# Age for golden retriever



## alanckaye (Feb 7, 2009)

Hi, I may have missed it but my wife recently told me she's heard that a full bread golden will not live as long as a mix. We had a golden mix that we lost 4 yrs. ago and it just about killed me. I am overly protective because I don't want to feel that pain again. Now we have two and they both seem to have little quirks with their health that KC, our mix did not. Can we take a poll on how long have you been able to share love with your golden's in the past and what are the ages of some members goldens @ this time. Thanks,


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Look for a breeder with proven longevity in their pedigrees.You will need to do your research, but they ARE out there.

There is no truth to the statement that a mix will live longer than a purebred. There are far too many variables that effect longevity to make a blanket statement like that.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

My purebred golden Joplin lived from 1987 to 2002
http://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=270662


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

My previous two dogs were golden mixes. One lived to be 14 the other was diagnosed with Lymphoma at 8 years and I had to have her PTS shortly thereafter. Mutts do have the benefit of having fewer genetic defects due to inbreeding but still genetic problems due to poor breeding. (kink of like humans  )


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Oaklys Dad said:


> Mutts do have the benefit of having fewer genetic defects due to inbreeding but still genetic problems due to poor breeding. (kink of like humans  )


 
Be VERY careful how you interpret this statement. While "mutts" are generally the result of accidental breedings, this does open them to the possibility of inbreeding. Linebreeding, done by careful, responsible, and experienced breeders to produce quality purebred dogs, is not necessarily a bad thing, which this statement could be interpreted as meaning. Carefully done linebreedings, and even inbreedings, are done to STRENGTHEN genetic health. Taken at face value, a novice "doing their homework" and perhaps looking at pedigrees/clearances in K9 Data, for example, might think that seeing the same dogs in both sides of the pedigree is a bad thing - "inbreeding" which produces genetic defects. This is not necessarily the case. 
Remember, too, that very few mutts are necrosied at time of death, so cause of death may never be known, thereby making the oft stated mantra "mutts are healthier" potentially a myth.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I lost one Golden girl as young as age 10, but for the most part, they have lived between 12-17 years of age. To be fair, the 17 year old was many years ago.


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

My rescue golden Toby lived to be more than 15 years old. I have no idea who his breeder, if any, was. Gage lived to be about 12; Casey was 11. Don't know about Monty, as he stayed with my ex. Tia is now 8 (or will be next month). All of my dogs are rescues, so I have no information about their lineage or background.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

My golden mix Keisha, I had to have put to sleep due to horrible arthritis. She was 11 years young.

Tess, a girl that I had come into my life at 10 years old lived for another 2 1/2 years.

I don't want to think about my current dogs leaving me. I don't know how I will be able to handle it.


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## esSJay (Apr 13, 2009)

Our family's first 2 purebred goldens were lost quite young. Ginny was 8 and Tara was 7. Both had horrible arthritis, major thyroid issues and were blind and deaf  Our next purebred, Skokie, died at 4.5 from Lymphoma. 

I'm hoping for much better luck with our current 2 boys - Skoker (2 yrs old) and Molson (6 months).


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

Our first Golden, Jake lived to his 17th Birthday. (See picture strip below.) His mother died at 8 from cancer and his father lived to be 14 1/2. The last 6 months he was in bad shape - thus the last pic in my siggy showing him at 16 1/2. I should have let him go then but he was our first and letting go was very hard as you all so well know.

The best you can do is find a breeder with longevity in their lines but fact of the matter is.. it's still a craps shoot. Everything for a reason - we just don't know what that reason is all the time.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Tahnee GR said:


> I lost one Golden girl as young as age 10, but for the most part, they have lived between 12-17 years of age. To be fair, the 17 year old was many years ago.


 
And we did see dogs living longer many years ago. This is why I believe that so much of it is environmental. This is not just a Golden Retriever issue. Many other breeds are seeing more cancer, and what people neglect to take into consideration is that the breeds that people and even vets say are "cancer machines", etc, are breeds that are more popular, so it makes sense that we'll see more. We're seeing more cancer in humans, as well...we've learned that so many envirnmental factors are contributory. 
It has not been definitively proven that cancer is hereditary or familial, the jury is still out on that, but I look carefully at lines that seem to have more cancer and less longevity and stay away. I also believe in not over vaccinating - something I have been very cautious of for years. I still have dogs living well into their teens - 13, 14 is average.


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## timberwolf (Apr 1, 2009)

We lost Ryder at 10 years due to a heart problem.
The cardiologist said that it was not hereditary, just something he had, possibly was born with it.
It hurt like h*** when we had to put him down and I swore I would never go through that again.
Then Timber joined our lives and brought us back into the life of dogs.
Looking back, if I knew ahead of time what we would go through with Ryder, would I have gone through that??? *Definitely*!!! Not to have had that boy in our lives would have been worse than the pain we felt when losing him.
They are only lent to us for a time. We must enjoy them and be thankful that we have the honor of being a part of their lives.


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## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

We lost Chip at 11 years to cancer. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure. But the happy years with him were absolutely worth it!


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## Kelmel (Apr 7, 2009)

Mine have lived until 11, 13, and 9.


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## Mandy's Dad (May 27, 2008)

Mandy is almost 13 now and still going strong, although slowing down quite a bit. She is the first Golden that has owned me so I can't comment too much on the mixed/pure-bred question. I previously had German Shepherds and GSD mixes and can tell you that one GSD lived to 14, one to 12.5, one GSD mix to 10 and one GSD mix to 15.

In my humble opinion, it depends more on line history and environment than whether pure-bred or mix.


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## alanckaye (Feb 7, 2009)

Well, thank you, this gives me some hope but there is bad news as well. I guess you can never make a blanket statement like that is the moral. KD and Karma were sisters and according to their breeder their mother died @ 6 when she gave birth to these two. The breeder said she was not sure what the mother died from but it was her third litter. I don't know much about breeding anything really (other than humans and my knowledge of that is limited) but it just seems to me that having three litters of puppies would take it's toll on a dog. Are there any breeders here that could weigh in? I guess I am OCD about their health because I don't want to feel the pain and heart break of losing another loved one, especially @ a young age.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

alanckaye said:


> Hi, I may have missed it but my wife recently told me she's heard that a full bread golden will not live as long as a mix. We had a golden mix that we lost 4 yrs. ago and it just about killed me. I am overly protective because I don't want to feel that pain again. Now we have two and they both seem to have little quirks with their health that KC, our mix did not. Can we take a poll on how long have you been able to share love with your golden's in the past and what are the ages of some members goldens @ this time. Thanks,


 
When looking at longevity, one must bring fair and realistic expectations to the table. As a rule of thumb, the larger the breed the shorter the life span. Many toy breeds have average life spans that near 20 years, most of the giant breeds can only expect eight to ten years. 

Golden Retrievers typically live between ten and fifteen years, and they've been in that range in North America for at least the last 80 years. Some lines live a little longer, some a little less. 

If you're bringing expectations that you want your next dog to live 15 years or longer, a retriever (of any breed) is not for you. 

If you can accept as a premise the average life expectancy for the Golden Retriever, look for breeders who have a history of producing sound healthy dogs. If you're seeing gimpy dogs, dogs with allergies, or needs for special diets or supplements, go elsewhere for a dog.


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## buckeyegoldenmom (Oct 5, 2008)

Swampcollie said:


> When looking at longevity, one must bring fair and realistic expectations to the table. As a rule of thumb, the larger the breed the shorter the life span. Many toy breeds have average life spans that near 20 years, most of the giant breeds can only expect eight to ten years.
> 
> Golden Retrievers typically live between ten and fifteen years, and they've been in that range in North America for at least the last 80 years. Some lines live a little longer, some a little less.
> 
> ...


Very good post. We have to accept that part of the life cycle is death. There are no guarantees. Death happens to everyone and every living thing. But the joy and love of a pet keeps me coming back for more...even with the great pain of each and every loss.


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## MillysMom (Nov 5, 2008)

I've had more than my fair share of mutts in my lifetime, and as a whole there really wasn't much difference in life expectancy between the mutts and the purebred dogs, and we had some health problems with the mutts. One mutt had severe, severe, severe arthritis (at least partially a result of being hit by a car as a puppy, but I find it hard to believe the extent of her arthritis was all from that) and another had some pretty severe thyroid problems - so as others have said, mutts really aren't "healthier".

My golden rescue, Milly, is 10-11 and she is in great health, and seems to act younger everyday. I hope to have many more happy, wonderful years with her, and *knock on wood* there are no signs that I won't.


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## alanckaye (Feb 7, 2009)

After reading all the comments - it's sort of a good news/bad news thing. We all want our dogs to have a long healthy life but after losing KC to cancer after 15 years I was not in favor of getting another dog. My wife had this dream we would both have a golden girl of our own. It hasn't quite worked out that way but now that we have them I am fretful if one gets bit by a fire ant. I was shocked to learn KC had cancer but the doc told me that it's very common as stated above. Where I live in Florida (the town) 20 years ago was not very populated and the only industry was a large paint factory. I was informed by an investigator from the EPA that for many years the paint factory dumped their hazardous waste all around the area that was wooded. Now it's not wooded but populated so I wonder if by walking and constantly sniffing the ground she could have sniffed enough toxic waste to cause the cancer. I suppose every town has similar problems. We got our girls as stated from a breeder who seemed reputable but mom died @ 6 while giving birth to them and they each come with their own set of health problems - hopefully nothing serious so I worry there may be a genetic thing. I guess there's no way to tell. I will just enjoy them for as long as we can. thanks


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

There are so many factors besides the dog's background. How many vaccines are going into them? What kind of food are they eating? What chemicals are they exposed to in the form of cleaning products or air fresheners? Flea/tick medications? You name it, it can add up. Some dogs will be fine, some will have problems, you never know. I think with the 'mutt' factor, a lot of people in general figure if the dog didn't cost them much, they don't need to spend much at the vet, instead they replace the dog, where if they've got an 'expensive' purebred they'll put in the money at the vet and deal more with the health problems.

Not ALL owners - don't flame me! - but there's that mentality out there, my vet will tell you the same thing, she's more likely to do expensive treatments and go 'all the way' with a purebred dog vs. something that was free out of the paper.

Now as for longevity, Bender is getting ready for her 12th birthday, with a few siblings who live nearby maybe. My old border collie lived to 14 (kidney failure). I do as few vaccines as possible (Storee is totally vaccine free so far), and feed raw, don't use toxic cleaning products or have plug in air fresheners going 24/7. Oh and we live in a small village with minimal traffic/polution.

Lana


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## Bogart'sMom (Sep 16, 2005)

My Dani Girlie Girl was only 10.5 years old when we had to let her go because of Cancer. I don't think they are ever long enough with us. ZsaZsa my Australian cattle dog (she is a med size breed at 47 Lbs) is 14.5 years old. She is slowing down some but still LOVES and adores her walkies. Bogart is only 4 years old, his Mom died early last year of cancer. She was only 6 years old at the time. Bogart's Grandmother is still alive and she should be close to 12 years old. So it's a bit of a crap shot. 
I try not to use chemicals in our yard but the dogs are also being walked in the neighborhood and who knows what other people are spraying to have their English looking lawn.
All the best,


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## alanckaye (Feb 7, 2009)

Bender said:


> There are so many factors besides the dog's background. How many vaccines are going into them? What kind of food are they eating? What chemicals are they exposed to in the form of cleaning products or air fresheners? Flea/tick medications? You name it, it can add up. Some dogs will be fine, some will have problems, you never know. I think with the 'mutt' factor, a lot of people in general figure if the dog didn't cost them much, they don't need to spend much at the vet, instead they replace the dog, where if they've got an 'expensive' purebred they'll put in the money at the vet and deal more with the health problems.
> 
> Not ALL owners - don't flame me! - but there's that mentality out there, my vet will tell you the same thing, she's more likely to do expensive treatments and go 'all the way' with a purebred dog vs. something that was free out of the paper.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I never thought of many of the things you mentioned other than the food. It's difficult to feed them raw food - I feed them a good brand of food as recommended by the feed store and add a probiotic to that - they do love their snacks though - treats I should say - I try to make that protein if possible - my wife aggrivates me because she feeds them bits of bread and I recently caught her giving one some topping from a cinnamon bun. The vet told me no sweets and I keep it that way - now I have to educate the wife who spends only a few hours a day as opposed to 17 or 18 like I do. thanks for the info.


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## GoldenFan (Dec 14, 2009)

my Reba was just over 13 when i had her PTS from just general old age issues (back end muscle weakness, failing organs, etc.)...she was healthy up until shortly before all these issues crept up....


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Bender said:


> There are so many factors besides the dog's background. How many vaccines are going into them? What kind of food are they eating? What chemicals are they exposed to in the form of cleaning products or air fresheners? Flea/tick medications? You name it, it can add up. Some dogs will be fine, some will have problems, you never know. Lana


I know that in addition to the above factors, I find using a lawn service such as Chemlawn, to be very important. Several years ago, a fellow breeder told me that she had noticed a number of dogs with cancer, especially liver cancer, whose owners either used a lawn service or chemical fertilizers or whose owners regularly exercised them on a golf course. I started asking and got the same response-anecdotal, sure, but it made me think.

When puppy customers tell me that the lawn service says its safe, I tell them to change the word "dogs" in their inquiry to "toddler", and see if they get the same answer! "My toddler likes to play on the grass and even puts pieces of grass in their mouth. Is this treatment safe for him?"

I keep my lawn au natural, vaccinate minimally, feed a good food and good treats and use a steam mop on my floors. I do use flea and tick medications, as recent studies appear to indicate a link between tick disease and cancer.


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## goldensmum (Oct 23, 2007)

Kelly was 10 when we lost her to cancer, Ralph was 13, Ginny 15 and Holly 14. Ginny and Holly were sisters - different litter but same parents, Ralph was a rescue who we had for 7 years.


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## beccacc31 (Aug 17, 2009)

My Mitchell lived to be 13 and 3/4 years. His breeder was my sister in law but I think they were more puppy mill type breeders than anything. (I didn't come into the picture until she was out of the business and Mitchell was about 8 yrs. He ran daily with Kevin unitl he was about 10 and then his joints stiffened up and then it was walks only. Mitchell was a wonderful golden and we miss him everyday. With that said.... Wilson is turning out to be another wonderful golden and he makes us laaaaaauuuugggghhhh!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

My old purebred golden lived to 14 yrs of age until he had what we think was a stroke...and we put him down later that day as his quality of life had been going steadily downhill in the last few weeks.

Time will tell with Ranger but I am glad he's a cross as flat coats seem to be more prone to cancer than any other breed. A lot of flat coat sources say that most of the breed die as early as 7 and the leading cause (by a high percentage) is cancer. That's terrifying! So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that whatever the heck else is in him will be tough and sturdy...and healthy.


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