Life Expectancy Of Poodles

It’s no surprise that poodles are a beloved pet. The American Kennel Club, or AKC, ranks poodles as the seventh most popular dog. Vets ranked poodles second in intelligence, only behind the border collie. Poodles are athletic, curious dogs that love to work and be a part of their family. Many people still see poodles as really fancy dogs, but that isn’t really true. Poodles started off as waterfowl hunters in Germany, and through travel, became really popular in other parts of Europe. Today, the poodle is actually the national dog of France! It’s hard to think about, but people who love poodles and poodle owners wonder how long they’ll live for. We look at the life expectancy of poodles, as well as what can cause poodles to have longer or shorter lives.

What Is the Life Expectancy of Poodles?

In general, poodles have an average life span of 11 to 16 years. Some poodle breeds live an average of 15 years, while others live to around 12 years. Poodles actually have a higher average than most breeds (10-13 years). However, there are records of poodles that live for a long time. There was one poodle who was born in 1908 and lived to be 28! There are many factors that have a part in this, including diet, exercise, and genetics. We’ll take a look at some of them in this article.

What Can Affect a Poodle’s Life?

There are a lot of things that can affect the life expectancy of a poodle. Your dog’s diet is one of them. It’s extremely important to feed your dog food that’s good for them. Food that has a lot of additives and fillers can cause a lot of problems for your dog later on in life. It’s also important that poodles get a lot of exercise. Poodles are very active dogs, as are a lot of water dogs. They need a good amount of exercise every day to work out and stay healthy. However, even with diet and exercise, things can happen unexpectedly. There are other factors that go into figuring out the life expectancy of poodles.

Size

Poodles are one of the few breeds that come in four sizes – standard, Klein/Moyen (medium), miniature, and toy. Standard poodles are the most athletic out of the group, but the toy and miniature versions are pretty popular, too. The Klein poodle isn’t recognized by the AKC, but is actually a pretty popular poodle breed in the US. We’re often told that the size of a dog can determine how long they live, and that’s pretty true for Poodles. Toy and miniature poodles live for an average of 15 years. Klein poodles live for an average of 13.5 years. Standard poodles, the largest of the three, live for only 12, but once again, these are averages.

Disease

As with any breed, poodles have common diseases that affect them. Some of them are common among many breeds, but others are more specific. While we’ll explore some of the more common ones below, poodles can also have diseases like Addison’s Disease, bloat, and optic nerve hypoplasia. It’s always good to get a family tree for your dog – if you can. It’s harder for shelters to have a family tree, but some do, especially if the poodle was surrendered. If you know your puppy’s history, it’s easier to see what diseases could affect him or her.

Hip Dysplasia

Hip Dysplasia is one of the most common dog diseases out there. Many breeds of all sizes suffer from it, but it usually affects larger dog breeds. Hip Dysplasia is what happens when your dog’s hip joint doesn’t develop correctly. The two bones hit each other awkwardly, and over time, it wears down the cartilage between the joints. Sometimes it’s genetic, but other times it happens because of how your dog lives. It can start as early as 4-5 months and can cause a lot of damage if it’s left untreated. If it’s caught early, diet and regular doctor visits can help slow down the process. In more severe cases, surgery’s needed to replace the joint entirely.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is the term given to a group of seizure disorders. Seizures are weird, uncontrollable bursts of electrical energy in the brain that cause different types of movements. There are lots of different causes of seizures. They include liver disease, kidney disease, anemia, eating poison, and even brain cancer. Seizures can last from under a minute to several minutes. There are different types of seizures, such as generalized seizures, focal seizures, and psychomotor seizures. If your dog is having a seizure, it’s best to leave them alone and make sure that they don’t hit anything or overheat. Once the seizure is over, you should call your vet and bring your dog in for further examination.

Von Willebrand’s Disease

Von Willebrand’s disease is a blood disorder that is genetic, or passed down from generation to generation through gene markers. It’s not specific to either males or females; either gender can inherit the disease. If a dog has von Willebrand’s disease, they don’t produce enough of a protein called von Willebrand factor, or vWF. VWF is important because it helps blood clotting, and without it, dogs can suffer symptoms similar to hemophilia in humans. Some symptoms of vWF include excessive bleeding through different places, like nosebleeds and bloody pee, as well as bleeding heavily after a trauma or surgery, and bruising easily.

Sebaceous Adenitis

The last disease that we’ll cover that can affect the life expectancy of poodles is sebaceous adenitis. Sebaceous adenitis is another hereditary disease in dogs. It affects the sebaceous glands, or glands under the skin that produce oil. This oil is necessary to help keep your dog’s skin moisturized. Sebaceous adenitis happens when the immune system affects these glands, and they begin to cause lesions, sores, and even hair loss. This can affect dogs of all ages and sizes. Poodles are the most well known breed that sebaceous adenitis affects, but it can affect others, like Samoyeds. There’s no cure, but there are many treatments that can be used to help ease the symptoms.

There are many things that can affect the life expectancy of poodles. However, what they need most is love and affection. As long as you’re treating your poodle well, feeding it healthy food and giving it exercise, and taking it to the vet regularly, you can ensure that your poodle

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