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How Long Do Dogs Live? Lifespan by Breed From 584,734 Dogs

Nov 1, 2026

Dogs live a median of 12.5 years: half live longer, half don't get that far. That figure comes from a 2024 study of 584,734 dogs across 155 breeds in the UK. The authors note that their results describe UK dogs, so numbers elsewhere may differ. Breed makes a big difference. The longest-lived breed in the study had a median of 15.4 years and the shortest 5.4.

Key takeaways

Across all dogs, the median lifespan was 12.5 years. Purebreds came in at 12.7 and crossbreeds at 12.0 (McMillan et al. 2024).
Small dogs tend to outlive large ones, and flat-faced breeds tend to die younger than breeds with longer noses.
Females lived slightly longer than males: 12.7 years against 12.4.
95% of dogs had died by about 18.3 years, so a dog in its late teens is truly exceptional.
Different websites give different numbers for the same breed, mostly because they measure different things. We explain how below.

Lifespan of common breeds

Median lifespan from the 2024 study, for 20 well-known breeds. The 95% confidence interval (CI) is the range the true median most likely falls in; a narrow range means the study had plenty of dogs of that breed.

Breed	Median lifespan	Dogs in study
Poodle	14.0 years95% CI 13.8–14.1	6,427
Yorkshire Terrier	13.3 years95% CI 13.3–13.4	14,579
Miniature Schnauzer	13.3 years95% CI 13.2–13.5	7,693
Dachshund	13.2 years95% CI 13.0–13.5	2,305
Golden Retriever	13.2 years95% CI 13.1–13.2	11,506
Labrador Retriever	13.1 years95% CI 13.0–13.1	43,428
Border Collie	13.1 years95% CI 13.0–13.2	12,917
Shih Tzu	12.8 years95% CI 12.6–12.9	12,007
Beagle	12.5 years95% CI 12.3–12.7	4,678
Siberian Husky	11.9 years95% CI 11.7–12.0	4,453
Chihuahua	11.8 years95% CI 11.5–11.9	10,788
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel	11.8 years95% CI 11.7–11.9	13,782
Pug	11.6 years95% CI 11.4–11.8	10,026
German Shepherd Dog	11.3 years95% CI 11.3–11.4	19,908
Boxer	11.3 years95% CI 11.3–11.5	11,294
Rottweiler	10.6 years95% CI 10.4–10.7	6,275
Great Dane	10.6 years95% CI 10.4–11.0	1,986
Bernese Mountain Dog	10.1 years95% CI 9.8–10.4	1,116
French Bulldog	9.8 years95% CI 9.4–10.1	11,821
Bulldog	9.8 years95% CI 9.7–10.0	11,065
Crossbreeds	12.0 years	111,053

All 155 breeds are in the full table at the end of this article.

How size and face shape change lifespan

Size matters, but not as much as you might think. Among purebreds, small dogs had a median of 12.7 to 12.8 years and large dogs 11.8 to 12.0, a gap of under a year (the study reports these separately for males and females).

Face shape mattered more. Vets call flat-faced breeds, like Pugs and Bulldogs, brachycephalic. The study split breeds by both size and face shape, and the gap between the longest- and shortest-lived groups was almost four years:

Small, long nose13.3 yrs

Medium, typical nose12.9 yrs

Small, typical nose12.8 yrs

Large, typical nose12.5 yrs

Small, flat face11.8 yrs

Large, flat face10.7 yrs

Medium, flat face9.4 yrs

Purebreds only. Source: McMillan et al. (2024), Scientific Reports, supplementary figure S3.

Only one breed fell into the medium flat-faced group, so that bar reflects a single breed. Flat-faced breeds that are small, like the Shih Tzu, did much better, with a median of 12.8 years.

Breeds that live the longest and shortest

Longest median lifespans: Lancashire Heeler (15.4 years), Tibetan Spaniel (15.2), Bolognese (14.9), Shiba Inu (14.6), and Havanese and Papillon (both 14.5). Of the common breeds, the Poodle led at 14.0.

Shortest median lifespans: Caucasian Shepherd Dog (5.4 years), Presa Canario (7.7), Cane Corso (8.1) and Mastiff (9.0), followed by four breeds at 9.3, including the Saint Bernard and Bloodhound. The Caucasian Shepherd figure comes from only 52 dogs, so it's the least certain number on this list.

Several of the long-lived breeds are rare, and their figures rest on a few hundred dogs. The common breeds above are based on thousands each.

Why different sites give different numbers

Look up a breed's lifespan and you'll often find numbers that don't match. For French Bulldogs, you'll find figures as low as 4.5 years and as high as 9.8. Usually nobody is wrong; they're measuring different things.

Number	What it means	French Bulldog	Chihuahua
Median lifespanMcMillan et al. 2024	The age half of the dogs get past. Counts living and dead dogs.	9.8 years	11.8 years
Life expectancy at birthTeng et al. 2022	An average built from dogs that died in 2016–2020.	4.5 years	7.9 years
Breed rangeBreed clubs, AKC	A general range, not measured from a study.	Not given	14–16 years

The second study counted only dogs that had already died. For a breed whose popularity grew quickly, like the French Bulldog, most dogs alive at the time were still young. The ones that had died were mostly the unlucky young ones, which drags the average down. A median that also counts living dogs avoids most of that problem.

That's why we use the 2024 median as our main number. When you see a lifespan figure online, check whether it says where it came from. A range with no source is usually a rough guide, not a measurement.

What this means for your dog

Read the median as a midpoint, not a deadline. Half of the dogs in each breed lived longer than its median.
Plan for senior care in the last quarter of your dog's expected life. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) treats the last 25% of expected lifespan as the senior stage. For a dog with a 12.5-year median, that starts at about 9. See when a dog is considered a senior for size and breed. Ask your vet when they'd like to start more frequent checkups.
Convert your dog's age with their size in mind. Big dogs age faster after the first two years. Our dog age calculator converts your dog's age to human years, and our guide explains how dog years work.

Breed guides with more detail: Yorkshire Terrier, Shih Tzu, Chihuahua, French Bulldog, Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Boxer, Pug, Great Dane, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Miniature Schnauzer, Cocker Spaniel, Rottweiler, Greyhound and Bernese Mountain Dog. Breed-specific age calculators: Yorkie, Shih Tzu, Chihuahua, French Bulldog, Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Boxer, Pug, Great Dane, Cavalier, Miniature Schnauzer, Cocker Spaniel, Rottweiler, Greyhound and Bernese.

How old is your dog in human years? Enter their age and size to see their life stage.

Open the dog age calculator →

Lifespan of all 155 breeds

Median lifespan in years, from longest to shortest. Breeds marked with * had fewer than 50 recorded deaths in the study (29 breeds), so treat those numbers as rough. Names follow the UK breed names used in the study.

#	Breed	Median (years)	Dogs in study
1	Lancashire Heeler	15.4	241
2	Tibetan Spaniel	15.2	351
3	Bolognese *	14.9	182
4	Shiba Inu	14.6	423
5	Havanese	14.5	381
6	Papillon	14.5	1,115
7	Border Terrier	14.2	9,387
8	Coton de Tulear *	14.2	319
9	Lakeland Terrier	14.2	1,068
10	Schipperke *	14.2	76
11	Large Munsterlander *	14.1	139
12	Australian Cattle Dog	14.0	117
13	Cairn Terrier	14.0	2,585
14	German Spitz Mittel	14.0	211
15	Italian Greyhound	14.0	389
16	Lhasa Apso	14.0	7,216
17	Miniature Dachshund	14.0	7,342
18	Norwich Terrier *	14.0	190
19	Poodle	14.0	6,427
20	Swedish Valhund *	14.0	61
21	Welsh Springer Spaniel	14.0	572
22	Bearded Collie	13.9	1,165
23	Lowchen	13.9	143
24	Belgian Tervuren	13.8	208
25	Bracco Italiano *	13.8	106
26	Finnish Lapphund *	13.8	105
27	Parson Russell Terrier	13.8	2,600
28	Tibetan Terrier	13.8	1,947
29	Welsh Terrier	13.8	570
30	Australian Shepherd	13.7	224
31	Bedlington Terrier	13.7	1,294
32	Miniature Pinscher	13.7	660
33	Petite Basset Griffon Vendeen	13.7	496
34	Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier	13.7	620
35	Spanish Water Dog *	13.7	265
36	English Springer Spaniel	13.5	17,905
37	Irish Terrier	13.5	535
38	Norfolk Terrier	13.5	905
39	Sussex Spaniel *	13.5	108
40	Vizsla	13.5	2,965
41	Wire Fox Terrier	13.5	1,413
42	Chinese Crested	13.4	928
43	German Shorthaired Pointer	13.4	3,313
44	Shetland Sheepdog	13.4	1,905
45	West Highland White Terrier	13.4	11,932
46	Whippet	13.4	4,971
47	American Cocker Spaniel	13.3	657
48	Brussels Griffon	13.3	315
49	Collie	13.3	2,171
50	English Cocker Spaniel	13.3	26,303
51	Jack Russell Terrier	13.3	19,166
52	Miniature Schnauzer	13.3	7,693
53	Pekingese	13.3	695
54	Puli *	13.3	122
55	Saluki	13.3	428
56	Silky Terrier *	13.3	105
57	Tibetan Mastiff *	13.3	117
58	Yorkshire Terrier	13.3	14,579
59	Dachshund	13.2	2,305
60	Dalmatian	13.2	3,126
61	Golden Retriever	13.2	11,506
62	Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever *	13.2	286
63	Pembroke Welsh Corgi	13.2	643
64	Polish Lowland Sheepdog *	13.2	83
65	Border Collie	13.1	12,917
66	Cardigan Welsh Corgi	13.1	203
67	English Setter	13.1	596
68	Field Spaniel	13.1	242
69	Labrador Retriever	13.1	43,428
70	Maltese	13.1	2,021
71	Samoyed	13.1	723
72	Sealyham Terrier *	13.1	125
73	Foxhound *	13.0	71
74	German Wirehaired Pointer	13.0	562
75	Japanese Spitz	13.0	336
76	Portuguese Water Dog *	13.0	179
77	Standard Schnauzer	13.0	826
78	Toy Manchester Terrier	13.0	339
79	Irish Setter	12.9	1,487
80	Norwegian Elkhound	12.9	145
81	Toy Fox Terrier	12.9	163
82	Dandie Dinmont Terrier	12.8	179
83	Shih Tzu	12.8	12,007
84	Weimaraner	12.8	2,990
85	Scottish Terrier	12.7	1,747
86	Briard	12.6	201
87	American Staffordshire Terrier	12.5	142
88	Basset Hound	12.5	2,013
89	Beagle	12.5	4,678
90	Bichon Frise	12.5	5,902
91	Japanese Chin	12.5	373
92	Gordon Setter	12.4	393
93	Kerry Blue Terrier	12.4	368
94	Skye Terrier *	12.4	91
95	Clumber Spaniel	12.3	300
96	Keeshond	12.3	171
97	Curly Coated Retriever	12.2	152
98	Miniature Bull Terrier	12.2	268
99	Pomeranian	12.2	2,941
100	Basenji *	12.1	92
101	Chow Chow	12.1	940
102	Giant Schnauzer	12.1	369
103	Glen Of Imaal Terrier *	12.1	113
104	Old English Sheepdog	12.1	1,210
105	Airedale Terrier	12.0	1,270
106	Belgian Malenois	12.0	606
107	Borzoi *	12.0	142
108	Bull Terrier	12.0	4,503
109	Canaan Dog *	12.0	45
110	Kelpie *	12.0	97
111	Rhodesian Ridgeback	12.0	2,108
112	Staffordshire Bull Terrier	12.0	36,216
113	Siberian Husky	11.9	4,453
114	Spinone Italiano	11.9	693
115	Boston Terrier	11.8	1,984
116	Cavalier King Charles Spaniel	11.8	13,782
117	Chihuahua	11.8	10,788
118	Flat Coated Retriever	11.7	2,148
119	Chesapeake Bay Retriever *	11.6	126
120	Pug	11.6	10,026
121	Greyhound	11.5	3,964
122	Akita	11.4	3,828
123	Alaskan Malamute	11.3	1,980
124	American Eskimo Dog *	11.3	36
125	Bouvier des Flandres	11.3	151
126	Boxer	11.3	11,294
127	German Shepherd Dog	11.3	19,908
128	Doberman Pinscher	11.2	3,531
129	Afghan Hound	11.1	380
130	Brittany	11.1	991
131	Dogue de Bordeaux	11.1	3,427
132	Newfoundland	11.0	1,529
133	Black Russian Terrier	10.9	163
134	Great Pyrenees	10.9	260
135	Irish Water Spaniel	10.8	174
136	Chinese Shar Pei	10.6	4,326
137	Great Dane	10.6	1,986
138	Rottweiler	10.6	6,275
139	Scottish Deerhound	10.5	426
140	Bullmastiff	10.2	2,188
141	Anatolian Shepherd *	10.1	70
142	Bernese Mountain Dog	10.1	1,116
143	Leonberger	10.0	676
144	Pharaoh Hound *	10.0	36
145	Irish Wolfhound	9.9	509
146	Bulldog	9.8	11,065
147	French Bulldog	9.8	11,821
148	Affenpinscher	9.3	338
149	Bloodhound	9.3	134
150	Neapolitan Mastiff	9.3	367
151	St Bernard	9.3	1,129
152	Mastiff	9.0	1,840
153	Cane Corso	8.1	202
154	Presa Canario	7.7	144
155	Caucasian Shepherd Dog *	5.4	52

Source: McMillan et al. (2024), Scientific Reports, supplementary table S3. Crossbreeds: 12.0 years (111,053 dogs).

Frequently asked questions

How long do dogs live on average?

About 12.5 years. That's the median lifespan across 584,734 UK dogs in a 2024 study, meaning half of the dogs lived longer and half didn't get that far. Purebreds had a median of 12.7 years and crossbreeds 12.0.

Which dog breeds live the longest?

In the 2024 study of 155 breeds, the longest median lifespans were the Lancashire Heeler (15.4 years), Tibetan Spaniel (15.2), Bolognese (14.9) and Shiba Inu (14.6). Among common breeds, the Poodle had a median of 14.0 years.

Which dog breeds have the shortest lifespan?

The Caucasian Shepherd Dog had the shortest median (5.4 years), though from only 52 dogs. Others at the short end included the Presa Canario (7.7), Cane Corso (8.1), Mastiff (9.0) and Bulldog and French Bulldog (both 9.8).

Do small dogs live longer than big dogs?

Generally, yes. In the 2024 study, small purebreds had a median lifespan of about 12.7 to 12.8 years and large purebreds about 11.8 to 12.0. Face shape matters too: flat-faced medium breeds had a median of 9.4 years.

Do mixed-breed dogs live longer?

Not in the 2024 study. Crossbreeds had a median lifespan of 12.0 years, against 12.7 for purebreds. That's an average across all purebreds, though, and many individual breeds live shorter lives than crossbreeds.

Do female dogs live longer than male dogs?

Slightly. Females had a median lifespan of 12.7 years and males 12.4 in the 2024 study of 584,734 dogs.

What is the oldest age a dog can live?

Very few dogs pass 18. In the 2024 study, 95% of dogs had died by about 18.3 years, and in a separate study of 30,563 UK dogs, only 23 lived to 20 or older.

Sources

McMillan KM, Bielby J, Williams CL, Upjohn MM, Casey RA, Christley RM (2024). Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14: 531. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w
Teng KT, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C, Church DB, O'Neill DG (2022). Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom. Scientific Reports 12: 6415. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10341-6
Creevy KE, et al. (2019). 2019 AAHA Canine Life Stage Guidelines. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 55(6): 267–290. doi.org/10.5326/JAAHA-MS-6999

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice. Always consult a licensed veterinarian for questions about your dog's health.