danisgoat
Moderator
Oh wow....I just saw that this thread is that old!
Sheltie lifespan
- Thread starter Justicemom
- Start date
Oh wow....I just saw that this thread is that old!
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
So I emailed my mom. Her first reply was, "What? Are you kidding me? I can't remember what I did yesterday". Then she wrote back and said, "Okay, I checked my check register. Looks like he died 9/9/82". OMG, my mom still has her check registers from 30 years ago!!!! She said my dad believed he had died of heartworms. All I know is I remember watching him lie down and go to sleep and never wake up again. He was 11 years old.
The first sheltie I had any experience with was a dog that was rescued out of a car by people who became "Uncle Bill" and "Aunt Audrey" to me. I was about 10 years old at the time so almost 50 years ago. Dunko - they gave him his name after they smashed the window of the car and carried him to the tub and started to cool him down with tepid water - was fully mature when they got him and he lived another 8 years so I guess he would have been about 13ish. He crawled up on Aunt Audrey's bed and passed away one night - the only time he came onto the bed.
I can still hear Uncle Bill, that wirey little man, telling the owners of the car and dog how he was going to put a post up the guy's arse for being so stupid as to let that dog sit in a car in the summer heat. They handed over the ownership of the dog and never made a police complaint about the broken window. Bless you Uncle Bill.
I can still hear Uncle Bill, that wirey little man, telling the owners of the car and dog how he was going to put a post up the guy's arse for being so stupid as to let that dog sit in a car in the summer heat. They handed over the ownership of the dog and never made a police complaint about the broken window. Bless you Uncle Bill.
My Neechee was 17 years, 7 months. Out of his litter of three, he was the middle pup, age-wise. A sister died at 13 years (cancer), and his brother was still alive as of December - so that makes him (ohmigod!) 19 years old.
It was an odd litter - Neechee was the smallest adult - 12.99999 inches (ha!) and 12 pounds. Very delicately boned. The sister was the largest at 15 inches and 23 pounds, and his brother is/was around 13 inches and 15 pounds. Neither the brother or the sister was as delicately boned.
Neechee's longevity was probably due to our living conditions the last 5 years of his life. He and I lived with my parents and when I was unable to care for him (other than petting and the all-important treats) my mom was in charge of him. She got a good senior diet for him (that he LOVED), and when he became unable to walk up/down stairs due to chronic bronchitis, she and my dad carried him. He had a stroke a year before he died, and from that point on, he went literally EVERYWHERE with me, including church. He was frail that last year, but happy. He slowly over that year with mostly blind, but adapted well. A second stroke the next year put him in so much pain that I had to say goodbye for his sake.
They just don't last long enough. A piece of my heart is waiting at rainbow bridge in his tiny paws.
It was an odd litter - Neechee was the smallest adult - 12.99999 inches (ha!) and 12 pounds. Very delicately boned. The sister was the largest at 15 inches and 23 pounds, and his brother is/was around 13 inches and 15 pounds. Neither the brother or the sister was as delicately boned.
Neechee's longevity was probably due to our living conditions the last 5 years of his life. He and I lived with my parents and when I was unable to care for him (other than petting and the all-important treats) my mom was in charge of him. She got a good senior diet for him (that he LOVED), and when he became unable to walk up/down stairs due to chronic bronchitis, she and my dad carried him. He had a stroke a year before he died, and from that point on, he went literally EVERYWHERE with me, including church. He was frail that last year, but happy. He slowly over that year with mostly blind, but adapted well. A second stroke the next year put him in so much pain that I had to say goodbye for his sake.
They just don't last long enough. A piece of my heart is waiting at rainbow bridge in his tiny paws.
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
It has always intrigued me that Rudyard Kipling's famous lines-
'When the fourteen years which nature permits are closing in asthma, or tumors, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs to lethal chambers and loaded guns,
It's up to you, it's your own affair...
But you've given your heart to a dog to tear'
was written what, about 1890?
And for all our advances in nutrition, preventative medicine etc., it's STILL about 14 years for an average sized dog.
Just thinking empirically, I would have to guess that my Sheltie patients tend to age better than most until about 11, then tend to fall off and 'not age well' a little more than most their size.
Skye is now 9 ( I can NOT believe that - but then I can't believe that I am... well, whatever), and I have full expectations that she is just 'starting on the back nine.'- Dr. Mac
Great quote! And observation....no, it does not seem to improved so much....which makes for another potential interesting thread.......
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
My recommendation is complete bloodwork CBC, Chem and UA every 6 months. I start this at 8yrs with all my animals. I do yearly before that. I caught Jazz's kidneys failure early and Jo's CAH early and started early treatment which brought Jazz's 2.5yrs more years and Jo 4 yrs , I'm sure of it. Jo the Lab passed at 14 yrs. Very old for a Lab. Jazz the JRT mix passed at 3 weeks shy of her 15th birthday. My cat Stretch also passed from kidney disease and I did not catch it until late and in complete failure. She died 1 month later. However, she was 19yrs so I don't feel too bad.
Kept his weight normal, kept him doing some sort of exercise,even if it is only walking, brush his teeth and care for them and continue to treat him like a prince and you'll have no regrets.
I think this is a good recommendation. Kidney, liver and hypothyroid seem to be recurring issues in Shelties that I've seen. I got two of them early with Bacca and with ongoing treatment hope that this can sustain him.
Cancers also seem to be recurring issue in all dogs. But perhaps only because now they are finally being diagnosed. The problem with the cancers is the treatment is prohibitive, and if pup is already 10+ years, you have to ask yourself the hardest question of all....
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
I would say that its wonderful that people are going back and reading the old posts, rather than just launching new ones. (i.e. I think that means that when people google on a topic, they are finding this site...good job, Kelly and crew! It's a good thing, as Martha would say!)
Emmasmom
Forums Sage
Hamish would have been 12 just after I lost him to pancreatitis. Noah was nine and he would have lived longer if not for the GI bleed.
Emma has aunts that are 14+.
Emma has aunts that are 14+.
UConn Sheltie
Forums Regular
Interesting thread. Sunny lived to be 15.5. When he was young my boys used him as a "chick magnent". I then told them he was going to even the score by turning 16 and driving my little white convertable and do his own attracting. 