What is average life span for a GSD?

[sweetluce]

Hi,
I have had 3 GSD and never gotten one over 9 years old. My lady is
6 yr.old and she is healthy but has slowed down a lot. She still likes her long walks and the dog park but doesn't like playing with other dogs.
It saddens me to see all the gray in her face. To me she is still so
beautiful. People sometimes make remarks like," Oh she is an old dog."
How do you handle that.?

[Lucy Dog]

According to wikipedia, "The average lifespan of a German Shepherd is 9.7 years".

Obviously some go longer and some not as long. Whatever the average is, it's not long enough. Dogs do not live nearly long enough, so enjoy every day and don't ever take for granted the time you spend together. Time goes by way too fast.

[KZoppa]

the average i've seen is between 9 and 11 years old though some go sooner and other goes later. One of the guys who did some maintance work on our house recently saw my shepherd pup and just gushed. He used to have a shepherd who is one of the rare ones to live to 17 years. his is only the second one i've heard to make it that far. By the time she went though, she was deaf, mostly blind and needed help getting outside. Currently my inlaws have my Zena girl who is about 8 years old. Our boy Riley celebrated his 6th birthday in january and he's still bouncy and crazy and has a teeny tiny bit of grey on his muzzle. Shasta will be 1 year on may 5th. It all depends on the lines, the dogs care throughout his lifetime and i'm sure a few other things i'm forgetting.

[elisabeth_00117]

My Beau passed at 13.5 years old.

She was raw fed her whole life and very active right until the end. We helped her cross to the bridge in July because she went into organ failure (happened in a flash).

I think a lot depends on [blood] lines, nutrition, activity, health, etc..

[jocoyn]

One of mine was 15 (and he was old), one was 12 (hemangiosarcoma), one was a puppy but had a problem, and I have a 9 year old and an 8 year old that are doing just fine and showing no issues on annual blood tests. I have mainly fed a quality kibble and kept them lean and excercised

[sweetluce]

You are so very right about enjoying each day, each moment. I get so much happiness and joy from my dogs. Never found a husband like that.

[sweetluce]

Wow you have been blessed with 15 yr. and 12 yr. Glad to hear your current dogs are doing so well. I do agree the less weight on them the better. I just love to come periodically into this site and read the posts. You all have so much to share with your experiences with their GSD. I just love it. Thanks so much. Lady's Mom

[jocoyn]

I always thought 10-12 was where they were supposed to be. They don't seem to be living as long these days.............

[Emoore]

Hubby's GSD (before we got married) lived to be 14.5. His mom's current dog is 12.5 and, sad to say, will probably only make another year or so. Rocky is 9 and aside from a little (and I do mean little) stiffness from arthritis still acts like a young dog and is in perfect health. Barring illness and accidents and God willing, I see him making it to the 12-14 range. Then again my good friend's GSD died at 9.

[Daydreamer]

My last Shepherd was 12.5 when we had to put her down. She started going down hill her last year - very weak in her hind quarters and started losing bowel control. It was very sad because she still wanted to play and be active but just couldn't do very much at all. We put her down when she lost all control and could no longer walk.