Registered: Jun 2007
Location: jacksonville, nc
Posts: 2856

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.

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Registered: May 2007
Location: fairmont wv
Posts: 11976

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

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: jacksonville, nc
Posts: 2856

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.

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Registered: Feb 2010
Location: off the res.
Posts: 3422

My Walker male is 13 yrs old weighs 75#.

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: jacksonville, nc
Posts: 2856

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

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: North GA
Posts: 14395

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.

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Michael Ghorley

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Registered: Sep 2009
Location: Williamsfield Ohio
Posts: 1194

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.

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John Sisley

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: jacksonville, nc
Posts: 2856

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.

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Registered: May 2010
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 350

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.

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Registered: Jan 2010
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 10675

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.

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: jacksonville, nc
Posts: 2856

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.

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Registered: Jan 2004
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2760

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.

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ringtail dave

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Registered: Jan 2016
Location: Central Pa
Posts: 1114

quote:

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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.

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: jacksonville, nc
Posts: 2856

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.

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Registered: Jul 2007
Location: WESTERN MARYLAND
Posts: 5948

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.

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Registered: Oct 2006
Location: mechanicsburg, Oh
Posts: 1184

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..

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