How long did your oldest dog live?

[ckay87]

What is the oldest that a dog has ever lived for you? We were just talking about the age of our beagle-mix last night and it hit me....she's 13....that's pretty old.

She appears to be in extremely good shape. Still has a girlish figure, still drags me down the road on walks. Takes her about 3 miles at a good pace before she even slows down! A little slow moving in the mornings, but I think she has some years left in her.

Oh and she's almost completely deaf, but that has only improved her quality of life. No more thunderstorms, no more fireworks. Sleeps until somebody physically wakes her up! She reads lips, it's fine.

What about your doggies? How have they done?

 

[mickeyboat]

Huge yellow lab - 13.

Denae

 

[Alex&Evan'sMom]

My dad had a chihuahua named Pealooper that lived to be 18. The poor dog(it was my dads wifes dog before they were married) had 1 tooth and was half deaf/blind and almost completely hairless. The poor thing was always shivering, wore a sweater year round and had about 3 beds in the living room so he wouldnt have to walk that far. He was also on about 3 meds for various things. I felt so sorry for that little dog. On a side note, my aunt had a cat that lived to be 21! My cousin got it as a gift when she was in high school and named her Whitney Houston(her favorite singer at the time in 1987) and the cat passed away last year. My aunt would constantly ask the vet if she was in any pain and the vet said she was fine. She was incredibly grumpy and you couldnt get close enough to pet her for the last 5 years though.

 

[tazdev3225]

My 2 oldest dogs were both 8 or 9. They were a mother and son. Lady developed very aggressive cancer and had to be put down at about 8. Lad started having problems that were on the order of strokes and we had to put him down also. They outlived Lad's father and brother by a couple of years. They had a severe seizure disorder. My current dog is 8 so maybe she'll last longer as she seems very healthy.

 

[dislal]

My MILs dog is 16 he is a cocker spaniel and poodle mixed( they wouldn't let me write the shortened version LOL) He is the son of the dog I had when I was growing up.

 

[ugadog99]

Cricket is a mini dachshund. In March she will be 17!! Of course, I spend $80 a month keeping her alive with a boatload of meds. She stopped eating dogfood a while ago, but loves her specially prepared food. She eats roast beef, pork roast, meatloaf...anything except dog food. She's in decent shape for 17 and lives quite the luxurious life.

 

[MushyMushy]

I had a dog live to 15. He was on medication for seizures and wasn't supposed to live a very long life, but he did. Unfortunately we had to have him put to sleep. I always hoped he'd just go peacefully in his sleep, but it was best for him.

The lab mix we have now isn't going to make it past 10 or 11, we don't think. She's obese, even though we've had her on a calorie controlled diet. She just can't get enough exercise with her hip dysplasia. She can play and run for a short burst, but we can't take her for walks around the block or she'll pay for it later. It makes me so sad. Oh, she'll be 9 this year.

 

[mommytomy3]

14-- a doberman, and we had her put down- she was senile and in bad shape

 

[sandy6879]

Our oldest is 15 and the next one is 14. Then we have a 9 month old puppy. The oldest one, I'm not sure how long she has but she's hanging in there. On tons of meds for arthritis, incontinence, but the vet says she isn't in any pain and has a decent quality of life. The 14 year old literally jumps across the couches and is still doing all the tricks she learned as a puppy.

 

[Tinkin]

I had a cockapoo that was 16 1/2 when he died.

 

[Kim&Chris]

We had a Doberman that was 16+, but we finally had to have him put to sleep because he had no control over his 'bodily functions' anymore. Not to mention his hind legs were unable to hold his weight, which caused him to fall all the time.

 

[POPCITY]

Our oldest was 18, she was a little white fuzzy thing, and the next was 17, she was a dachsund. Wonderful dogs, both of them, and not really any major health problems right up until the end. They were both almost deaf the last year or so, and the 18 year old was losing her sight, but since they had me wrapped around their paws, it didn't seem to faze them. The 18 year old passed away in her sleep, and the 17 year old did the same about 2 weeks later. They are greatly missed.

They were the lap dogs, we had 2 others at the same time that were the ones that liked to go to the park, and swim, and do all the fun dog stuff. A corgi mix and a terrier mix, the best dogs ever. They were both 15, we had to have them put to sleep this summer, just a month apart. Absolutely heartbreaking. Dogs don't live long enough.

 

[clutter]

I adopted a basset at age 14 (guessed by vet). I had to put him to sleep at 17. I always said I'd have to put him down because after living in a cage for a year before I got him, he probably thought he'd already died and was in heaven, so he wouldn't go naturally!

 

[CathrynRose]

A 18 year old Pomeranian named Calvin.

He was deaf and had no teeth, but in good shape, until he passed in his sleep.

 

[ckay87]

I find it touching to hear the stories of how you all have been so loving to your pets in their senior years.

As our old lady shows signs of slowing down, the deafness, and just the slightest senility (she wants out constantly because I think she forgets she was just out), I can see how it takes an increasing amount of patience and love to live with them.

 

[Mkaz]

Our boxer lived 9 years. We had to have him put down because he developed arthritis so bad that he could barely walk. We knew it was time when he peed on the floor. He hadn't done that since he was about 10 weeks old. He cried like a baby because he knew he wasn't supposed to pee in the house. He was the best dog ever!

 

[AlleyKat]

Our oldest was 18, she was a little white fuzzy thing, and the next was 17, she was a dachsund. Wonderful dogs, both of them, and not really any major health problems right up until the end. They were both almost deaf the last year or so, and the 18 year old was losing her sight, but since they had me wrapped around their paws, it didn't seem to faze them. The 18 year old passed away in her sleep, and the 17 year old did the same about 2 weeks later. They are greatly missed.

They were the lap dogs, we had 2 others at the same time that were the ones that liked to go to the park, and swim, and do all the fun dog stuff. A corgi mix and a terrier mix, the best dogs ever. They were both 15, we had to have them put to sleep this summer, just a month apart. Absolutely heartbreaking. Dogs don't live long enough.

Heartbreaking!

 

[MerMom60_94]

We had a Brittany who lived to be 12. She ended up with a paralyzed esophogus and we had to put her down. We now have a Brittany who is 11 and I keep thinking she is in her final years and spoil her accordingly. I have to say, though, that this one still has occassional spurts of "puppy" in her. I was shoveling the driveway the other day and she was out there with her little butt up in the air and her nubby tail wagging trying to get me to chase her. LOL. I love this dog so much.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Yellow Lab - 9 years old
Cocker Spaniel - 12 years old
Mutt mix - 9 years old

All seemingly healthy (the cocker spaniel was deaf). Died peacefully in their sleep. I miss them all

I have a 1 year old Min Pin right now and I dread the day I have to say good bye

 

[ckay87]

Our boxer lived 9 years. We had to have him put down because he developed arthritis so bad that he could barely walk. We knew it was time when he peed on the floor. He hadn't done that since he was about 10 weeks old. He cried like a baby because he knew he wasn't supposed to pee in the house. He was the best dog ever!

Aaawwwww