Typical Life Length For Border Collie X Retriever

[Martina_in_Canberra]

Hi everyone,

My girl, Hollie, is a Border Collie cross Retriever who will be 13 in September this year. She is generally healthy apart from some arthritis in her back legs which seems to get worse in our cold Canberra winters, however Cartrophen injections have helped in the past 2 years so we will be trying them again this year. She had always been a little overweight however she is now within her healthy weight range which is helped by keeping her eating the Prescription Diet Joint Formula biscuits.

I have had Hollie since she was 9 months old after she was handed into a pound in Melbourne as the older couple who first had her couldn't cope with how big she had grown as she is the size of a Retriever rather than a Border Collie.

Im after some advice from people who love their dogs and have some experience in these breeds. I know that each dog is individual and as much as I would like her to live forever, I know that just isnt possible. She is healthy and happy enough now, however I was hoping to get some guidance on other people experiences with either of these breeds, the good and the bad please! Vets keep saying things like "you know she is getting older now" and things like that to me, Im starting to think they are starting to prepare me, or maybe they think Im in denial about the longevity of the breeds......any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Martina

[Nekhbet]

dogs live until they cannot anymore. My last German Shepherd was 14 and my grandmothers rottweiler Mushka was 16 when they both died.

Dont listen to the old 'oh she's getting old now' as you see peoples attitude change. I only cease treatment on my animals when their health has deteriorated down to really poor levels - this is irrespective of age.

Get her to lose some more weight, make sure she's down that you can easily feel ribs. Feed her a few raw meaty bones along with the joint formula and whack a jacket on her plus some leg warmer :cool: I used old socks, cut them off at the heel and pull them up to keep the legs warm

remember exercise is crucial. Make sure she walks and keeps her muscle and dont be in a hurry to put her straight onto pain meds. See a holistic vet if there is one in your area who can do things like chiropracty, acupuncture, Bowen etc I find they do a world of good as they do the whole animal not just look at one tiny area.

I dont see why you cant have her around for another few years if she is healthy and well maintained

[MolassesLass]

dogs live until they cannot anymore.

Exactly. And with a cross there isn't even average breed data to go on.

Enjoy your dogs while they are here and always be prepared to make the hard but right decision.

[cowanbree]

Anywhere between 12-15 yrs would be a good innings for a large dog. Small dogs to tend to live longer but even in my shelties 14-16yrs is about normal