How long do dogs live?
The best answer available is 11.23 years, and it is a measurement rather than an impression. The Royal Veterinary College's VetCompass study built life tables from 30,563 dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK that died between 1 January 2016 and 31 July 2020, and reported life expectancy at birth of 11.23 years overall — 11.41 years for females and 11.07 years for males. Breed changes that figure far more than anything else measured: the Jack Russell Terrier reaches 12.72 years, the French Bulldog 4.53.
Updated on 2026-10-07.
These are population figures, not a prediction for one animal, and nothing here is a care plan. For anything about a specific animal's health, weight or age, consult a veterinarian.
Life expectancy at birth is a population measure — breed moves it far more than anything else measured.
The facts in one table
| All dogs, life expectancy at birth | 11.23 years (95% CI 11.19–11.27) |
| Females | 11.41 years |
| Males | 11.07 years |
| Crossbred dogs | 11.82 years |
| Highest of the breeds measured | Jack Russell Terrier, 12.72 years |
| Lowest of the breeds measured | French Bulldog, 4.53 years |
| Study population | 30,563 dogs that died between 1 Jan 2016 and 31 Jul 2020, UK primary veterinary care |
All rows from the VetCompass life tables published in Scientific Reports (Royal Veterinary College, 2022).
What "life expectancy at birth" is, and is not
A life table asks a specific question: given the rate at which animals die at every age in this population, how long would a newborn be expected to live. That is not the same as the average age of dogs that reached old age, and it is not the oldest dog anyone has seen. Deaths in puppies and young adults pull the figure down substantially, which is the honest way to describe populations where many animals do not reach middle age.
It also means the number is about a population and a period. These are UK dogs in veterinary care between 2016 and 2020; a different country, a different decade of breeding, or a different standard of care would move it. What transfers well is the comparison between breeds measured in the same way at the same time.
Breed matters more than sex, and conformation more than size
The difference between females and males is 0.34 years. The difference between the Jack Russell Terrier and the French Bulldog is 8.19 years. That gap is the headline finding for anyone choosing a dog: the single decision with the largest measurable effect on how long you will have the animal is which breed it is.
Within that, the pattern is not simply "small lives longer". The two terriers at the top — Jack Russell 12.72 and Yorkshire Terrier 12.54 — are small, but so are the Chihuahua at 7.91, the Pug at 7.65 and the French Bulldog at 4.53. What the bottom of the table has in common is a flattened face, except for the Chihuahua. Meanwhile the Labrador Retriever, a large breed, comes in at 11.77 years, above the overall average.
Crossbreeds, and the limits of the data
Crossbred dogs in the study reached 11.82 years, above the 11.23-year overall figure and above most pedigree breeds measured — but below the Jack Russell Terrier and the Yorkshire Terrier. So the common claim that crossbreeds always outlive pedigrees is directionally right and too strong as stated.
The study also does not cover every breed: it reports figures only where there were enough recorded deaths. Golden Retriever, Rottweiler, Great Dane and Saint Bernard, among others, do not appear in the breed table. That is why this page does not give a number for them rather than borrowing one from elsewhere.
What most people get wrong
- "Dogs live 10 to 13 years." The measured figure is 11.23 years at birth across all dogs, and the spread between breeds — 4.53 to 12.72 — is far wider than that range.
- "One dog year is seven human years." It is a rule of thumb with no basis in the data; ageing rate differs by size and breed.
- "Small dogs always live longer." The Chihuahua (7.91), Pug (7.65) and French Bulldog (4.53) are all small and all well below average.
- "Mixed breeds live longest." Crossbreds reached 11.82 years, above average but below the Jack Russell Terrier and the Yorkshire Terrier.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average lifespan of a dog?
- 11.23 years of life expectancy at birth in the VetCompass UK life tables, with females at 11.41 and males at 11.07 years.
- Which dog breed lives longest?
- Of the breeds measured in that study, the Jack Russell Terrier, at 12.72 years.
- How many dogs were in the study?
- 30,563 dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK that died between 1 January 2016 and 31 July 2020.
- Do crossbreeds live longer than pedigree dogs?
- On average they did better than most: 11.82 years against 11.23 overall. But the Jack Russell Terrier and the Yorkshire Terrier both scored higher.
How to read the numbers
The numbers on “How long do dogs live?” come from the facts table at the top, with the official source alongside.
Where the data comes from
Each section of “How long do dogs live?” names its source (agency, university or breed club) with a verification date.
What this page doesn’t replace
Educational information, not a substitute for a vet, agronomist or specialist assessing your specific case.
Go deeper at the official source
To go deeper than “How long do dogs live?”, the source named below publishes the original document.
Words on this page
Life cycle
The sequence of stages an organism passes through from birth to death — for an animal, young, adult and senior; for a plant, germination, growth, flowering and, in annuals, death after setting seed.
Hypoallergenic
A term used for breeds that shed less allergen into the environment, usually because they shed less fur. No dog or cat breed is fully allergen-free: a cat’s main allergen comes from saliva and skin, not only fur, and a very sensitive person can react to any breed.
Standard definition by American Kennel Club · Hypoallergenic
Toxicity
A plant’s or substance’s capacity to harm an organism, which varies with the species exposed, the amount ingested and the animal’s size. A plant "toxic to dogs" is not necessarily toxic to humans at the same dose, and the reverse holds too.
Standard definition by ASPCA — Animal Poison Control Center · Toxicity
Dormancy
The period when a plant slows its metabolism and stops visible growth, usually in autumn and winter, to survive cold or drought. Pruning, transplanting or fertilising during dormancy is usually less stressful for the plant than doing it in full growth.
Hardiness zone
A numbered band that ranks a region by the average coldest winter temperature it reaches, used to tell whether a plant survives there outdoors. The reference system is the US one (USDA), from zone 1, coldest, to 13, warmest.
Standard definition by USDA — Agricultural Research Service, Plant Hardiness Zone Map · Hardiness zone
Hemisphere
Half of the globe split by the equator. The seasons flip between the two: when it is winter in the northern hemisphere, it is summer in the southern one, which shifts the pruning, bloom and harvest calendar described on this page.
Sources
- Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom (Scientific Reports, 2022) — Royal Veterinary College — VetCompass. Checked on 2026-10-07. 30.563 cães que morreram entre 1/1/2016 e 31/7/2020, sob atendimento veterinário primário no Reino Unido.