Sit down before you find out why large breed dogs live shorter lives.

dogs They are inseparable friends of many people, and therefore their health and life expectancy are even more longevity This is an ongoing consultation. It is worth noting that in the animal world there is a rule: the larger you are, the longer you live. However, there is an exception to this point – the domestic dog.

In this sense, dog The internal one is an exception and is applied according to the principle: “the smaller you are, the longer you live.” It is worth emphasizing that longevity of people and pets has increased significantly in recent years due to greater care backed by scientific advances. Smaller breeds that are already long-lived have gradually extended their lives through better care and can live up to 17–18 years.

Reasons for the longevity of large breeds

Recent research has explored the reasons for this difference in longevity and they found the cause: cancer. It was found that dogs Older children were more likely to die from the disease at a younger age compared to younger children. Additionally, selective breeding for size may be the reason why large breeds are in turn more susceptible to cancer.

According to scientific research, this reasoning is explained by the relationship between body size dog and an evolutionary delay in the body’s natural defenses, which cannot keep up with the animal’s rapid growth. This means that your pet uses most of its energy to grow and maintain the giant structure; it cannot invest it in day-to-day cell repair to avoid failures that cause tumors or to strengthen its defenses against cancer.

It is worth noting that this does not necessarily mean that dogs big ones age faster than small ones. But research has shown that as the average body weight of breeds increases, so do cancer rates. However, scientists predict that over time, larger breeds will evolve to develop better cancer-fighting genes, leading to longer lifespans with smaller litters in the future.