Small Dogs with Long Noses Live Longest

Researchers looked at health records of nearly 600-thousand mostly purebred dogs.

If you’re wondering how many years you’ll have with your furry companion…you might want to check out a new study that examined the life spans of different dog breeds. Researchers looked at health records of nearly 600-thousand mostly purebred dogs from more than 150 breeds in Britain. The researchers categorized each breed’s overall body size as small, medium or large and its head shape as flat-faced, medium-proportioned or long-faced. They found that small breeds lived longer, 12-point-7 years on average, compared with 11-point-9 years for large breeds, which is consistent with prior research. Plus, breeds with flat faces had shorter average life spans than dogs with medium and long snouts. Also, female dogs also lived slightly longer than males.