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I was talking to my dog show mentor at a show once. We ran across an x-pen with Great Dane puppies in it. She told me she could never own a Dane because they just don't live long enough. Her Siberians average 12-14yrs. I told her I've heard of some well bred and well cared for Danes that can live to be 12-13yrs old. She didn't believe me the least bit. :rolleyes: Do you think it's possible for Danes to live to be 12-13yrs old?
My Mother bred and raised danes her average age was 10-12 years. So I don't think 13 years would be a stretch.
Our 3/4 Great Dane Gracie lived to be 14 1/2 years old. So absolutely it is possible. The (Scottish) vet said "the wee lassie" lived that long because she was "spoiled rotten." Gracie was about 140 pounds most of her adult life, though got a little more pear-shaped when sitting in her later years, and was a rescue who had been badly malnourished and had rickets when we got her at 10? weeks of age.
yes, I've seen a 12 yr old dane and I've heard about a lot of 12/13 year old danes.
Yeah! I could see it happening, if the dog was well taken care of!
It is possible- So many people turn away from this and other giant breeds because they think thatthey will pass too soon..
heres a page you might find intresting, it shows and has stories of senior danes, some reacing 13 years
http://www.leansnslobbers.net/senior.html
I think its possible. Of course it is. But I don't think it happens often. Think of how many well cared for Danes there are out there that only live till 8-10.
I've become very interested in breed health surveys as more of them are better designed. They are still limited by the motivation of participants, which can be a factoring element in the success of surveys to actually find patterns and issues that warrant further study. Here is one for the dane. It is a PDF file.
See page 16 for the median and maximum that were were in the survey.
A summary here.
Great Dane Health - GDCA for more on general stuff on GD health.
'Average' or median age of death can seem low, in any population, including human. This is often due to the exposures and increased risky profile of the younger populations.
I agree that care is a big part of it. I think many large breeds do make it into their early teens. It's not unusual for Anatolians, for example, to make it to their early teens. But working Anatolians on farms and rangeland may not make it to two or three years of age, due to their age groups' increased ability to get into serious trouble as young dogs. Likewise, suburban pets that are placed into the wrong type of home for the breed, may have poor prospects for a long healthy life.
Due to the color divisions in Danes, I think it would be interesting to see how the different colors compared with each other on the points discussed in the study. I was impressed by the fact that there were distinct color differences associated with temperament in the English Cocker Spaniel (I wrote about in another thread on AB 1634 California at the Dog House forum). In analysis of the genetics behind the problematic color and population data, it was easy to see why temperament issues had become a problem in the specific color population.
Well being an owner of a Great Dane, I have done ALOT of research on the breed, and most sites say that the dogs average from 8-10 years.. I would hate for that to be true.. Because that would mean Baby Blue is already MIDDLE AGED, being 4 years old.!!! Time went by soo fast.
I havent ever met a Great dane older then 6 years old before, but I have heard about some Danes living to be 10-12... I think it is fairly rare, just because they are such a large breed. Alot of health problems come with age.. :(.
Sorry to be difficult, but I wouldn't expect it from a show dane so much. "Well-bred" show type animals just don't have the longevity. Even in mice showing, show type mice live less than half the time, on average, than pet type mice.
One of my foster moms has a Great Dane that is 11, and pretty healthy...I hope he makes it past 13!! I am pretty sure he will.