The dog breeds that live the longest in the largest published dataset are the Lancashire Heeler (median 15.4 years), the Tibetan Spaniel (15.2) and the Shiba Inu (14.6), from a 2024 Dogs Trust analysis of 584,734 UK dogs (McMillan et al., Scientific Reports). No single breed wins in every study, though: in a separate Royal Veterinary College VetCompass life table of 18 common UK breeds, the Jack Russell Terrier came first at 12.72 years (Teng et al., Scientific Reports, 2022). What stays constant is the pattern, with mostly small, long-lived breeds at the top and giant and flat-faced breeds at the bottom.
This guide shows the actual numbers, with sample sizes, so you can see how much weight each figure deserves. It also explains why "which dog breed lives the longest" has more than one honest answer, and why famous record-holding dogs say little about your own dog.
The longest-living dog breeds, ranked by median lifespan
The table below comes from the Dogs Trust study, which pooled records from 18 UK organizations (rehoming charities, breed registries, pet insurers, veterinary groups and university archives). Median survival is the age by which half of the dogs of that breed had died, estimated while allowing for dogs that are still alive. I kept breeds with at least 40 recorded deaths so that a handful of dogs cannot dominate the list. The figures are from the paper's Supplementary Table S3.
| Breed | Median survival (years) | 95% confidence interval | Dogs analyzed | Recorded deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancashire Heeler | 15.4 | 14.7 to 15.9 | 241 | 110 |
| Tibetan Spaniel | 15.2 | 14.8 to 15.7 | 351 | 137 |
| Shiba Inu | 14.6 | 14 to 15.1 | 423 | 91 |
| Papillon | 14.5 | 14.1 to 14.9 | 1,115 | 427 |
| Havanese | 14.5 | 14.1 to not estimable | 381 | 56 |
| Border Terrier | 14.2 | 14.1 to 14.3 | 9,387 | 2,427 |
| Lakeland Terrier | 14.2 | 13.9 to 14.5 | 1,068 | 601 |
| Coton de Tulear | 14.2 | 13.1 to not estimable | 319 | 44 |
| Lhasa Apso | 14.0 | 13.9 to 14.2 | 7,216 | 2,723 |
| Poodle (all sizes combined) | 14.0 | 13.8 to 14.1 | 6,427 | 2,399 |
| Miniature Dachshund | 14.0 | 13.7 to 14.2 | 7,342 | 1,655 |
| Cairn Terrier | 14.0 | 13.8 to 14.3 | 2,585 | 1,139 |
| Welsh Springer Spaniel | 14.0 | 13.3 to 14.3 | 572 | 162 |
| German Spitz Mittel | 14.0 | 13.3 to 14.6 | 211 | 96 |
| Italian Greyhound | 14.0 | 13.2 to 15.1 | 389 | 70 |
| Australian Cattle Dog | 14.0 | 13.2 to 15.1 | 117 | 50 |
| Norwich Terrier | 14.0 | 13.5 to 15.1 | 190 | 45 |
Source: McMillan et al. 2024, Sci Rep 14:531, Supplementary Table S3, with a published author correction. The authors' own text names the Lancashire Heeler, Tibetan Spaniel, Shiba Inu, Papillon, Lakeland Terrier, Schipperke, Border Terrier, Italian Greyhound and Miniature Dachshund as the breeds least at risk of early death. The Schipperke and a few others (for example the Bolognese at 14.9 years, with only 32 recorded deaths) are left out of the table above because their numbers are too small to rank with confidence.
For comparison: popular and short-lived breeds in the same dataset
| Breed | Median survival (years) | 95% confidence interval | Dogs analyzed | Recorded deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labrador Retriever | 13.1 | 13 to 13.1 | 43,428 | 16,155 |
| Golden Retriever | 13.2 | 13.1 to 13.2 | 11,506 | 4,252 |
| German Shepherd Dog | 11.3 | 11.3 to 11.4 | 19,908 | 10,773 |
| Chihuahua | 11.8 | 11.5 to 11.9 | 10,788 | 3,848 |
| All crossbred dogs combined | 12.0 | 12 to 12.1 | 111,053 | 72,445 |
| Presa Canario | 7.7 | 7 to 9.5 | 144 | 98 |
| Cane Corso | 8.1 | 6.5 to 9.5 | 202 | 101 |
| Mastiff | 9.0 | 8.9 to 9.2 | 1,840 | 1,419 |
| St Bernard | 9.3 | 9 to 9.8 | 1,129 | 509 |
| Neapolitan Mastiff | 9.3 | 8.8 to 10.2 | 367 | 210 |
| Bulldog | 9.8 | 9.7 to 10 | 11,065 | 4,743 |
| French Bulldog | 9.8 | 9.4 to 10.1 | 11,821 | 2,495 |
Same source. The paper's overall figures were 12.7 years for purebreds and 12.0 for crossbreds, and 95% of dogs had died by about 18 years. The authors removed records implying an age over 24 years as improbable.
A second dataset gives a different ranking
The RVC's VetCompass programme analyzed primary-care veterinary records of 30,563 UK dogs that died between 1 January 2016 and 31 July 2020 (Teng et al. 2022). Overall life expectancy at birth was 11.23 years. The study built life tables for 18 breeds plus crossbreds, shown here by life expectancy at birth.
| Breed | Life expectancy at age 0 | 95% confidence interval | Dogs in the life table | Age band when remaining life expectancy falls to 1.5 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Russell Terrier | 12.72 | 12.53–12.90 | 1,620 | 14–15 |
| Yorkshire Terrier | 12.54 | 12.30–12.77 | 1,042 | 14–15 |
| Border Collie | 12.10 | 11.85–12.33 | 942 | 13–14 |
| Springer Spaniel | 11.92 | 11.69–12.13 | 790 | 12–13 |
| Crossbred | 11.82 | 11.72–11.92 | 6,511 | 14–15 |
| Labrador Retriever | 11.77 | 11.67–11.89 | 2,500 | 12–13 |
| Staffordshire Bull Terrier | 11.33 | 11.19–11.48 | 2,364 | 13–14 |
| Cocker Spaniel | 11.31 | 11.13–11.53 | 1,073 | 12–13 |
| Shih-tzu | 11.05 | 10.73–11.40 | 638 | 13–14 |
| Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | 10.45 | 10.26–10.62 | 867 | 11–12 |
| German Shepherd Dog | 10.16 | 10.00–10.37 | 1,110 | 11–12 |
| Boxer | 10.04 | 9.85–10.21 | 836 | 10–11 |
| Beagle | 9.85 | 9.17–10.24 | 172 | 12–13 |
| Husky | 9.53 | 8.71–9.88 | 154 | 12–13 |
| Chihuahua | 7.91 | 7.48–8.39 | 458 | 15–16 |
| American Bulldog | 7.79 | 7.16–8.33 | 129 | 10–11 |
| Pug | 7.65 | 6.99–8.20 | 197 | 11–12 |
| English Bulldog | 7.39 | 7.08–7.69 | 478 | 9–10 |
| French Bulldog | 4.53 | 4.14–5.01 | 232 | 10–11 |
Source: Teng et al. 2022, Table 3. The authors note that the Beagle, Husky, Pug, English Bulldog, French Bulldog and American Bulldog samples were relatively small.
Why the two studies disagree (and why that matters)
The Dogs Trust figure is a median from a multi-source dataset, and the VetCompass figure is a mean from primary-care clinic records. A median is the age at which half the dogs have died; a mean is the average, and early deaths pull it down much more. The sources differ too. The Dogs Trust authors point out that insured and registered dogs may be over-represented, and that owners of purebred dogs are more likely to pursue extensive veterinary treatment. The VetCompass authors list their own limits: dogs that die before registering with a clinic are missed, and euthanasia decisions shape the ages recorded.
Two breeds show the problem clearly:
- French Bulldog: 9.8 years median in the Dogs Trust data, but only 4.53 years in VetCompass. The VetCompass authors link part of the low figure to the breed's recent surge in popularity: UK Kennel Club registrations rose from 2,771 in 2011 to 39,266 in 2020, so the dataset is full of young dogs. Both studies agree the breed is short-lived. Neither gives a number you should treat as a promise.
- Chihuahua: 11.8 years median in the Dogs Trust data (10,788 dogs), but 7.91 years life expectancy at birth in VetCompass (458 dogs). The same VetCompass table shows Chihuahuas reaching the oldest age band (15 to 16 years) before remaining life expectancy fell to 1.5 years, the latest of all 18 breeds. The authors read this as a wide spread in Chihuahua lifespans: some die young, and those that pass the risky years can live very long.
This is why a flat "Chihuahuas live 14 to 18 years" line is misleading, and why popular lists that give a range without a named study (for example, PetsRadar's list gives "up to 20 years" for the Jack Russell Terrier with no source) cannot be checked against data.
Median, average and maximum lifespan are three different things
| Measure | What it means | Example from the data |
|---|---|---|
| Median lifespan | The age by which half the dogs of a group have died | Border Terrier 14.2 years (McMillan 2024) |
| Mean life expectancy at birth | The average expected age at death, sensitive to early deaths | Jack Russell Terrier 12.72 years (Teng 2022) |
| Upper range | The age most dogs of a group do not exceed | 95% of dogs dead by about 18 years; the longest breed life table (Jack Russell Terrier) ends at 19 |
| Verified record | A single exceptional dog | Bluey, 29 years 5 months (see below) |
How much does size matter?
Size is the strongest and most consistent pattern in the research. In the Dogs Trust dataset, median survival was 12.7 years for small purebreds, 12.5 for medium and 11.9 for large (McMillan 2024). A Japanese study of 299,555 insured dogs found life expectancy of 13.8 years under 5 kg, 14.2 years at 5 to 10 kg, 13.6 years at 10 to 20 kg, 12.5 years at 20 to 40 kg and 10.6 years at 40 kg and over (Inoue et al., Prev Vet Med, 2015). In English primary-care records, higher bodyweight was associated with shorter life (O'Neill et al., Vet J, 2013).
An analysis of 74 breeds concluded that large dogs die young mainly because they age faster, not because of a higher baseline hazard or an earlier start of ageing (Kraus, Pavard and Promislow, Am Nat, 2013).
Face shape, sex and mixed breeds
- Face shape: median survival was 12.8 years for medium-muzzled purebreds, 12.1 for long-nosed and 11.2 for flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds. Among small, long-nosed females the median was 13.3 years, against 9.1 to 9.6 years for medium-sized flat-faced dogs (McMillan 2024).
- Sex: females lived longer in both UK studies, by about 0.3 years in each (median 12.7 versus 12.4 in McMillan; 11.41 versus 11.07 years at birth in Teng).
- Neutering: in VetCompass, neutered females (11.98 years) and males (11.49) had higher life expectancy at birth than entire females (10.50) and males (10.58). This is an association in clinic records, not proof that neutering extends life. Talk to your vet about timing for your dog's size and breed.
- Mixed breeds: the evidence is mixed. English primary-care records found crossbreds lived 1.2 years longer than purebreds after adjusting for other factors (O'Neill 2013). The Dogs Trust data found the opposite on average (purebred median 12.7, crossbred 12.0), yet 73 of 155 purebreds had a longer median than crossbreds and only 40 a shorter one. The authors note that "crossbred" lumps together very different dogs, so the question is not settled.
Record-holding dogs: real, but not typical
| Dog | Claim | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bluey (Australian cattle dog) | 29 years 5 months; died 14 November 1939 | Recorded by Guinness World Records as the oldest dog, per ABC News Australia, March 2024 |
| Bobi (Rafeiro do Alentejo) | Claimed 31 years 165 days in 2023 | Guinness removed the record in February 2024 after saying it "no longer has the evidence" to support it; microchip data could not prove his age (Guinness World Records) |
| Spike (Chihuahua mix, Ohio) | 23 years 7 days as of 7 December 2022 | Named oldest living dog by Guinness at that time (Guinness World Records, January 2023) |
A 30-year-old Kelpie called Maggie was also reported in Australia in 2016, but I could not open the original report or find a Guinness listing, so I have not counted her. The point stands without her: even the verified extremes sit far above the numbers in the tables. In the Dogs Trust data, 95% of dogs had died by about 18 years. A breed's record dog is not its expected lifespan, and Bluey's 29 years tell you nothing about the odds for a Border Collie bought today.
What you can and cannot conclude from this data
- These are population averages. A breed's median says how a group fared, not what a single dog will do.
- All the large datasets here are from the UK. The Teng authors compared UK breed figures with Japanese insurance data and found large gaps (for example, Labrador Retrievers 11.77 years at birth in the UK table against 14.1 reported in Japan), so figures may not transfer to other countries.
- The data cover dogs that have already died. Breeds that have grown popular recently or have changed in type may live differently from the dogs measured.
- Cause is not shown. Neither study tested why breeds differ. Genetics, body shape, care and owner decisions are mixed together, although a phylogenetic analysis found breed lifespan clusters by evolutionary relatedness (McMillan 2024).
- No breed is guaranteed a long life. Individual health, lines, and care matter, and nothing here supports a promise.
The Dog Aging Project, a research project on canine aging (dogagingproject.org), may eventually add data from outside the UK. I found no breed-level lifespan table from it, so none is used here.
What owners can influence
Body weight has the best evidence. A review of records for 50,787 neutered dogs of 12 breeds in North America found that dogs in overweight condition at 6.5 to 8.5 years had a shorter median life span in every breed, from 12.1 versus 12.5 years in German Shepherd Dogs to 13.7 versus 16.2 years in Yorkshire Terriers (Salt et al., J Vet Intern Med, 2019). It was a retrospective case-control study, so it shows association, and three of its five authors were affiliated with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition. A lifelong feeding experiment in 48 Labrador Retrievers found that dogs fed 25% less than their pair-mates had a longer median life span and later onset of chronic disease signs (Kealy et al., JAVMA, 2002). It was a single colony of one breed, and the first author's affiliation was Nestle Purina's pet nutrition research department. Do not change your dog's food amount on the strength of these studies; ask your vet to score body condition and set a target.
No supplement, food or treat has been shown in the studies cited here to extend a dog's life. Choosing a breed for its median lifespan is also only one factor, and individual health screening and breeder practices matter more than a number from a table.
Checklist: using lifespan data when choosing a dog
- Find your breed in the tables above and look at the number of dogs and deaths, not just the median.
- Check the confidence interval. Narrow intervals (Border Terrier, 14.1 to 14.3) are more reliable than wide ones (Australian Cattle Dog, 13.2 to 15.1).
- Read two sources. If they disagree widely, as for the French Bulldog, treat both as rough.
- Consider size and face shape together; a small, long-nosed dog sits in the longest-lived group in the Dogs Trust data.
- Ask breeders for health test results and the ages at death of recent relatives.
- If you already have a dog, use the breed number as context only, and plan senior care with your vet.
Frequently asked questions
What dog breed lives the longest?
In the largest UK dataset (584,734 dogs), the Lancashire Heeler has the longest median survival at 15.4 years, followed by the Tibetan Spaniel at 15.2 and the Shiba Inu at 14.6. Rankings differ between studies, and small sample sizes make the very top of any list uncertain.
Do small dogs live longer than big dogs?
On average, yes. Dogs Trust data show a median of 12.7 years for small purebreds against 11.9 for large ones, and Japanese insurance data show 10.6 years for dogs of 40 kg and over versus about 14 years for dogs under 10 kg.
Do mixed-breed dogs live longer?
The evidence is mixed. One English study found crossbreds lived 1.2 years longer than purebreds, while the larger Dogs Trust study found a lower median for crossbreds (12.0 versus 12.7 years) but wide variation between breeds.
How old was the oldest dog ever?
Guinness World Records lists Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, at 29 years 5 months. Bobi's claimed 31 years was withdrawn in February 2024 because his age could not be proven.
Do Chihuahuas live a long time?
Some do, but the data are mixed. The Dogs Trust median is 11.8 years, the VetCompass life expectancy at birth is 7.91 years, and Chihuahuas also reached the oldest age band of any breed in that study.
Which dog breeds have the shortest lives?
In the Dogs Trust data, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog (5.4 years, small sample), Presa Canario (7.7), Cane Corso (8.1) and Mastiff (9.0) had the shortest medians, with the Bulldog and French Bulldog at 9.8.
Bottom line: what dog breed lives the longest?
The honest answer is a group, not a single winner: small, long-nosed and terrier-type breeds such as the Lancashire Heeler, Tibetan Spaniel, Shiba Inu, Papillon and Border Terrier lead the best available UK data, at medians of roughly 14 to 15 years. Record-holding dogs are outliers, individual dogs vary widely, and no breed is guaranteed a long life.
This article is general information about published research and is not veterinary advice. Talk to your veterinarian about your own dog's health, weight and care.
Sources
- McMillan KM, Bielby J, Williams CL, Upjohn MM, Casey RA, Christley RM. "Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death." Scientific Reports 2024;14:531. DOI 10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w. PMID 38302530. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-50458-w. Author correction: DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-59331-w, PMID 38627465, link.
- Teng KT, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C, Church DB, O'Neill DG. "Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom." Scientific Reports 2022;12:6415. DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-10341-6. PMID 35484374. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10341-6; Table 3: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10341-6/tables/3.
- O'Neill DG, Church DB, McGreevy PD, Thomson PC, Brodbelt DC. "Longevity and mortality of owned dogs in England." The Veterinary Journal 2013;198(3):638-643. DOI 10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.09.020. PMID 24206631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.09.020.
- Kraus C, Pavard S, Promislow DE. "The size-life span trade-off decomposed: why large dogs die young." The American Naturalist 2013;181(4):492-505. DOI 10.1086/669665. PMID 23535614. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23535614/.
- Inoue M, Hasegawa A, Hosoi Y, Sugiura K. "A current life table and causes of death for insured dogs in Japan." Preventive Veterinary Medicine 2015;120(2):210-218. DOI 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.03.018. PMID 25896026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.03.018.
- Salt C, Morris PJ, Wilson D, Lund EM, German AJ. "Association between life span and body condition in neutered client-owned dogs." Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 2019;33(1):89-99. DOI 10.1111/jvim.15367. PMID 30548336. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6335446/.
- Kealy RD, Lawler DF, Ballam JM, et al. "Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs." JAVMA 2002;220(9):1315-1320. DOI 10.2460/javma.2002.220.1315. PMID 11991408. https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/220/9/javma.2002.220.1315.xml.
- Guinness World Records. "Guinness World Records concludes oldest dog ever review launched after Bobi's death." 22 February 2024. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2024/2/guinness-world-records-concludes-oldest-dog-ever-review-launched-after-bobis-dea-765022.
- Guinness World Records. "Oldest dog living: Chihuahua mix from Ohio claims the record." 19 January 2023. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/1/oldest-dog-living-chihuahua-mix-from-ohio-claims-the-record-733306.
- ABC News (Australia). "Rochester's Bluey reclaims title of world's oldest dog after Guinness World Records reviews Bobi's credentials." 3 March 2024. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-03/bluey-rochester-dog-reclaims-guinness-world-record-as-oldest-dog/103513372.
- Dog Aging Project. https://dogagingproject.org/.