UKC Forums (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/index.php)
- Off Topic (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=53)
-- Life span of hounds (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=928447059)

Life span of hounds

Since I lost my dog of 15 years I've been thinking about the lie span of dogs. How is it that while they are so full of life and have such sharp athletic skills and keen senses they live but a little while? I thought about salmon swimming up stream, against the current, up water falls and all kinds of obsticals so that they can spawn and die. No matter how good they eat, how much exercise they get, they soon die.
I wondered which breed of hound, other than the beagle, lives the longest. Generally, the bigger they are the shorter their life span. The runt generally lives the longest and for that I am thankful. Do you know if one of the coon hound breeds lives longer? I think if I make to 80 and have a 10 year old hound and then that dog dies, it would kill me.

__________________
happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

thats a hard question to answer dogs are like people some die off at a young age and some last into thier teens ive lost dogs at dioffernt ages from pups to dogs in thier teens my wife has a shitzu lap dog that is 17 yrs old never thought she would make it to this age other than ear problems over the last yr she in good shape

the shitzu, poodle, beagle and some other small dogs have the longest life span. That's why I was particularly interested in the life span of the coon hound breeds. I was thinking the plot and leopard might have a longer span due to their mixed pedigree.

__________________
happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

My Walker male is 13 yrs old weighs 75#.

Bob, Is thirteen years of age common for a walker? Do you know if any in her line lived exceptionally long lives?

__________________
happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

Ive only kept one long enough to die of oldness. I put her down at 13. At 10 she could still compete. At 11 it made me sad to even turn her loose. She would trail and trail and locate and locate. Still treed several. I just retired her at 12 and let her rest and run around. Was a sad day that day. Got to where she couldnt eat because her teeth were worn out. Rest of my good ones have met early deaths. Now I have a Chihuahua and weener dog. She 17 yrs old. Still kicking.

__________________
Michael Ghorley

I have an 80 pound English hound that will be 12 years old in August. He is in great health and I hunted him this past coon season and he is still treeing coons consistently. He has slowed down some and gets tired so I only take him for 1 or 2 drops. He has earned a place in my kennel for as long as he lives.

__________________
John Sisley

My dog wasn't a hound but a mixed breed feist. I was letting her trot half a mile with the truck everytime we went hunting. Then one time after that she started going around in circles. We put her on phenabarbotal and that fixed the circling but 4 months is all I got after that. Dogs live fast and they die fast, it seems to me.

__________________
happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

The better they are or the more you like them the younger they die! I would guess that irregardless of breed or size the "average" life span of the majority of hounds who are actually hunted is about 10+/-. That has been my experience so far over about 40 years.

I've had 2 Walker males that lived to old age ,,First one was a direct son out of Finley River Chief that lived to be 17,, the other was a direct son of Hillbilly Mac that 14 1/2 and the best dog I ever owned or hunted with.

__________________
Gold Life member of G.P.A.A. #257936
Member of The Lost Dutchman's Mining Association #02890729

Yes that is a nice long life. But on one hand it's never long enough and on the other, if it were longer, how many more would have to be killed in the shelters because they are long longer wanted.

__________________
happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

11 and 12 were my oldest hounds.... Most go before that. I got a blue heeler pup for my nephew when he was a little boy. I had one named Jessie and we named his Frank. They grew up together, Frank followed my nephew everywhere he went. When he was out in the yard playing, you best no start roughhousing him, because Frank would come to his rescue. He was protective over my nephew... Getting back on subject, Frank was over 20 years old when he had to be put down. He had to get a friend to do it, nobody in our family could do it. He was the oldest dog I have ever heard of.

__________________
ringtail dave

"TREE MY DOG" - NO BETTER FEELING

NAADP Charter Member....... appointed by King Dave himself........

quote:

---

Originally posted by ringtail
11 and 12 were my oldest hounds.... Most go before that. I got a blue heeler pup for my nephew when he was a little boy. I had one named Jessie and we named his Frank. They grew up together, Frank followed my nephew everywhere he went. When he was out in the yard playing, you best no start roughhousing him, because Frank would come to his rescue. He was protective over my nephew... Getting back on subject, Frank was over 20 years old when he had to be put down. He had to get a friend to do it, nobody in our family could do it. He was the oldest dog I have ever heard of.

---

Though you couldn't put your dog down, you took it to the vet and had it put to sleep. I think that is just about as hard as it gets. shooting one of my dogs now is out of the question as long as the vet is in business.
As a kid we an old collie. She had to be put down. Living on a farm we had seen many dogs and lots of animals killed. In this case my uncle visited us to help put her down. my dad and he put her in a large tub and covered it with a piece of plywood. my uncle had a small bottle of either. he put some on a rag and put the rag under the plywood. the old dog thrashed around a little and it was over. Looking back I can't account for my dad's compassion on the dog. I wish I had asked while he was living.

__________________
happiness is: being saved by the grace of GOD! i'm happy and hope you are too!

GOOD SUBJECT.

MY FATHER AND I BOTH HAD HOUNDS WHILE I WAS GROWING UP. WE HAD SOME LIVE TILL 10 AND ONE OR TWO MAKE IT UNTIL 15. ONE BLOODLINE IN PARTICULAR SEEMED TO GET AROUND TEN AND THEN GONE.

MOST OF MINE HAVE DIED FROM NATURAL CAUSES. WITH AN OCCASIONAL ACCIDENT ROADS AND CARS. HAD TO HAVE ONE PUT DOWN VERY HARD TO DO, AS FOR DOING IT MYSELF I DOUBT I COULD.

DID HAVE A FEW DIE TO EARLY FROM FLIPPING STOMACHS. SEEMED THIS WAS VERY COMMON IN THE SMOKEY RIVER BLOODLINE THAT WE HAD. LOST TWO VERY PROMISING YOUNG ONES FROM THAT.

__________________
Home of;

Nt.Ch. Gr.Ch. Gr.WCh. Pr. McMillans Blue Crystal
Ntch. GrCh. Pr. McMillans Blue Magic
Gr.Nt.Ch. Pr. McMillans Blue Hawk
Nt. Ch. Pr. McMillans Blue Rage
all are gone now but will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN


CH. PR. MCMILLANS TREE ROCKIN BRANDY
CH. PR. MCMILLANS MIDNITES STINGIN SADIE

I've had 3 walkers make it to 13.. Two of them were in bad shape for awhile before they died.. The one had treed a coon just like she always did about a week before she died..