Bigger dogs generally live shorter lives and cost more at the vet, because most drugs are dosed by weight.
| Breed | Size | Lifespan | Size | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airedale Terrier | Large | 10-13 years | Large | As the largest terrier breed, the Airedale keeps a full terrier prey drive and stubborn streak in a 50-plus-poun… |
| Akita | Large | 10-14 years | Large | The AKC's own breed standard warns that Akitas 'may be intolerant of other dogs, particularly of the same sex' —… |
| Alaskan Malamute | Large | 10-14 years | Large | This is not a bigger husky you can keep quiet in an apartment: Malamutes are powerful, determined escape artists… |
| Belgian Malinois | Large | 12-14 years | Large | This is a police- and military-grade working dog with drive most pet homes cannot use up, and it is one of the m… |
| Bernese Mountain Dog | Large | 7-10 years | Large | More than half of Bernese Mountain Dogs die of cancer, and a published Swiss study found median survival of only… |
| Bloodhound | Large | 10-12 years | Large | This dog's nose overrides its recall almost every time — once a Bloodhound picks up a scent trail it will follow… |
| Boxer | Large | 10-12 years | Large | Boxers have a breed-specific heart disease — arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, informally called … |
| Bullmastiff | Large | 7-9 years | Large | A peer-reviewed veterinary study of Bullmastiffs found a median lifespan of just 8.5 years, with cancer responsi… |
| Cane Corso | Large | 9-12 years | Large | This is a serious guardian breed bred for bite work, not a family pet that happens to be big — Cane Corsos need … |
| Dalmatian | Large | 13-16 years | Large | Close to 3 in 10 Dalmatians are born with measurable hearing loss in one or both ears, and every single Dalmatia… |
| Doberman Pinscher | Large | 10-12 years | Large | A widely cited European study found that 58% of screened Dobermans had dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart-muscle di… |
| German Shepherd | Large | 7-10 years | Large | This is a working police/military breed sold as a family pet, and hip and elbow dysplasia are common enough that… |
| Golden Retriever | Large | 10-12 years | Large | Golden Retrievers have one of the highest lifetime cancer rates of any dog breed — a landmark breed-club health … |
| Great Dane | Giant | 7-10 years | Giant | A dog this size usually only gets about 7 to 10 years with you, and its deep chest puts it at real risk of sudde… |
| Great Pyrenees | Giant | 10-12 years | Giant | Bred to guard livestock alone through the night, a Great Pyrenees will bark for hours at anything that moves aft… |
| Greyhound | Large | 12-15 years | Large | Greyhounds process common anesthetic and sedative drugs very differently from most breeds because of their low b… |
| Irish Setter | Large | 12-15 years | Large | This is a bird-hunting gundog bred for all-day stamina in the field, and its glamorous red coat and friendly goo… |
| Labrador Retriever | Large | 11-13 years | Large | The 'always hungry' Labrador stereotype is partly genetic, not just bad training — about a quarter of the breed … |
| Mastiff | Giant | 6-10 years | Giant | A Mastiff's life is short even by giant-breed standards, commonly well under a decade, and that same huge frame … |
| Newfoundland | Giant | 9-10 years | Giant | 'Gentle giant' does not mean 'healthy giant': UK breed health data puts this breed's median lifespan at around 9… |
| Old English Sheepdog | Large | 10-12 years | Large | The 'shaggy dog' coat everyone falls for needs several hours of hands-on brushing every week for the dog's entir… |
| Poodle (Standard) | Large | 12-15 years | Large | 'Low-shedding' gets marketed as 'low-maintenance' but the two aren't the same thing — a Poodle's coat mats quick… |
| Rhodesian Ridgeback | Large | 10-12 years | Large | The 'ridge' that defines this breed's whole identity is genetically linked to dermoid sinus, a birth-defect tube… |
| Rottweiler | Large | 9-10 years | Large | Rottweilers carry one of the highest bone-cancer risks of any breed — a UK veterinary study found them roughly 2… |
| Rough Collie | Large | 10-14 years | Large | Most Collie owners have never heard of MDR1: the breed's own health foundation estimates that 55-70% of Collies … |
| Saint Bernard | Giant | 8-10 years | Giant | A dog this size shouldn't be dying at 8 to 10 years old, but that's the typical lifespan for a Saint Bernard — a… |
| Weimaraner | Large | 10-13 years | Large | The elegant 'gentleman's gun dog' image hides a breed that is one of the most likely to develop genuine separati… |
Pick two and put them side by side, then read the full dog guide for costs and daily time.