How Long Do Dogs Live? Life Expectancy by Breed and Size

How long do dogs live? The short answer is about 12 to 13 years. The more useful answer depends on the dog in front of you, because a 4 kg Papillon and a 60 kg Mastiff are working to very different clocks. We pulled the numbers from the biggest study we could find, then ran a few of them through our dog age calculator so you can see what they mean in human years.

How long do dogs live on average?

In 2024, researchers at the UK charity Dogs Trust published lifespans for 584,734 dogs, including 284,734 that had died. The median lifespan across all of them was 12.5 years. Half the dogs lived longer than that, half didn’t.

A few patterns stood out:

Group	Median lifespan
All dogs	12.5 years
Small breeds	12.7 years
Medium breeds	12.5 years
Large breeds	11.9 years
Females	12.7 years
Males	12.4 years
Purebreds	12.7 years
Crossbreeds	12.0 years
Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds	11.2 years
Medium-proportioned (mesocephalic) breeds	12.8 years
Small, long-nosed breeds (longest-lived group)	13.3 years

Source: McMillan et al., Scientific Reports 2024.

That crossbreed figure surprises people. We grew up hearing that mutts live longer. In this data, purebreds as a group lived slightly longer, but the spread between breeds was far bigger than the purebred-versus-crossbreed gap. Breed tells you much more than pedigree status does.

Dog life expectancy by breed

Here are popular breeds from the same dataset. These are medians, so plenty of dogs beat them and some fall short.

Breed	Median lifespan
Lancashire Heeler	15.4 years
Shiba Inu	14.6 years
Miniature Dachshund	14.0 years
Poodle	14.0 years
English Springer Spaniel	13.5 years
Jack Russell Terrier	13.3 years
Yorkshire Terrier	13.3 years
English Cocker Spaniel	13.3 years
Golden Retriever	13.2 years
Labrador Retriever	13.1 years
Border Collie	13.1 years
Shih Tzu	12.8 years
Beagle	12.5 years
Staffordshire Bull Terrier	12.0 years
Chihuahua	11.8 years
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel	11.8 years
Pug	11.6 years
German Shepherd	11.3 years
Boxer	11.3 years
Great Dane	10.6 years
Rottweiler	10.6 years
Bernese Mountain Dog	10.1 years
French Bulldog	9.8 years
Bulldog	9.8 years
Mastiff	9.0 years

Source: Dogs Trust 2024 breed table (companion data to McMillan et al.). UK dogs; breeds with enough records only.

Two things jump out. Giant breeds sit near the bottom, which fits what vets have long seen. And the flat-faced breeds (French Bulldog, Bulldog, Pug) do worse than their size alone would suggest. Both French Bulldogs and Beagles land in the medium group in our calculator, yet the Frenchie’s median lifespan is almost three years shorter.

What is that in human years?

Lifespan numbers feel abstract until you convert them. Our dog age calculator uses the AAHA size-based chart, so here is what a typical lifespan looks like for four dogs:

Dog	Size in the calculator	Median lifespan	In human years
Miniature Dachshund, 4.5 kg (10 lb)	Small	14.0 years	about 72
Labrador, 30 kg (66 lb)	Large	13.1 years	about 83
French Bulldog, 12 kg (26 lb)	Medium	9.8 years	about 59
Great Dane, 55 kg (121 lb)	Giant	10.6 years	about 83

So a Great Dane and a Labrador can reach roughly the same “human” age, but the Dane gets there about two and a half years sooner. That’s why the giant breeds count as seniors from about age 6, and why our post on when a dog is considered a senior gives different ages by size.

Why do big dogs die younger?

Across mammal species, bigger animals usually live longer: elephants outlive mice. Within dogs it runs the other way, and the 2024 study found large breeds had a faster time to death than small ones in both sexes. Nobody has a complete explanation yet. What we can say is practical: if you have a big dog, start senior check-ups earlier. AAHA defines a dog as senior in the last 25% of its expected lifespan, so a breed with a 10-year median hits that stage at about 7 and a half.

What actually helps a dog live longer?

We can’t pick our dog’s genes, but a few things are in our hands.

Keep them lean. This is the one with the strongest evidence. In a lifetime study by Kealy and colleagues, Labrador Retrievers fed 25% less than their littermates had a longer median lifespan, and chronic problems like osteoarthritis showed up later. Meanwhile, APOP’s 2022 survey found 59% of dogs seen by vets were overweight or obese. Our post on whether your dog is overweight walks through the rib check, and the dog weight loss calculator turns a body score into a daily calorie target.

Feed for the dog you have, not the bag. Feeding guides on bags are generous. A 9 kg Beagle that lies on the sofa most of the day needs far less than one that runs every morning. The dog calorie calculator gives a starting number you can adjust.

Choose breeds and breeders carefully. If you’re still picking a dog, the breed table above is worth a look, along with health testing from the breeder. Extreme flat faces and very large size both come with shorter median lives in this data.

Don’t skip the vet as they age. Many of the problems that shorten lives are easier to manage when they’re caught early.

How accurate are these numbers?

Fair question. The data come from 18 UK organizations, including rehoming charities, breed registries, pet insurers, vet groups and university archives, so they may not match dogs in other countries exactly. Rare breeds were left out if there weren’t enough records. And a median is a midpoint, not a promise: some Frenchies reach 14 and some Lab mixes don’t see 10. Use the numbers to plan, not to predict your own dog’s life.

When to call your vet

Age isn’t a disease, but these changes in an older dog deserve a visit:

• weight loss you didn’t plan, or a sudden change in appetite
• drinking or peeing much more than usual
• new lumps, or lumps that grow or change
• stiffness, limping or reluctance to climb stairs or jump in the car
• coughing, tiring quickly on walks or breathing harder at rest
• confusion, getting stuck in corners or new accidents in the house

Big and flat-faced breeds are worth taking in for a senior-style check a little earlier than you might think. Our dog years to human years guide explains the life stages in more detail, and if you share your home with a cat, here’s how long cats live.