ care wise.
I hope the spaniels have a long, healthy life too, we will see.

Ime pedigrees don't live as long possibly / probably due to over breeding.

That being said out spaniel was a pedigree lived until he was 14. Didn't do anything in particular but he was never overweight and we spent thousands on sorting ear infections

My first Labrador, over thirty years ago, lived to fourteen. My second, whom I lost last year was nearly sixteen. Both were wormed regularly and had their boosters throughout their long lives. Veterinary care and nutrition has improved in those decades, but neither ever had any upmarket food brands. My current boy, nearly a year now, will hopefully go on even longer. Both had prescribed medication for arthritis in their later years and number 2 had a supplement.

As to elderly dog care, make sure his bed is deep and soft. I hate seeing dogs with bald spots on their elbows. Mine had beautiful shiny coats till the end so keep him groomed. They don't have to look faded and brown-tinged with coarse fur. Look after his teeth from early days.

These days, good breeders will test for a whole range of conditions in the parents before breeding, including many genetic problems. Most of these tests were not available thirty years ago.

Never owned a pedigree show dog. Only working dogs and no-one cares about the shape of their nose,, back, height etc. Breeding in characteristics seems a case of ever decreasing gene pool

Thank you . Some uplifting replies and lovely to hear about more dogs leading good, long lives. I’m glad it’s not all about raw food or something we aren’t doing!

My childhood dog lived to 16.5.
Never vaccinated after a few years old. Not wormed. Lived off bakers dog food. Had at least 10-12 years where he didn't see the inside of a vets.

Lost our 17 year old terrier cross some kind of sight hound (cocker sized) in 2020. We adopted her from the RSPCA at 6 months old. Never a day ill, exercised well, agility, adventure, vaccinated annually. Kept very lean (naturally so). Ate all kinds of crap. Loads of hyde. Behaviourally she was a mess (people aggression but manageable). Terriers and their crosses are long livers generally. Real mongrels are rare now. I’ve got a border terrier pup and I doubt she’ll be as healthy despite her parents having had lots of health tests. They just aren’t.

Two of my JRTs lives to 16 and 17 and they ate any old shit including chicken bones

I have a 13 year old rescue lhasa apso that is as fit as a fiddle. I'm always asked if she is a pup probably because she's small and scampers about in excitement. I know she'd had a rough life for the first nine years and had had lots of litters. She enjoys a life of Riley now, we walk on average 90 minutes a day, she eats a lot of fresh meat and veg supplemented by Lily's Kitchen wet food (when I haven't cooked something she can eat) She sees the vet when needed and is wormed and de flead as needed. I think she is just full of the joy of life tbh and enjoying her old age and getting the love she wants. Hoping that it goes on for a long while yet.

I think it's largely genetic. We currently have two crossbreeds from Irish rescues, one a terrier X aged 11 who has never had a day's illness and a 16 year old collie X who was badly treated till we rescued him aged two. He has a heart murmur and a touch of arthritis but is still very active. We do vaccinate our dogs and feed good quality dry food.

As an only dc in a one parent family my dm got us a ddog when I was 18 months old... Despite the cheapest ddog food she was a healthy girl!! Raw veg treats. Never shop bought. And Shapes ddog biscuits! We were both 20 when she passed away. My dsis in every way but dna!!
Cross collie...

I agree with much of what is said above. My very elderly dog is rarely wormed or flead only at times of the year when fleas and ticks thrive, has only had three vaccinations, eats mid priced dried dog food and the very occasional piece of rind of the cheese, no treats, no sweets/biscuits etc he walks off lead 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day minimum and often more. I’m very strict with his weight he deliberately run up on the thin side he’s recently passed an annual vetting with flying colours in particular she commented on how good it is to see an old dog looking nice and thin. Oh and I get his teeth done as required. He’s never had a days illness in his life and is super energetic and people often say “how old is the puppy”.
The breed is known for being very healthy and long lived.
Our previous dog exceeded the average age for the breed by 18 months with the same management, again super energetic right up until the week he died.

Ime pedigrees don't live as long possibly / probably due to over breeding.

I think there's pedigree and pedigree, though. Most working line pedigrees are perfectly healthy - working cockers, working labs, retrievers, springers, beagles and foxhounds, for example, are generally pretty long-lived, but the "show" line equivalents tend (on the whole) to have more health issues IME.

@thelobsterquadrille absolutely, that's what I meant really but didn't articulate well!

My mum had a show pedigree sheltie, he died at 5 from genetic issues, we had a working pedigree collie and spaniel who both lived to 'old age'.

The spaniel I mentioned was a show pedigree (from a breed rescue) and as I say he was almost 14 but he did have a lot of ear issues which vets did say a lot of people would've given up trying to fix when he was younger :(

My standard dachshund died this year aged 16.

He was vaccinated every year, and on a regular schedule for wormers and anti flea and tick treatment - Bravecto when that was introduced, which cleared up his alopecia.

He ate mainly kibble (royal canine dachshund).
Medically fit, mentally fine. He'd probably have lived longer if his activity hadn't been curtailed by lockdown, unfortunately he refused to walk any distance through our village so his physical fitness declined.

My dachshund had a pedigree longer than his arm, his sire won best of breed at crufts a few times. He could climb mountains and out walk us for most of his life.

I think it’s largely down to genetics, provided you’re not feeding too many fatty treats.

My dogs have had broadly the same food and lifestyle and have lived to be 5, 14, 12. They were put to sleep because of a brain tumour, a huge cancerous growth on the leg, and a combination of dementia and pain that could no longer be managed from arthritis.

Currently have dogs who are 11 and 2 years old.

Grandparents jack Russel lived to 19 (almost 20) 100% on age as was born same year I was, fed cheap food, constantly escaping from garden and crossing busy road (good few years ago now) didn't matter how much they tried to keep him in garden he found a way out! Probably ate all sorts or rubbish through his life. Had basic injections nothing else.

No health problems entire life, no idea why he was so healthy! Went blind suddenly so PTS as he struggled. He only ever went to vets for injections.

Guess good genes!

I have a almost 15 year old JRT girl. Lots of walks and just a normal diet, but do try and give raw veggies rather than treats( shes a total klepto though and has been known to finish whole packets of jaffa cakes if left unguarded !)Shes alergic to all pesticide so never had any flea treatment, shes combed through every week, and if we see any fleas its just thorough combing twice a day with a flea comb and boil washing all bedding till shes clear( usually takes about 3 days but shes only ever had fleas about 4 times in her life)
She moves a little slower these days, is starting to go a touch deaf and has a little arthritis, but the vet says shes in cracking shape for girl her age. Vet also said JRTs live forever !

My collie/jrt mix lived at 16 (aporox- rescue and age uncertain). No special diet, probably very poor diet for the first half of her life, vax and wormed fairly regularly. Overweight in middle part of her life but slimmer under our care. Exercised regularly but not for hours daily. She seemed indestructible! Very healthy dog with few health issues until the end year or so.

My old dog has a top show pedigree although many moons ago they were working dogs they are now firmly considered companion dog but as a breed they are known for their long levity and health. But then no squashed faces, crocked limbs droopy eyes or excessive folds of skin etc.
Im a ex competition horse owner confirmation in horses is so important m and contributes significantly soundness and therefore long term health. So I’m a bit of an expert in this field. I would say of my elderly dog if he was a horse he has almost perfect confirmation.

Both my dogs lived to good age's
gsd x with either whippet/ greyhound/ or similar built dog she looked like a small skinny gsd but with big daft ears !
She was a rescue and had terrible kennel cough when we first got her but that was her only illness for many years .
She damaged a ligament in her toe so she had a couple of pain killer injections.

She lived until she was 18 a very quick growing growth in her throat which cut of her air supply, she was fine one day , a bit wheezy for two days so took her yovthe vets thinking it was a chest infection but it was much more serious they said they needed to put her down there and then but I wanted to have one more night with her , that was a mistake I will always regret she could hardly breath . I took her back at 7am the following day to be pts.

My 2nd dog a lab x staff was also a rescue, he was wandering the neighbourhood streets before anyone could catch him , I caught him after a LOT of patience with the plan of finding his owners and giving him back but with no coller or chip or reply yo posters we ended up keeping him.
He was also very healthy but eventually pts due to arthritis at almost 19

Both dogs were fit and slim , fed mid range wet and dry food pigs trotters about once a month . The lab loved broccoli stalks , the gsd corn on the cob she would nibble every bit of corn of one day then devour the centre the next day never both on the same day 🙃

Both had a average walk of about 1.5 hrs per day
They were only treated for worms and fleas when they need it

As a vet how do I ensure that my own dogs live to 15:
I choose a sensible breed/dog
I feed a complete dog food and keep my dog slim
I insured my dog
I vaccinate my dog
I carry out dental treatment
I train my dog well
The vast majority of dogs I provide end of life care to who are in their teens have followed these rules.

Dogs who I euthanise young usually it's economic or they have underlying disease (made worse by weight) or they have preventable disease.

Am so glad your dogs lived long healthy lives but I just need to let people know DO NOT feed corn on the cobs to dogs.

These don’t pass through most dogs and mean surgery or even death as they can blocks the intestines. I have personally known this happen to a dog I know so it’s not scare mongering.