How Old Is/was Your Oldest Dog?

[Blackdogs]

How old is/was your oldest dog? What breed are/were they?

Do you think there is anything you did to contribute to their lifespan?

Were they active or inactive dogs?

I'm always curious about canine longevity and how to achieve it. I also love hearing about oldies!

My oldest was the family dog who was given her wings at 16. She was a relatively inactive Shih Tzu cross JRT. Physically she could have gone on for many more years, but her dementia left her increasingly distressed. We felt it was fairer to let her go. She was brought up on PAL and then Supercoat and Optimum and barely had a sick day in her life!

Tell me about yours! Oh, and pics would be a plus. :)

[Esky the husky]

My first dog is still alive at 14.

Honestly surprised, his brother passed away a few years ago due to a snake bite.

My parents still own him and have honestly done nothing to increase his longevity.

He got walked and pats but they never believed in buying toys for the dogs ( I used to always share my toys with them ;) )

Vaccinated like once ever. Heartwormed daily and fed on Coles Home brand kibble and canned garbage..

He's a JRT x Foxy.. An oops litter from my parents friend. Both pups came to me on my 10th birthday

Ted

[Blackdogs]

Wow, looks great for 14! Amazing how well some dogs can do on low quality food.

[suziwong66]

Our oldest was our last one: Casper a yellow labrador retriever - he's the one in my signature/banner. We gave him his wings a week before his 14th birthday as his back legs gave way. He'd been having incontinence issues for the year prior but he was able to get up and out of his waste if he soiled himself when laying down...but once his legs gave way we knew it was time to let him go.

He was like a puppy till he was about 11 years old and he settled down. He seemed to become a geriatric when he was about 12.5 - 13 yrs. He seemed to become an old man, in what seemed like, overnight, but of course there was a progression in sight and hearing and then bowels and then back legs. He'd been a wonderful family member and we decided not to prolong his life with drugs and therapies as much as it broke our hearts to say goodbye.

I can't honestly say we did anything that contributed to his long life span; I think we were just darn lucky and he perhaps had good genetics. He'd lived all over the country with us - born in Qld, then Melbourne, then Darwin and finally in Adelaide.

We mostly had German Shepherd's when i was growing up and Casper was my first ever labby - My OH wanted a labby after we lost our first GS as a married couple (he went to the rainbow bridge at 10 years). I would have happily had another shepherd but conceded to a labby; We've had 17 consecutive years with a labby in our lives now and are about to welcome our 3rd in 5.5 weeks time. They are my favourite breed now.

Edited August 27, 2014 by suziwong66

[kelpiecuddles]

My oldest was the family dog too, she lived to 16, was one of the dreaded oodles ;)

She was very well cared for and much loved by my mum especially.

My oldest dog that is just my dog is my kelpie, she's 10 and most people that meet her think she's 4-5 at the oldest(I've had people ask how old my pup is). I suspect that in her case it comes down to fitness. Many pet kelpies by her age are starting to pack on the pounds and that's something that doesn't happen in my house.

[Little Gifts]

My oldest was an SBT rescue who was pts three months shy of 17. She gave birth to her only litter of pups the same week she turned one. She had to have a cesar, had complications and lost all her stitches (guts hanging out late one night) and had another round of emergency surgery three days after the first.

Life continued on without a hiccup but when she was about 9 she developed chronic pancreatitis and was on a very restricted diet for the remainder of her life. At the time she was pts she was blind, deaf, full of cancerous masses, incontinent, had dementia and some mobility issues but never showed any pain and remained active and top dog until her last breath. Her last fight with another dog was only a year before and she won it! Besides the pancreatitis I reckon she only really started to develop all the other health problems at about 15.

She was a machine really and I'm sure she could've kept going despite all her issues.

One of her SBT pups came back into my care at 9 months of age. He had severe epilepsy that we struggled to manage with medication. But working with a homeopathic vet and naturopath we managed to control the issue and get him off all his meds It took three years and he was left as a very nervous and scared dog with some separation anxiety. This anxiety caused him to injury himself when he was 12.5 and he had to be pts. If that had not happened I expect he would've lived a lot longer. He had no other health issues.

My sister's husky/shep cross is currently 11.5 and has only showed signs of ageing over the past year - some dementia and arthritis. All are being managed really well at this point and she is still a very active pack member so I can see her going for at least another six months to a year even though she is a large breed dog.

The only similarities I can see from my experiences are good diet, keep them lean, keep them active (mind and body), keep them safe from external and preventable harm and continue to make them an important part of their pack.

Geez, maybe I need to take my own advice re the diet and weight bit......

[Guest Clover]

Clover (Rottie x ACD) was 13 years and one week exactly when she was pts. One of the hardest choices I have ever made.

She was an active dog most of her life, she slowed down a bit in the last 12 - 18 months. No problems with her eye sight or hearing.

Was still competing at Flyball at 10 years of age.

[Daisys Mum]

I had a long -hair miniature Daschund who lived to 17 :) he came from a breeder , when he was only a few months old he developed a bowel disease but in the end he went blind, deaf and incontinent.

My current dog is a Kelpie x from a rescue , she is 9 but has the fitness and physique of a 3 year old :)

[Brandiandwe]

My oldest dog is Benny. He's the grey we pulled out if the pound with the help of other DOLers and are looking after for as long as he wishes to stay. He's now 9.5, not the 11 we were originally told. Since getting him, we've fed him raw, sorted his teeth and feet (corns and nails), put him on fish oil and Zeel tablets for his stiffness and he now walks 2-5 kms a day with the other younger dogs, plays with them, runs with them and generally is socially and physically active. Given we don't know his medical history, all we can do is give him the best life we can , in diet, exercise, stimulation and health, and wait and see. I suspect that he will leave us before I am ready, only because of the gaps in our knowledge. But for me, keeping him active is key and, linked to that, keeping nails trimmed and arthritis pain at bay as well as encouraging him to interact with the others, which he loves.

He's a cheeky little monkey though.

[tdierikx]

Zeddy is 15 today...

She's not as fast as she used to be, and has a bit of arthritis in the back legs, but her hearing and sight are still good. Has made it through this winter without the need of any meds for the arthritis. Still enjoys going to the dog park on the odd occasion. She's been fed all sorts over the years, but is currently on Supercoat and doing very nicely on it. She is kept on condition and not allowed to get fat, which I reckon is the key to her longevity.

T.

[Scarlet]

My oldest was a rough collie, Kurie who I PTS at about 16.5 yrs as he was in the later stages of bowel cancer.

This was many years ago and in the days when you could take dogs anywhere and he had the best life. I was young and traveled to many states and to NZ and Kuri came with me. We just got on and off trains, buses etc and no one ever stopped us.On interstate trains he did have to go into the baggage compartment but not in a crate and usually I was allowed in with him and the guard.People didn't have to follow policies and procedures back then and staff would just make the decisions themselves.

He was the most socialised dog. I can't even remember him being on a lead a lot but I would walk with one hand on his shoulder-he was like velcro.

After I settled down we lived in the country on properties so he has lots of space, and I had additional dogs. He wasn't fed anything special, Pal and bones; and he loved ice cream. We didn't go to the vet much except for a broken leg, the cancer of course and he got heartworm before I had even heard about it. He was immunised and he did have medical checks going into and out of NZ. I didn't treat for ticks but would wash him occasionally in "gamawash" that was so "chemically" that I'm sure it kept them away!

[harley]

Zeddy!

I love the oldies. My lab has just turned 13 and my grey 10. Both are on arthritis medications and both still enjoy a short walk, although the grey would happily go for longer too. Our grey had terrible teeth when we adopted her (more a chronic thing, nothing acute at the time) so she has had a few dentals and now is fed on advance dental dry and turkey/chicken necks.

The lab has great teeth, despite having to cut his chicken necks up as he tries to swallow them whole!

them so much!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

This is my beloved "Roly". He passed away at 18 years of age. He was some sort of Silky Terrier cross but was large for that breed at around 12 kilos. I think his longevity was definitely breed rather than care related - I'd only had him for 18 months, he arrived as an emergency foster, he was in very poor physical shape having been very neglected and living in a putrid place for a long time. He was almost bald on the body (due to years of infestation and poor housing), needed a dental and lots of tlc. His hair grew back within a few months.

I fell in love with him and he stayed. He was the sweetest old man and for about the first year was able to do a good 20 minute walk every day which he loved. He was the cleanest and sweetest natured boy on the planet.

For the last 6 months of his life he did slow right down, he started having digestive issues so went onto special food, didn't want to walk so far and his eyesight and hearing began to fail.

One day I came home and couldn't find him, he was in the garden and he couldn't get up.

I felt it was his time, my vet did tests but there was nothing to explain why he couldn't get up but I'd lost another elderly dog in the same way and it was time to let him go.

I still miss him, I'm only sorry that he'd had to endure such long term misery and we only had 18 months together.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Her Majesty Dogmad

[Airedaler]

My oldest was our second Curly Coated Retriever - she was 15 when she developed cancer and was PTS.

My daughter in law has a Jack Russell cross who is almost 19. Jack has been very active up until a few years ago but has only ever been fed low quality food. Almost 2 years ago he developed kidney issues and the vet sent him home to virtually die but Jack had other ideas and rejected the kidney diet food the vet suggested for VIP loaf and is on no medication. Although he does sleep for most of the day he still enjoys pottering around when he is awake, he has some hearing loss but often it is selective and mobility is not as good as it was but he can get quite a trot going. He also chooses to sleep outside in his "den" although he does now wear a coat at night during the cooler weather.

He is a tough cookie.

[PuddleDuck]

Kerry, my childhood rescue lab x border collie lived to 20 years 11 months. I was about 5 when we got her, she was 1. There was absolutely no reason that you can attribute it to. She ate crap food for a lot of her life, wasn't vaccinated or heart wormed after about 13 years old because we were all certain she wouldn't life much longer (not that she was sick, just that she was old). She had arthritis and was rather blind and deaf and a bit was missing mentally but she was still delightfully happy. She had surgery at about 19 to take out some lumps, we all said goodbye to her and she pulled through with no issues. We used to joke that you couldn't kill her with a steamroller. We made the decision to have her PTS when she became completely incontinent overnight and was really distressed by it. She was an amazing dog :)

[Blackdogs]

Such awesome stories. Thanks guys. That video of Clover almost made me cry.

Happy Birthday Zeddy! You're gorgeous.

Roly reminds me of my last dog. So cute.

The only common factor I can see with all these oldies is lots and lots of love. Let's hope that works for my brood!

[denali]

Our oldest family dog was 14 or so.

Bought as a German shepherd from the petshop, but we believe GSD x ridgeback.

She had a longcoat GSD companion who we had to pts due to her hips, and once her buddy was gone she just declined dramatically

We pts as she just didnt seem happy anymore and it was he time. I believe if her friend had lived longer- she would have too.

Unfortunately MY own dog- my first - he was 7. He died from a stroke, heart attack or similar but i didnt have a necropsy done so will never know for sure.

My others are here now at 5,3 and 18 months and I am hoping i am doing something right to keep them around for a while!

[Dame Aussie]

Our childhood dogs, littermates which were chihuahua x JRT both lived till they were 17. One got a brain tumour and was pts the other started showing signs of dementia and was pts when it was time. Our other childhood dog was a boxer who lived till 11 and was pts eventually due to brain cancer.

[Animal House]

Love the oldies, Happy Birthday Zeddy, looking good for her age.

Our family dog growing up lived to 17. He was a GSD Kelpe X, a friend of ours bred GSD's and this litter was an accident from a rogue neighbours dog. "Flash" was fed Pal, table scraps, wormed with supermarket stuff, fed cooked bones, ate a small chocolate frog once a week as a treat, and was undesexed. He also managed to fall in love with a neighbours Samoyed and fathered a litter of gorgeous pups. He was the best family dog ever, he loved going in the car and if ne saw an open car door, he was in there and sitting in the passengers seat looking very happy.I remember the time he stole a neighbours cooked leg of lamb once, he'd gone to visit them (next door) and helped himself when the roast was left on the bench to rest before carving. Ah, all those mistakes we made with him and he lived to a ripe old age...I cried like a baby when he was put down, he'd had a stroke and couldn't move his back legs. The only time he'd been to the vets in his 17 years was to make his final journey. Gosh, that was a long time ago now, over 30 years.

One of my current dogs is 15, he's slowing up now and is a bit deaf (I reckon he's selectively deaf because he can hear the fridge open no matter where he is :laugh:) ...I got him from a local rescue when he was 2. He's a mixture of (possibly Daschund/JR or something) and he's always been a healthy little fella, always happy. More happier when he's got food in his gob. :laugh:

[Brandiandwe]

Can I ask a question about deafness or loss of hearing in our oldies?

It's hard to tell but I suspect Benny's hearing is not as good as the others. I find that calling him, I need to call, not louder, but in a more authoritative way? More piercing? There's a different pitch to my voice which he seems to hear better. Is this the same with others? He's pretty good, but I want him to stay happy.