Life Tables of Annual Life Expectancy and Mortality for Companion Dogs in the United Kingdom

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2022 Apr 28

PMID 35484374

Authors

Kendy Tzu-Yun Teng

Dave C Brodbelt

Camilla Pegram

David B Church

Dan G ONeill

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A life table is a tabulated expression of life expectancy and mortality-related information at specified ages in a given population. This study utilised VetCompass data to develop life tables for the UK companion dog population and broken down by sex, Kennel Club breed group, and common breeds. Among 30,563 dogs that died between 1st January 2016 and 31st July 2020, life expectancy at age 0 was 11.23 [95% confidence interval (CI): 11.19-11.27] years. Female dogs (11.41 years; 95% CI: 11.35-11.47) had a greater life expectancy than males (11.07 years; 95% CI: 11.01-11.13) at age 0. Life tables varied widely between breeds. Jack Russell Terrier (12.72 years; 95% CI: 12.53-12.90) and French Bulldog (4.53 years; 95% CI: 4.14-5.01) had the longest and shortest life expectancy at age 0, respectively. Life tables generated by the current study allow a deeper understanding of the varied life trajectory across many types of dogs and offer novel insights and applications to improve canine health and welfare. The current study helps promote further understanding of life expectancy, which will benefit pet owners and the veterinary profession, along with many other sectors.

Citing Articles

Rationale and design of the Dog Aging Project precision cohort: a multi-omic resource for longitudinal research in geroscience.

Prescott J, Keyser A, Litwin P, Dunbar M, McClelland R, Ruple A Geroscience. 2025; .

PMID: 40038157 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-025-01571-3.

Lasting lockdown love? Problem behaviour and pandemic and non-pandemic related risk factors influencing the owner-dog relationship in a UK cohort of dogs reaching early adulthood.

Merritt B, ONeill D, Brand C, Belshaw Z, Dale F, Pegram C PLoS One. 2025; 20(2):e0316166.

PMID: 39937701 PMC: 11819559. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316166.

A new future for dog breeding.

Proschowsky H, Arendt M, Bonnett B, Bruun C, Czycholl I, Fredholm M Anim Welf. 2025; 34:e1.

PMID: 39935775 PMC: 11810519. DOI: 10.1017/awf.2024.66.

CBD for pets: navigating quality assurance, safety standards, and marketing strategies.

Rideout H, Cook A, Whetton A J Cannabis Res. 2025; 7(1):6.

PMID: 39849662 PMC: 11755934. DOI: 10.1186/s42238-024-00257-5.

Dog-Owner Relationship and Its Association with Social Cognition in French Bulldogs.

Peterca L, Gobbo E, Zupan Semrov M Animals (Basel). 2025; 15(1.

PMID: 39794959 PMC: 11718994. DOI: 10.3390/ani15010017.

References

Arias E . United States Life Tables, 2017. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2020; 68(7):1-66. View

ONeill D, Baral L, Church D, Brodbelt D, Packer R . Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013. Canine Genet Epidemiol. 2018; 5:3. PMC: 5932866. DOI: 10.1186/s40575-018-0057-9. View

. Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950-2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020; 396(10258):1160-1203. PMC: 7566045. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30977-6. View

Harvey N . How Old Is My Dog? Identification of Rational Age Groupings in Pet Dogs Based Upon Normative Age-Linked Processes. Front Vet Sci. 2021; 8:643085. PMC: 8110720. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.643085. View

Egenvall A, Nodtvedt A, Penell J, Gunnarsson L, Bonnett B . Insurance data for research in companion animals: benefits and limitations. Acta Vet Scand. 2009; 51:42. PMC: 2777155. DOI: 10.1186/1751-0147-51-42. View

Yordy J, Kraus C, Hayward J, White M, Shannon L, Creevy K . Body size, inbreeding, and lifespan in domestic dogs. Conserv Genet. 2020; 21(1):137-148. PMC: 7326369. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-019-01240-x. View

Egenvall A, Hagman R, Bonnett B, Hedhammar A, Olson P, Lagerstedt A . Breed risk of pyometra in insured dogs in Sweden. J Vet Intern Med. 2002; 15(6):530-8. DOI: 10.1892/0891-6640(2001)015<0530:bropii>2.3.co;2. View

ONeill D, Coulson N, Church D, Brodbelt D . Demography and disorders of German Shepherd Dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Genet Epidemiol. 2017; 4:7. PMC: 5532765. DOI: 10.1186/s40575-017-0046-4. View

ONeill D, Church D, McGreevy P, Thomson P, Brodbelt D . Longevity and mortality of owned dogs in England. Vet J. 2013; 198(3):638-43. DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.09.020. View

10.

Belanger J, Bellumori T, Bannasch D, Famula T, Oberbauer A . Correlation of neuter status and expression of heritable disorders. Canine Genet Epidemiol. 2017; 4:6. PMC: 5445488. DOI: 10.1186/s40575-017-0044-6. View

11.

Felsburg P . Overview of immune system development in the dog: comparison with humans. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2002; 21(9-10):487-92. DOI: 10.1191/0960327102ht286oa. View

12.

Teng K, Devleesschauwer B, Maertens de Noordhout C, Bennett P, McGreevy P, Chiu P . Welfare-Adjusted Life Years (WALY): A novel metric of animal welfare that combines the impacts of impaired welfare and abbreviated lifespan. PLoS One. 2018; 13(9):e0202580. PMC: 6135394. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202580. View

13.

. Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018; 392(10159):1684-1735. PMC: 6227504. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31891-9. View

14.

ONeill D, Darwent E, Church D, Brodbelt D . Demography and health of Pugs under primary veterinary care in England. Canine Genet Epidemiol. 2016; 3:5. PMC: 4903005. DOI: 10.1186/s40575-016-0035-z. View

15.

Bonnett B, Egenvall A . Age patterns of disease and death in insured Swedish dogs, cats and horses. J Comp Pathol. 2009; 142 Suppl 1:S33-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2009.10.008. View

16.

Szilard L . ON THE NATURE OF THE AGING PROCESS. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1959; 45(1):30-45. PMC: 222509. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.45.1.30. View

17.

ONeill D, Jackson C, Guy J, Church D, McGreevy P, Thomson P . Epidemiological associations between brachycephaly and upper respiratory tract disorders in dogs attending veterinary practices in England. Canine Genet Epidemiol. 2015; 2:10. PMC: 4579368. DOI: 10.1186/s40575-015-0023-8. View

18.

Hoffman J, ONeill D, Creevy K, Austad S . Do Female Dogs Age Differently Than Male Dogs?. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017; 73(2):150-156. PMC: 5861885. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glx061. View

19.

Inoue M, Kwan N, Sugiura K . Estimating the life expectancy of companion dogs in Japan using pet cemetery data. J Vet Med Sci. 2018; 80(7):1153-1158. PMC: 6068313. DOI: 10.1292/jvms.17-0384. View

20.

Neumann P, Thorat T, Zhong Y, Anderson J, Farquhar M, Salem M . A Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Studies Reporting Cost-per-DALY Averted. PLoS One. 2016; 11(12):e0168512. PMC: 5179084. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168512. View