Dog Death and Old Age

One of the things a lot of people ask me when purchasing a dog is what it's life expectancy is. In average, regardless of early sicknesses, accidents and others, a dog only lives seven years. The oldest dogs are the Tibet Terriers which can reach up till 20 years. An acceptable range is between 10-15 years; very large dogs and bulldogs averagely live only 7-9 years.

How long is a dog year? Nine years in a dogs life is equal to 58 in a mans'; the old idea that one year is equal to seven is wide spread but wrong. At 12 months a dog is already an adult. Therefore one dog year is equal to 15 in a mans'.

Gray hairs on a dog start around the lips and jaws when the dog is about six years old. Then goes on to the nose and between the eight and ten years, toward the eye region. Older dogs also get gray hairs on the forehead and on the head.

An old dog, a dog is old when it reaches 12 years. Because of it's highly evolved sense of smell the loss of hearing and sight doesn't affect it s much as it does to man, as long as it's surroundings don't change. It's bones hurt more and more and it walks slower with time. It also resists cleaning itself and develops a weak bladder, having to depend on it's owner more and more. Therefore it's harder to say goodbye when it dies of a natural process then when you have to put it to sleep to avoid suffering. Now a days, using progressively growing doses has improved so much that a dog doesn't even notice and could be the best for the owner and the dog.

And That is How Our Dog Pepo Died