Research confirms that regarding dogs size does matter
We all love our dogs and no matter how much we wish they could stay with us forever in reality however tiny breeds tend to live as much as three times as long as dogs belonging to the large breeds. The question still is: Why?
Some try to find the answer in the fact large dogs have to grow (too) fast and therefore age more quickly than smaller breeds. Expanding on this theory some relate this to wolves the wild ancestors of our dogs. Wolves, as all predators, live dangerous lives with a high risk of being severely injured or even killed, in order to pass on their genes wolves have to mature fast and consequently longevity never became an important factor in the process of natural selection.
[irp posts=”1001″ name=”VIDEO Of Old People and the Things that Pass”]
Although the scientists could not provide a definite answer to the question why large breeds live shorter recent studies confirm the above and concluded that the life expectancy of dogs is reduced by one month for every increase in 4.4 pounds . Some studies even reported evidence that within a breed smaller individuals tend to live longer than the larger ones.
The following text is a snippet from an article I found on the pet health network and if this topic is of interest to you I certainly advise you to read the original article.
In the April issue of the scientific journal “The American Naturalist,” biologists at Germany’s University of Göttingen explored the relationship between size of dog breeds and life expectancy. Researchers analyzed data on over 56,000 dogs representing 74 breeds that visited North American veterinary teaching hospitals. The scientists found that larger dogs appeared to age at a faster rate than smaller dogs. Interestingly, the research concluded that every increase in 4.4 pounds (2 kg) reduces life expectancy by approximately one month.
Okay, so my observations on small dogs living longer than big dogs were correct. But why?That has yet to be definitively determined. Lead researcher Cornelia Kraus has been quoted saying that larger dogs’ lives “seem to unwind in fast motion.” Her research found that bigger breeds died more often from cancer than their tinier canine cousins. Kraus speculates that because large breeds grow faster and age quicker than small breeds, that abnormal cell growth found in cancers would be more likely. Another possibility is that larger dogs start aging at an earlier age, thus developing age-related diseases earlier. Kraus also postulated that larger dogs may simply live riskier or more dangerous lifestyles than dogs carried in handbags, thus leading to earlier mortality.
When Kraus and her colleagues plotted each of these three possibilities with the data, she found that the “faster aging” hypothesis was most consistent with her findings.[irp]
My own suspicion is that in addition to accelerated cell division and growth, researchers will also discover more genetic abnormalities in large breeds due to fewer breeding pairs and smaller geographic distributions. I also think they’ll find differences in key hormones such as IGF-1 or insulin-like growth factor 1, something scientists
Ernie has more than 20 years of experience in the veterinary industry and is a well-known veterinarian, media personality and author. He is also a founding member of IDEXX’s Pet Health Network team.
As a practicing veterinarian of over twenty years, I’ve been nagged by an obvious and seemingly unanswerable question: why do small dogs live longer than large dogs? For years it’s been widely accepted and understood in the pet world that tiny teacup poodles will live ten or more years longer than a Great Dane. They’re both dogs, share the same basic DNA, eat the same types of foods, and live in similar homes. Yet one breed lives up to three times longer. Why? New research sheds some light on this issue.
[irp]
