We wish our dogs could live forever. But since that’s not a possibility, the next best thing is picking a dog with a good, long life expectancy. So, what’s the longest-living dog breed? While it can vary a lot due to health conditions, in general, smaller breeds do live to be older dogs on average. If you’re hoping your dog gets the “world’s oldest dog” title someday, check out this list. Here are 11 dog breeds with a long life span—plus adorable gifs.
Longest-Living Dog Breeds
- Corgi
- Shiba Inu
- Maltese
- Pomeranian
- Beagle
- Yorkshire terrier
- Jack Russell terrier
- Toy poodle
- Coton de Tulear
- Shi Tzu
- Chihuahua
The Oldest Dog Award Goes to…
We’re not saying these individual pooches are the world’s oldest dogs, but we’re sincerely hoping they all win that title one day. These longest-living dog breeds have an average life expectancy of 12 years and up.
Corgi
12-15 years
Shiba Inu
12-15 years
Maltese
12-15 years
Beagle
12-16 years
Pomeranian
12-16 years
Yorkshire Terrier
13-16 years
Jack Russell terrier
13-16 years
Toy Poodle
14-16 years
Coton de Tulear
14-19 years
Shih Tzu
10-20 years
Chihuahua
15-20 years
Of course, no matter your dog’s breed, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and quality care, plus spaying or neutering your pets, will help them have longer and happier lives. In fact, there are lots of simple, everyday things you can do to increase your dog’s life span, whatever stage of life they’re in. And don’t worry if your current dog doesn’t happen to be on this list. Plenty of other breeds have individual dogs that have lived a very long time, like Maggie, the Australian sheepdog who made it to an impressive 30 years!
Curious about how to calculate your dog’s actual age? Check out the dog years calculator.
This is not accurate. The longest living breed is the Australian Cattle Dog, formerly known as the Queensland Heeler