I’ve heard that mixed breed dogs live longer than purebreds. Is this true? And if it is, why do they live longer?
Your question is vague. The wikipedia article gives some good background info. Aging in dogs - Wikipedia
The concept of hybrid vigour is real… but there is little evidence that the somewhat nebulous concept of dog “breeds” provide populations distinct enough to give hybridizing advantage.Hybrid vigour in dogs? - PubMed
For instance, if you cross a Labrador and a Rottweiler, which are both breeds prone to hip displaysia, you have not successfully reduced the next generation’s likelihood of predisposition to the condition.
I think the more correct statement is that “poor breeding practices can lead to health problems”
But the answer to your original question is yes. Inherited diseases are a significant portion of conditions veterinarians deal with on a daily basis.
The tragic reality is that very few pure bred dogs are actually “well bred.” Even if you ignore puppy mills most litters are the result of amateur breeders that are not careful about screening for genetics.
The problem is inbreeding and not that dogs have a huge amount of diversity that would result in hybrid vigour. That cite relates to intentional hybrids and not the random mutt.
I should clarify Heterosis, or hybrid vigour is the act of selecting two specific dogs to enhance a desirable trait. Those desirable traits may result in the same type of issues that careless breeding of pure breds can.
Where a random mixture or mutt is much less likely to inherit two copies of a recessive gene.
What if you have a black lab mix, but the dog is still mostly black lab? Will it still live longer than a purebred black lab?
On the whole, my mutts have lived longer. However, my border collie is 15yo and going gangbusters. She was a stray but is definitely a purebred ( tho’ what “purebred” really means is slippery). In my experience dogs bred for brachycephalic features can have shorter lives due to valuation of “smooshy face” features/mutations (pugs and so on).
Smart points upthread about purebreds tending to have issues due to their breed tendencies. My previous labs have all had hip dysplasia; thus far Chase, my 3yo yellow lab, isn’t having any issues. She’s the only dog I’ve ever bought from a breeder and she came “certified” as having parents free of dysplasia - we’ll see how it goes.
Our 3yo American Staffordshire Terrier just had knee surgery, AmStaffs have a rep for knee tears. But again, while he visually conforms to purebred standards, who knows if he is? As is, the delineation between staffies and pitts can be shaky at best.
Size in dogs seems to have a direct correlation to longevity. The very large breeds, mastiffs, Danes, etc. are very short lived. Chihuahuas often go 19 or 20 years. Most medium sized mutts will go about 13 to 15 years just from personal experience with neighborhood dogs.
Definitely - if the purebred lab gets run over by a car.
Like others said, a well mixed up mutt is less likely to have many of the various ailments many purebreds are prone to. But an individual owns one (or a few) dogs at a time - not a population.
My personal experience is limited to 4 dogs. Two were purebred and two were mutts. The mutts lived 12 and 17 years and the purebreds about 8.
“Hybrid Thrive”, would seem to confirm that yes, a mix breed dog should outlive either of it’s parents.
I think it’s a bit of a toss up. A well bred purebred will outlive an unhealthy mutt. Just being a mixed breed does not eliminate genetic health concerns. Two carriers of hip dysplasia, (or luxating patellas, or skin issues) even if from different breeds, will likely produce dysplastic puppies. So you take your chances - maybe you get the affected pup, maybe you get the one that won’t show signs. f
(I adopted a lab mix from the shelter and got the affected pup. When he came up lame, I had his hips xrayed and they were bad, but he was happy, and active and healthy, until his last year, when he was clearly in pain and not being helped by the meds and I had to make the sad decision to have him put to sleep. He was just shy of his ninth birthday. Too soon, though I always knew he would be my heartbreak dog)
For any dog, I think a long life is also affected by lifestyle - good diet, keeping them lean, regular exercise, proper vet care, good living conditions. No guarantees, but it’s a good place to start.
If you want a mixed breed, get one. Be wary of the claims of ‘designer dog’ breeders. Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you’re spending a lot of money for a puppy, it will be healthier just because it’s a mixed breed. There’s also lots of really nice dogs and puppies in shelters and rescues that need homes, too.
If you want a purebred, then do some research first. Look for a breeder that health tests the parents for known genetic conditions in that breed. If long life is important, ask about average lifespans for the litters they’ve produced, or for the parent and grandparent dogs and siblings in their breeding program. Find a good breeder that cares about their dogs, not just the money to be made from the pups and ask questions.
When we’re talking about one individual dog’s lifespan, versus another’s, you likely can’t predict that it “will” live longer. Mutts, on the whole, tend to live longer than purebreds, smaller dogs tend to live longer than larger dogs, but you simply can’t predict that Muffy, my black lab mix, will definitely live longer than Buffy, your purebred black lab. As others have pointed out, there are too many other factors, including the individual genetic lottery that all dogs (and all life forms) enter.
I’ve always wondered why dogs (and cats) don’t have human-type longevity. If anything, dogs would seem to have some advantages, I.e., quadrapedal locomotion vs. human bipedalism (back pain, stupid birthing anatomy) and overall doggies get more exercise and don’t smoke, drink, or eat Big Macs.
Very few mammals have human-type longevity, and there is somewhat of a lose correlation of life span to body size. But keep in mind that when you don’t mature sexually until you’re about 12 - 16, and children are almost totally dependent on their parents for 10 years, it wouldn’t bode well if your lifespan was ~14 years. We have to live longer just in order to reproduce and raise our young.
I can’t speak to longevity. A given mutt may or may not live as long as a given pure breed.
What we can say is that inbreeding is so common that SOME types of dogs are now prone to ailments that are very rare among mutts (like, say, deafness among Dalmatians).
Since someone mentioned having a very healthy border collie, well, some years back, border collie owners were vocally demanding that the breed NOT be recognized officially by the AKC! Borer collies have a fair amount of genetic diversity, since dogs have historically been bred NOT according to their looks but according to how well they rounded up sheep or cattle. Border collie lovers feared that, if the AKC recognized the breed, people would start breeding them to conform to arbitrary standards of appearance. The result could be beautiful dogs that are dumber and less useful as herders.
Inbreeding among border collies used to be rare. It may not be much longer.
Also, keep in mind that dogs typically live longer than their wolf cousins. Wolves don’t usually live much longer than 6 to 8 years, but mainly because life is tough out there in the wild. Since we take such good care of dogs, they live a lot longer. Wolves in captivity have about the same lifespan as dogs, which should not be very surprising.
There’s a similar situation with racing greyhounds. Right now greyhounds are bred purely for speed and stamina, not for the way they look. Except for the sad increase in osteosarcoma lately, they are a very hearty breed and live longer than other breeds their size (12 - 15 years). Except for a few puppy mills in the Ohio area, greyhound breeding seems to be restricted to racing circles. And it’s not just breeding, but also the upbringing that makes them special. The litters are kept together until mom naturally weans them, and then they’re only separated from mom but not each other. When they start race training at 6 months old, they’re finally separated but still kept in wire crates where they can be together, and turnout pens as dog packs. As a result, they have the best social skills of any other breed.
I’m not a huge fan of exploiting animals for human entertainment (not totally against it either, it’s complicated…) but I can say that one of the bad things that will happen when they shut down all the tracks in the USA is that greyhounds will start to be bred by puppy mills (and legitimate breeders). But the legitimate breeders are likely to use AKC standards instead of racing standards, and likely allow profit motive to lead to things like early weaning and separating/selling the pups off at the same early age other dogs are. It will change the breed quite a lot I think.
This is what I popped in to say, so +1.
I love my rescued BC and have a friend who does herding events that I enjoy. However, I wouldn’t purposefully get another unless I inherit a large ranch and cattle. Smarty pants and, in the case of my Scout, stubborn as hell.
To add to this.
I can’t find free access to the articles, and the pop-science links I an find are way too hyperbolic for me to link to.
Humans slower rate of energy expenditure compared to dogs and other mammals. The insanely silly bipedal thing is a good example, it is extremely energy efficient.
The life span of mammals (across species) seems to pretty well match up with carbon dioxide production rates or metabolism.