Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
What affects how long pet dogs live according to vet records
By Urfer, Silvan R et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2019·From the Department of Medicine Pathology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Risk Factors Associated with Lifespan in Pet Dogs Evaluated in Primary Care Veterinary Hospitals.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at over 2 million dogs to find out what factors might affect how long they live. It found that mixed-breed dogs tend to live longer than purebred dogs, especially larger breeds. Additionally, dogs that were spayed or neutered had a better chance of living longer than those that weren't. Regular dental cleanings also seemed to help dogs live longer after they reached 2 years old. These findings suggest that choosing a mixed breed and keeping up with dental care can positively impact your dog's lifespan.
People also search for: how long do mixed-breed dogs live · benefits of spaying/neutering dogs · dog dental cleaning importance
Abstract
The objective of this population-based retrospective cohort study was to identify factors associated with lifespan in pet dogs evaluated at primary care veterinary hospitals. Dogs ≥3 mo of age that visited any of 787 US hospitals at least twice from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2012, were included. Survival curves were constructed for dogs by reproductive status, breed, body size, and purebreed (versus mixed-breed) status. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to identify factors associated with lifespan. There were 2,370,078 dogs included in the study, of whom 179,466 (7.6%) died during the study period. Mixed-breed dogs lived significantly longer than purebred dogs, and this difference was more pronounced as body size increased. Controlling for other factors, dogs of either sex had a greater hazard of death over the study follow-up period if sexually intact rather than gonadectomized. For dogs who lived to 2 yr of age, the hazard of death decreased with increasing frequency of dental scaling. Our findings support previous reports of the impact of body size and gonadectomy on lifespan and provide new evidence in support of ultrasonic dental scaling and mixed breeding.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30870610/